Woke up this morning and after coffee went to the shack. Noticed that the signals were way down and I had no static showing on the meter… Went to the back yard and found 2 sections of green wire on the ground.
A short (25 foot) section still attached to the tuner and then the remainder of the wire laying across some tree branches then on the ground. This means that the break happened about 20 feet above the ground and after looking at the ends of the wire it was a clean cut/break.
No teeth marks on the wire so I’m thinking it as it happened in the tree it must of been the clean cut of a bird beak??? The support tree is not strong enough for someone to climb up 20 feet (or so) with a pair of side cutters so….
Anyway…. I’m heading off to the Kingston Antenna Parts store (some of you might of heard of Princess Auto) and pick up a roll of 18 gauge green insulated wire and try and hide it in the tree this weekend. If successful I will be back on the lower bands and if not then its 10m to 20m for a while.
This could be an issue with my plans for several radio events this coming weekend.
Lets see how this plays out
73bob
ps… I do have an EFHW I could put out as a temporary antenna but would have to take it down when not using it so….
VA3QV and his Amateur Radio Hobby 
That’s too bad. If I was closer I’d give you a hand. I have a 41 foot wire going from my house to a tree. Today was the first day I used it and made a contact in North Carolina. After the qso, I was adjusting the radio and noticed it was set at 9 watts…..
Take care VA3GFD
Hi Don,
Thanks for the offer, but before I read your comment the antenna was back up and its loading up at least. Higher than it was before but no signal reports yet due to lousy band conditions.
Glad to see the 710 is working well for you… According to what others have told me its a great rig… Welcome back to the HF bands and hope to get you in the log 73
next time you’re on the air let me know what frequency..