Hide in Plain Sight!
Jeff Young (N8CMQ)
on
January 26, 2010
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Okay, quite a few of you are trying to have an antenna that they can run in restricted areas. Very thin wire antennas, flag pole antennas, Verticals on the back sides of trees, etc...
Well, here is a novel idea for you, that worked for me!
Have you ever seen a vertical 102 inch CB whip mounted on the back fender of a car or truck? Especially those trucks that go four wheeling and have flags on whips.
Those antennas can be base loaded, inside the trunk of a car, or the box of the truck, so the antenna can be used on several bands.
What would happen if a coax ran from the vehicle to the house? Could it get hooked up to a rig?
Did any lights just get lit?
I know some locations have restrictions on vehicles parked in the drive, but there are allowances for short time parking in most cases.
You can add radials in the yard, if possible, to increase performance. Use your imagination!
Oh yeah, you get to use the antenna as a mobile too!
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by N8RGQ on January 26, 2010
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Take the 102 inch wip and slide it thru the roof next to A plastic vent pipe ! Feed it with A 6-1 UNUN . You have A 6 m to 20 m Vertical that most of the time you don't even need A tuner !
73 ,
Terry
N8RGQ
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KB2DHG on January 26, 2010
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It seems more and more these days that our hobby is being doomed by HOA's, Rules and reguations form outside bodies etc.
I too have fell victom to a Condo boards decision not to allow me an antenna.
Being very crafty, I had them show me all the bi-laws and where in them did it describe no short wave antenna.
I described my antenna as a short wave antenna. I am not telling a lie!
Anyway long story short, I also sited that according to the bi-laws, antennas cannot be permanatey mounted to the building only a master antenna can be placed on the roof.
Anyway, as I looked and counted over 11 dishes for TV permanatly mounted on the front of he building I put a greevance into the board.
I am happy to say that I have my G5RV dipole mounted up on the roof of my condo.
I did promise that (A) it wuld not be unsightly and seen from the street. (B) it would not be permantely mounted. I acheived this and everyone is happy.
LOOK, we can't expect approval for a tower and multi element beams. BUT give a little and take a little.
I am working fine with my wire antenna.
It is cheap bearly visable and really works fine.
Good luck my restricted Amateurs!
Nice article bottom line never give up. There is always a way to radiate a signal!
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KB2SDR on January 26, 2010
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Just yesterday I shot a length of 22 awg wire into the trees at my appartment complex. There wasn't anyone in sight, so I ran down and pulled the fishing line through the trees, connected it up to a 4:1 balun. It works much better than my tarheel 200A that was sitting on the balcony.
73
Jason
KB2SDR
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by W7WV on January 26, 2010
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When I first got back into ham radio about 10 years ago I had a landlord that did not like much of anything, let alone an antenna.
So I put a screwdriver on my truck which was parked just outside my window of my mobile home at the time (which we owned) and hooked up control wiring and coax to it.
She knew I was doing it, but never said a word.
It does work.
And where there is a will, there is a way.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K8AI on January 26, 2010
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While going to school in the Navy in San Diego, I was living in the barracks building on the 4th or 5th floor (I can't remember which). I opened the window and threw a weighted piece of magnet wire over one of the lightpoles out in the parking lot and ran a counterpoise under the rug in the room. My roommate was never the wiser and I managed to put out a readable signal although recieve was a bit noisy (probably due to the lights out in the parking lot).
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WA1RNE on January 26, 2010
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Better still, why not buy or build a 6 meter yagi and erect it on a tall mast. Add several guy wires cut to various lengths - such as 33, 23.4, 16.5 feet, etc. with insulators and dacron line.
* As far as your neighbors are concerned, it's a deluxe long range HDTV antenna.
>>> For your purposes, it's a top loaded HF vertical usable on multiple bands - including 6 meters. An autotuner at the base of the vertical completes the antenna - a.k.a your "antenna preamp."
...WA1RNE
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by WA2JJH on January 26, 2010
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iT always warms my heart, to see yet more stealth antenna's.
Be it a work in progress, or computer calculated.
My 2 cents........They sell a fiber glass ground plane for 10/11 use.
They are four foot long and resonate at 28.5mhz.
cascade 2 together in series. You have a 20M radiator that tunes up on 10 and 15.
The 8 foot 20M vertical works great with only 4 10m radials as the ground plain. Add a 16 foot wire for full counterpoise.
You can get the 4 radials with mounting bracket for $29!!!!!
Get creative and use them as center loading coils or trap.
One can build a multiband vertical that is stealth.
