What on earth is this?

[Scannersplitterguy]

That's a multiband HF antenna.

[alinco21]

very nice tower as well.

[AIRMAN]

Looks like the array can rise above the power lines with that extendable tower.

Power lines cause constant interference on HF.

[hotmetal1000]

It's a Hills wind up tower, probably a thirty footer.

[Mathew]

Jesus. That thing looks freaky! Almost like a huge spider in the sky haha.

[jaskel]

that antenna is ridiculous..lol

[Kevaclone]

It was a common site years ago when 27Mhz was big
Called a Quad beam and they are directional
easily made from either fishing rod blanks or bamboo and some copper wire
this one looks like a multi trap version for HF

[rredbeak]

Its called a Spider Quad For HF bands usually a tribander,theyre multibanded and deliver great gain from a very small package.

Other than that ive never touched one so i cant tell you how tight the tuning [swr bandwidth is] BUT its mostly ham users and through a tuner if things go skewiff.

Cheers Rod

[youngn]

I was using one of these a while ago, mounted just off the ground and it worked amazingly on HF...

[rredbeak]

they are a great way to go if you dont have room for a full sized quad.

IF youre planning one for HF cb [27 MHz] drop it and build a 2 element quad. FAR easier to build/erect/tune and they run better gain than the spider.

2 element Quad on a steampipe outside your shack window and a strong arm rotator keeps things reall Cheap and your getting the best bang for the buck.

These far outrun the yagis although yagis are more stable in storms.

Cheers Rod
Google 2 ele quad for 27 MHz,it might only cost in the order of $50 -$100 depending what you make your spreaders from,then the BOOM i recomend Aluminiun FARMERS IRRIGATION hard drawn pipe.NO flex ,its one solid rigid pipe.

[878ROB]

its a wind up clothes line