DK9SQ (Kanga) telescoping mast supporting a 20m ground plane made from wire.  Briones Reservior in background.

Anyone who has put up portable wire antennas knows that the biggest problem is tangled wires.  I just found these cool laundry reels made for camping and RV users that cost less than $5 and work great for winding and deploying wire.

The reel comes apart in two halves with a quarter twist and reassemble the same way.  The wire attaches using a clever notch in the reel's hub.  I ordered mine online and received the shipment within 5 days.

I can now set up and break down my Dk9SQ-supported 20M ground plane in 5 minutes flat!  This antenna uses five of these reels: one for the radiator and four for the radials. 

It uses a common flange mount SO-239 as its hub, with Radio Shack gator clips connecting the four radials to the SO-239's four mounting holes at time of deployment.  SWR is 1:1 and it gets great reports with my Small Wonder Labs SW-20+ and 750mw output.

Operating position at 1200ft. 20M CW only with 750mw output, VXO range from 14.025 to 14.070. 

Small Wonder Labs SW-20+ kit, Palm Mini Paddle attached to right side of cabinet, 12V 2AH sealed lead acid battery at right, good for eons.

My SW-20+ has a built in K10 keyer from K1EL and the SWL RIT kit.

North pointing radial visible in background (above rig).

How tall is that mast?!  The DK9SQ is 10 meters tall, but I removed the top two sections for this application.  Total height here is about 25ft.

Laundry reel for the south-facing radial is visible in the foreground, and you can see the radiator reel attached to the tip of the mast.

HTX-100 just acquired at N4EKV so expect 10M CW and SSB /QRP/P ops in the near future!