All that is needed are about 18 foot of PVC masting, some 4 conductor cable and the fiberglass 4 foot radials/loading coil/low Q trap.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KE7FD on January 26, 2010
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Adding my two cents to the mix, I don't think there's necessarily an increase in covenants directed towards hams. After all, with more states passing legislation in favor of hams today than in the past, such HOA's, etc, would be mute (more or less). Perhaps, we're hearing more about HOA's because more hams are in apartments (?) or could it be we just dislike the idea of other people's aversion to [our] unsightly antennas so much that we can't stop complaining? That having been said and even if I am way off-base (and more to the point of the article) the ingenuity of hams over the years have proven that such covenants need not be the end of the RF road. My daily commute takes me past many apartments not unlike what I used to live in years ago. I note with few exceptions that tenants have on their balcony or porch, some form of decorations that are quite visible from a distance. Why not do as was suggested by the one post and countless others, use stealth?
When I was a kid, my father ran a coax out to the Jeep where the CB antenna was and we operated that way until my mom chased us out of the house; that arrangement has its own limitations. 102 inches= 8.5 feet which should allow several antenna possibilities on a balcony or porch. Do the other tenets have flag poles on their balcony railings, small bird houses or feeders? What about plastic ivy wrapped around a support? Management rarely says anything about these so why not "do as the Romans do when in Rome"? A stealth antenna may look like and actually be a flag pole on the outside but on the inside it's an antenna. For a small antenna, I've done quite well with a screwdriver on my vehicle. With a good counterpoise in place, what's the difference between it and a screwdriver mounted against (electrically) a good ground? I'm sure we can debate the fine print ad nauseam, so why run a coax out to the car? Aren't you likely just replacing one problem with another by doing that? Have you considered the litigation aspect of someone coming in contact with a coax running across open area (i.e. trip-and-fall law suits are great money makers!).
If we want to "brag" to the non-hams around us about our hobby, let's do it demonstrating some degree of expertise and not with slipshod work arounds.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KX8N on January 26, 2010
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The original poster's idea is an oldie but a goodie.
What I did which is somewhat related was to get a Perth Outbacker mobile vertical, and I mounted it on a ground coupled tripod. I could set it in the corner in the daytime, and set it in the yard at night. I operated like this for years, and had some pretty impressive contacts from Ohio including Alaska, Hawaii, Hiroshima, and central Russia, all with a barefoot Icom 706 MKII-G.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by NI0C on January 26, 2010
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I lived in a rented townhouse from 1988 to 1995.
There was a parking lot fairly close to the patio door in my bedroom, so I used to park my car in the closest space and ran coax out to a mag mounted Hamstick on the roof of the car. There was a utility transformer box very close to my patio door, so one day I just stuck the mag mount there instead of on the car. It worked great on all bands from 40 thru 10 meters, and I worked a lot of DX with 100 watts.
I left the antenna outside most of the time, and nobody bothered it. Then one day I installed a Cushcraft R-3 23 ft. vertical outside my door. To my surprise, I got away with that, too. Sometimes, all it takes is a little chutzpah!
73,
Chuck NI0C
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K3AN on January 26, 2010
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If you have at least two reasonably tall trees on the property you are renting, then you can put up a very low profile antenna that even HOA enforcers are not likely to see. That's an inverted L, made with 26 ga. black insulated copperweld (stealth) wire and matched at the base with a weather-protected remote autotuner such as those made by SGC. There's no feedline up in the air for all to see, and against any kind of background other than the sky the stealth wire is hard to see even when you're looking for it. Such an antenna is WAY better than a loaded mobile whip.
Even against the sky no one saw my wire, just 30 feet up, crossing over the rental townhouse parking lot to a tree. It seems like few people ever look up. Only a ham visiting a neighbor spotted it, and since I was operating QRP and not interfering with anyone the neighbor had no problem with it.
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by WY3X on January 26, 2010
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Has anyone tried a TransWorld mini antenna? I bought one for portable ops (traveling) and I have to say I'm impressed! It takes about 90 seconds to set up, and about the same to dismantle. I set it up at my daughter's home near Charlotte, NC, and the first contact I made was in Arizona (Lake Havasu)! And conditions were pretty horrible that day! The only problem is it's expensive. It doesn't look like an antenna, which is why you might get away with using it as a "stealth antenna" on a condo balcony. You could hang clothes on it and tell people it's your "solar dryer". 73, -KR4WM
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by N0AH on January 26, 2010
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In this economy, many HOA's don't have the financial teeth to sue anybody. I say put up a simple vertical, and after a year, it has a good chance to be grandfathered in. Then put up a tower, checking your county's zoning codes, and tell them to pound salt. I did this in 1995-1996, and Colorado law at the time allowed this covanant to be waived since no one whined in over a year.
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by QRZDXR2 on January 26, 2010
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the old flag pole made out of a fiberglass or PVC pipe is very american... no one would dare to object...
Of course its whats inside the counts. You have to be careful about hooking up to the water pipes today for the ground plane. Some places went to plastic tube for water and gas... thus it could be very interesting when you fire up.
