The feed line is 28 feet. I split the wire to make the legs, then tied a simple overhand knot around a SotaBeams top insulator to keep it from pulling apart farther. I crimped and soldered some fork-shaped terminals (like this) at the end, which I screw onto a BNC to binding post adaptor which goes right to the KX3 (or tuner). Most of the time 28 feet is more than enough feed line, and some of it lies on the ground while I operate.
For the ends, I have two ropes that I use. I have not measured their lengths. If there is a tree or bush, I’ll tie the ends up as high as I can, but sometimes they are just staked to the ground. I have a pole that will get the center up about 17-18 feet, and I use that unless there is a convenient tree branch. I’ve found the KX3 rarely needs to retune for different setups.
Here you can see one of the legs tied to a fence, at the last post before it goes into the bushes. It is probably about waist high. The pole and other leg are similarly attached to the fence. (Barbed wire fences are great antenna supports) W6/NC-402
Here in a free-standing setup. There are three support ropes to hold up the pole, then the two legs staked to the ground. Mt Misery, W6/NC-197
If you peruse my blog, you can probably find more pictures of the various ways I’ve set up. In the end, simply being on a summit give you a huge advantage, so I don’t worry about eliminating every last fraction of a dB of loss.
