Antenna Stuck in tree

A few weeks ago I noticed that one leg of my 80 meter doublet (which has been up since 1986) snapped. No problem, just loosen the support rope, lower the antenna, fix the broken leg and haul it back up. Gotta change that ageing, deteriorating center insulator anyhow. I've done it many times before. Easy job right ? WRONG !!!!

Over the past 4 - 5 years the rather huge sycamore tree that it is mounted in has become wrapped with ivy. The tree is so heavily wrapped around the trunk that it has grabbed the support rope and that antenna won't budge. I tugged and yanked and pulled but it is held fast by the ivy. In other words that antenna is up there for the long haul.

I cut the ivy around the base of the tree so, hopefully it will start to die back and perhaps it will loosen its grip. But that is going to take a long time. I cut the ivy about a week ago and it's still strong and healthy green. it will take months for that ivy to die off.

So, until then there are only 2 ways I can see to fix that antenna. Either climb the tree...a nice 75 - 80 feet straight up... (and I am not in shape to climb a tree like that ) or, get hold of a cherry picker. A third possibility is to shoot a line up over the broken leg and pull it into a position where I can reach it and do a splice. I won;t be able to change the insulator but at least it will be fixed and hopefully operational.

Practically however I am thinking that I may never be able to lower that antenna. So, I am also thinking in terms of simply abandoning it and firing up a new one. I might be able to use the same tree and/or there is also a rather large oak next to it, I may be able to put the new antenna way up in the oak. The new antenna would sway and flex a lot more in the wind because it would be suspended in a high branch instead of being suspended against the trunk as is the old antenna in the sycamore tree.

And ideas ? Any ideas on how to free an antenna from ivy ?? :mrgreen:

To paraphrase,

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Abandon All Copper, Ye Who Hang It Here

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Even if the vine dies, and that's a big if, it will still be wrapped around the tree. If the vine has grown any roots into the tree bark, cutting it may not kill the whole thing anyway.

Until you can get access to a cherry picker, unfortunately, you may have no choice but to abandon that leg of the antenna. There may just be no other way to get it down.

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Originally Posted by W3WN

To paraphrase,

Quote:

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Abandon All Copper, Ye Who Hang It Here

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Even if the vine dies, and that's a big if, it will still be wrapped around the tree. If the vine has grown any roots into the tree bark, cutting it may not kill the whole thing anyway.

Until you can get access to a cherry picker, unfortunately, you may have no choice but to abandon that leg of the antenna. There may just be no other way to get it down.

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Okay, so you are saying that in addition to the ground roots the ivy will throw roots into the tree bark itself. If that's the case it's hopeless. Those vines are thick and strong.

When I was younger (in my 20's) I would probably have been insane enough to climb the tree. or, I would have known someone else who was crazy enough to do so. But at my age I am not about to climb 75 feet into the air on a tree.

So we'll see what happens. In the mean time I'm going to have to gather the materials and be prepared to put up a new antenna. Over the winter is a good time to put antennas in trees. No leaves.

Actually a cherry picker may be a possibility. Or a good tree climber. We will probably be having some tree work done here in the not too distant future and I am sure that for a few extra bucks most tree guys would be more than happy to retrieve the antenna or, even to help me put a new one up.

Recovering what's already stuck in ivy is not an easy matter. If you do kill it the problem often remains. I wouldn't kill the ivy because it's usually home to birds and other creatures and, contrary to opinion, it does little harm to the tree as long as the tree's leaves can see light.

My method of avoiding wire or rope growing into a tree limb is to feed it through a length of polythene pipe. This could be awkward but I did this only after an oak tree branch grew around a stranded steel cable and I had to pretend to be a monkey with a saw to free it. Good job the XYL wasn't watching!

Well, assuming that the end from the insulator to the tree is some kind of rope.

I use a 'wire camp saw', which is about a 2 foot 'toothed' wire with a ring on each end that campers carry to cut small trees. Do a piece of rope, the camp saw and another piece of rope, throw it over the rope you want cut, and in a flash, down comes the antenna.

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Originally Posted by Vinnie

Well, assuming that the end from the insulator to the tree is some kind of rope.

I use a 'wire camp saw', which is about a 2 foot 'toothed' wire with a ring on each end that campers carry to cut small trees. Do a piece of rope, the camp saw and another piece of rope, throw it over the rope you want cut, and in a flash, down comes the antenna.

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In my case it's an inverted vee so it uses a single insulator suspended very high up. The camp saw idea sounds good if I can fire it up high enough to cut the old rope at a high enough point. Might be a possibility in as far as getting the old antenna down. meanwhile I am focusing on putting the new antenna up.

Since the antenna is over 20 years old and your going to have to go through a lot of trouble to get to it I would just flat out replace the old antenna with a new Doublet.

Another vote for new doublet!

That and trying to kill that ivy will be really tough. And most chemicals that will do the job will pretty much screw that tree up too! And people wonder why most ivy's are considered an invasive species! Unless its like poison ivy then its a local species...and you dont wanna deal with that crap wrapped around a tree! :shock:

I am going to go out there once again and try giving it a few extremely hard yanks. It will either come loose, break, or stay stuck. If it breaks or stays stuck I'll probably put up a new one because that ivy is not going to budge and I am not about to climb up to get it down. When I was 18 or 19 years old I might have been crazy enough to climb up there when nobody was looking. I'll settle for a new antenna if I can't budge this one.