Loops, versatile, easy to build, cheap, and will just about outperform any other antenna. I used to have a 528' horizontal loop that started from the apex of the roof, out into the trees behind my home. That worked great for about 5 years, then the local kids starting messing with it and pulling it down. I really needed to move the loop so it was within my property lines and thus the 40M loop was built.

I chose 40M for several reasons, it works 40M-6M with ladder line and using a Z-match balanced tuner. The other, and most important, a circumference of 143' was the largest loop I could fit on my suburban lot. So, what about 80M and 160M?? Not a real problem, I'm going to short the ladder line together and use it as some kind of very odd vertical. This will require putting down as many radials as possible underneath it. With the sunspots slowly climbing, I don't know how much of the lowband I'll do so it'll be a future project.

There are 6, 45' tall cypress trees that line the back fence. I used an EZ-Hang to shoot lines up towards the top of both trees on the ends and the center tree. The EZ-Hang took some practice, I lost quite a few weights in the process, way overshot the trees on multiple occasions too. Pretty much, it took me an entire day just to get the support lines into the trees. You can see the line blowing in the breeze. This particular shot ended up in the right spot on the tree, it just shot over 2 others in the process.

The support line I used is only temporary. It's the line used by brick layers to keep a straight line. It's very strong, cheap, and does last a very long time out in the sun. At the base of the trees, I used a heavy brick to secure the support lines.

Now, here's the funny part. When I was shooting the line into the middle cypress tree, I managed to hit the target first shot. I go to find the weight, and remove it. I attached a spool of line to this plastic holder and using a small stake, secure it to the ground. Well, I thought it was secure! I attach this line to the snap shackle attached to the fishing line and start reeling it in. After a few turns of the fishing reel handle, it all of a sudden got REALLY easy to reel in. I'm thinking, wow, really good shot, it's not getting snagged on anything. When I came back to the spool of line I couldn't find it on the ground. Looking up, I found it!

If you look carefully, in the center of the photo, the spool is up around 40 feet! I try tugging on the opposite side to see if it would come loose. No luck. Now what... I sit there and think about it. I don't have any way to reach that high up the tree. So, I head to the shed and pull out a container where I store all my loose hardware. I found some large nuts, like 11/16" size and they fit in the pouch of the EZ-Hang just fine. I take aim and send the first nut shot flying out into the field. Only one nut left (other than the person doing the shooting). I take careful aim and I hit it square on with enough force that the reel drops to the ground. Man, averted disaster!

Measuring it out, I have exactly 143'!! I'm golden for 40M and above. Here's the feedpoint with scanner antennas.

Once testing is done, I'm planning to swap out the white support lines for black dacron. The white wire is also temporary, I'll pick up a black insulated wire and this loop will practically disappear.