Antenna on the horses and first plexiglass spreader in place

Top half of antenna and 40M & 80M capacitance hats that need to be removed for the 30M trap to be installed

Close up of bottom plexiglass spreader in place. Five spreaders were cut from a sheet of 1/4" plexiglass into sections 14" long and 2" wide. A 1.5" hole is drilled in the center of each, with two 3/16" holes on center 1" from the ends. Spreaders are strategically located along the length of the antenna, with the uppermost just above the 20M trap. All are held in place with wire ties.

Base still in place, 4" above ground, with radials. It will have to be removed later to attach the SO-239 plate and 12M/17M wires.

Close up of radial attachments. Not the best method, but cheaper than a radial plate. Will be changed soon for ground straps with holes. If radials are buried they do not need to be cut to resonance. If possible, 25 to 30 cut to about 15' (+/-) will work well.

Wires for 12M and 17M being threaded through plexiglass spreaders. Since one wire will be quite a bit shorter than the other, fishing line was tied at the top of the 12M element and routed up to the final spreader to balance out the weight on the piece from the end of the 17M element

Close up of wire nut at end of radial wire.

Attachment detail of 12M and 17M radials. New SO-239 plate visible to the right.

Better view of the new SO-239 attachment in place. The way the plate is cut allows a large variation of mounting angles relative to the vertical.

New spreaders and radials in place, 40M and 80M capacitance hats removed (in accordance with the 30M installation instructions), antenna back on its base, looking out into the Georgia winter sky. Guy ropes are visible, as well as one end of my 2M and 6M yagis in the background.

Antenna base, SO-239 in place, coax attached. All traps have been reinstalled using factory spacings. Final measurements made with an MFJ Antenna Analyzer showed 12M and 17M wires needing trimming, and the 30M trap spacing needing adjustment. Luckily, the original traps remained very close to the desired frequencies. If adjustment is needed, just remember that a change in the spacing of one trap affects the tuning of all the other traps lower in frequency

Special thanks to AA4XS for his handiwork cutting the plexiglass spreaders, and to W6NY for use of his antenna analyzer. See you on the WARC bands!