It's late spring in North America and that means it's time to start worrying about whether all those antenna projects you envisioned last winter are actually going to get done. Well, here's a puzzle full of antenna words you can work on while you procrastinate. Better yet, take it up to the top of the tower, where you get a little peace and quiet!

When not stretching EZNEC to its computational limits, Ward Silver, N0AX, authors--among numerous other things--the Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler, which appears twice a month on the ARRL Web site. He can be reached by e-mail at n0ax@arrl.net or by surface mail at Aetherworks Publishing, 22916 107th Ave NW, Vashon, WA, 98070.

Across 1. Weather (abbr.) 2. Unlicensed radio service 4. Complement to a tap 6. Type of plastic pipe (abbr.) 9. To lose one's hold 10. A periodic antenna 11. Sequences of parts 14. Bandwidth (abbr.) 16. Chemical symbol for the best conductor 17. Command to make a horse turn right 18. Runs down the center of a Yagi 19. To move apart 20. Move closer 21. These guys are delighted with all-metal antennas 24. Most popular mode for HF phone 25. Type of quad or precious stone 27. Spatial distribution of energy 30. Also called a 'hairpin' match 33. At zero potential 35. To reverse a wave's direction 38. Measure of intelligence (abbr.) 40. One micro kilometer (abbr.) 41. Three of something 43. A measure of proportion 48. Non-magnetic north 49. The desired direction of radiation 50. After the signature on a letter (abbr.) 52. An oxidized joint gets like this 53. Force along an axis 57. Distant radiation field 58. Operators (abbr.) 59. These prevent current from flowing on coax shields 61. Sharp metal edges left after drilling 62. What hears the signal 64. Last and first contest of the year (abbr.) 65. These shut down HF propagation (abbr.) 66. This surface is a measure of antenna area 67. A small weight or a British car

Down 1. Form of nylon used for lifting or tying 2. These hold pieces together 3. Not small 5. The radiating parts of an antenna 6. Height above ground (abbr.) 7. Wire antenna at an angle to the ground 8. Someone who's been around a while (abbr.) 12. Concentric tube 13. At right angles to the main antenna axis 15. To have had the highest score 17. Unbalanced match 22. Measure of weight (abbr.) 23. Measure of relative impedance (abbr.) 24. One of the Scandinavian countries (prefix) 26. Style of round insulator 27. Hold two tubes together with a fastener 28. Transmitter (abbr.) 29. Point of minimum radiation 30. Opposite of 49 across 31. Direction in the horizontal plane 32. It turns the antennas 34. These guide energy in the right direction 36. Interference from radiated signals (abbr.) 37. Tower rungs are used for this 39. Quality Assurance (abbr.) 42. Fall off and you'll need one of these (abbr.) 44. Held by supporting cables 45. Decides 46. Antennas radiate this (abbr.) 47. Twisting force 51. More than one antenna on a mast 54. Ham Radio (abbr.) 55. Coax-to-coax impedance transformer 56. More radiation than a reference 60. Droop 63. CDs that can be read and written are denoted with this abbreviation