THIS WILL GET YOUR WIRE ANTENNAS UP INTO THE TREES IN MINUTES !
 
This is my "Antenna Launcher Throwbag" and what I use in the field to get my wire antennas high up into the trees. With a little practice, you can get your wire 35' to 40' with no trouble at all. It's made out of some scrap denim material the XYL had laying around and a key ring with a nylon strap on it. I made a pouch from the denim about 3" square, and filled it with about 6 to 8 ounces of lead birdshot. You can use sand, but will need a larger pouch to get the same weight. I just happened to have a bag of birdshot on hand, so that's what I used. Once the pouch was filled with the shot, I pushed one end of the nylon strap down into the pouch and then with some heavy thread and a heavy needle, I stitched through the pouch and the strap, closing the pouch and securing the strap to the pouch all at once. Then I needed some lightweight line that was strong, flexible and slick enough to slide over tree limbs. I thought first about nylon weedeater line, but it was too stiff for what I wanted. So, off to Wally World I went to see what I could find. Everything in the hardware department was either too stiff, too rough, or too thick. So, I looked in the fishing supplies at all the fishing line. That's when I spotted it - FLY LINE ! And it just so happened, I had an old roll of flyline at home! So I saved myself a few bucks that day ! Flyline is lightweight, has a slick coating that slides over tree limbs like greased lightening, and is very flexible - just what I wanted. The piece I had was about 90' long, and I figured this would get my antennas plenty high enough to operate in the field. Boy was I right, on the very first try out in the back yard, I was able to get it about 35' high on the first try with very little effort, and the bag came all the way down to the ground while I stood and watched it ! Then all I had to do was tie the other end of the flyline to the end of my endfed half wave wire, and then hoist it up by pulling on the end of the line with the bag attached.
 


To use the throwbag, I lay the flyline out in a straight line leading away from the tree with the bag on the end away from the tree. Then I pick the bag end of the line up letting the bag dangle about 2.5' below my hand with the line held between my thumb and index finger. Then I walk toward the tree dragging the line on the ground until it is almost half folded in the a U shape behind me and I stop about 20' from the tree. Then, with one good revolution of the line and bag toward the tree first from the bottom, up and over my shoulder coming back down toward the ground, then when it starts back up toward the tree, let go of the line at the right time and the bag sails upward and over the tree. I know, it sounds complicated, but it's really very simple once you get the hang of it. Like I said, I had a wire 35' high on the first try and with practice I get better each time ! I got to get a longer flyline ! The flyline by the way makes a great wire antenna support too, eliminating the need for another piece of line. Of course, my wire field antennas are made from insulated #20 speaker wire that is fairly lightweight itself, so I don't need a big strong rope to hold them up. Go ahead and make yourself a throwbag, it's much safer to deploy antennas from the ground, and much quicker than you think !
 

73 !