? ?? RAIN? GUTTER? ANTENNA?? on upper HF bands

I've been experimenting with a variety of HF antennas here at my new QTH at Crosslands Retirement Community in Kennett Square, PA.

I have some space limitations, but live on the first floor of a two-story apartment building.

Lots of RFI from everywhere inside the building? - S9 on 80m and 40m, less noise on 20 and 10m.

I have a? 140 ft end-fed wire with a 49:1 UNUN? which tunes up easily on 80/40/20m? and not so well on 17m/15m/10m.

This end-fed is horizontal, low to the ground (winds among trees) and is good for high-angle NVIS radiation on 80/40m.

I use it on the PA NBEMS net (3583 kHz) and on the Mid-Atlantic NBEMS net (7068 kHz)

I'd like to get up something with a? low-angle? signal for DX on? 20/17/10m bands.??

But can I keep any HF antenna "hidden"?

What I am now trying is the aluminum? rain gutter? for our building, vertical for about 20 ft, makes a right angle turn and runs horizontally for about 20 ft.

The coax attaches at the base of the gutter, near ground, to a 9:1 UNUN with a sheet metal screw into the gutter for a decent electrical connection.

So overall, about 40 ft of thick (painted) aluminum gutter radiating element - in the shape of an inverted? L and? not resonant on any ham band.

Lowest SWR around? 16 MHz.? It looks like it might work out on the 30m band as well (10.1 MHz).

I have a Palomar Engineering? (500W rating)? 9:1? UNUN on? 50 ft RG8X? coax into the shack (closet).

I have one counterpoise wire about 20 ft long attached to the UNUN?? ground terminal.

Then a good manual tuner in the shack to an HF rig for very low SWR on any band.

Here is what I see on my Nano VNA from 10 - 30 MHz: ? not bad SWR? (under 2.5:1) ? in the shack on 20/17/15/10 meters.

I'll give it a try over the next few weeks and see if the local noise is more/less on these bands, compared to my 140 ft end-fed.

I'm often running QRP on these bands, CW and digi modes only.

de k3eui? barry

????