I have some fond memories of the mobile home park I was in during the service. I still chuckle about the old lady who had a harmon organ. Seems the amps were still on after they shut down. natch when I got on it sounded like her dearly departed husband come back to talk to her but forgot his teeth... hee hee...
Another was the guy who thought UFO's were play'n with his water heater as it too had a strange sound... like code... and he said he knew they were from outer space because just like in the science fiction movies... his floricent lights would flicker on and off... the tv went bezerk on all the chanels and the AM radio would emit strange beeps and squeels... he even went so far as to report it to the local radio station and had the sheriff come out and testify that they were strange things going on. He joined the holy rollers church their after... Only thing that was going on was the henry amp I was using... late night.
I didn't have the heart to tell 'em that it was me on the ham radio... was I bad (smile) But, I'll bet that old brass toilet tank float glowed pretty good on top of the flag pole..(no pun intended towards todays president)
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by VE3TMT on January 27, 2010
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I lived in apartments for 15 years as a ham before buying a house and always managed to get some type of antenna up. No antennas allowed at these locations either, but anything outside, or inside in fact, will radiate a signal. But you will have better luck outside. As for the 102" whip on the bumper, it would certainly work, but I personally would grow tired of connecting and disconnecting all the time.
I bought in an older neighborhood, where the houses are about 50 years old. No antenna restrictions whatsoever, and I can park whatever I want in my driveway. Used to be my in-laws home, bought new by them, and my neighbor has had the same car parked in his driveway for 25 years!
Why live in a neighborhood where such restrictions are imposed? I can't understand why people buy in these areas.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WB2NVY on January 27, 2010
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The question was asked "Why live in a neighborhood where such restrictions are imposed? I can't understand why people buy in these areas. "
I have experience and can answer that. . it's because you've sold your old house and must move out and you've been shopping for a house for 3 months while renting an apartment and storing your belongings and you're desperate..and the XYL falls in love with the house and the "lovely neighborhood". Fortunately in my case I had a large attic & put a 30m dipole, 11 el 2m beam, and small tribander in the attic. I also sneaked a Par End Fedz 40m dipole from the peak of the roof to a tree that nobody discovered. We moved again and now I have 3 acres to play with and no restrictions.
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K0FF on January 27, 2010
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KB2DHG said: "Nice article bottom line never give up. There is always a way to radiate a signal! "
Let me say "ditto" to that.
About 1/2 of my total operating is from locations away from my own QTH. This would be from vehicles, in the field, on ships, from motels or rented apartments.
There is always a way to get on the air if you are resourceful.
Part of my career in radio had to do with "wiring" of people, cars and innocuous objects for sound and video. Sometimes lives were at stake. A particularly "stealthy" installation stretched my imagination but made me proud.
"Slot" antennas were a favorite for the clandestine services. Cut a slot into the roof of a car, wired up from below, then filled in with insulated body putty and repainted to match the original. 100% invisible. It still baffles me how such an antenna radiates as if it were a vertical! Hams have used aluminum foil taped to patio doors and windows for such purposes.
Once I lived in 2 story building with a gutter across the roof in the back, with a downspout at each end. Looked like an upside down U in shape, but square. The dimensions were measured, downspouts cut in the correct places, plastic sections inserted and painted to flow the water in the original mode, then the upper U section closed off on the bottom with wire, the feedpoint in the middle of the wire. A full sized 40 meter vertical loop resulted, worked on other bands with a tuner just fine.
Electric fence wire is particularly hard to spot when erected as an antenna. The natural color blends well with the sky.
Antennas painted with latex paint will blend in better with no degradation of function.
Ham radio is about having fun and learning stuff.
So have fun.
Geo>K0FF
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K7ZSK on January 27, 2010
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I used metal gutter as a quick way to get on 'til it warmed up enough to put up somethig better. Worked just fine!
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KA8OCN on January 27, 2010
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This is a good idea, I know some people that run a cross band rig in their vehicle and a ht in their home.
I understand if a person is renting then they have to do what their landlord tells them. When we rented over 25 years ago I did not have a big problem with my landlords, I would ASK BEFORE i rented the house and explain what I wanted to do and sometimes I had to do some things just to make the landlord happy but I always got what I wanted.
I do not understand why a person would buy a home, and (I am sure they have to sign a bunch of stuff that explains the restrictions they are agreeing to) sign paper work giving others control over the property they are going to spend many years of their life paying for.
If they are licensed after they purchase the house then I can see they did not consider it.
I know one thing, when you are buying or renting you have a lot more control before you put your money down, and during that process you have a lot better chance getting what you want, after you sign you are no longer in control.
BUYER BEWARE !
If you have the means and with the housing prices down now this could be a good time to get out, buy a house where you can control your own life.
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K3MOV on January 27, 2010
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See AC6V Stealth Antenna Site:
http://www.ac6v.com/antprojects.htm#STANT
See G4ILO: Stealth Amateur Radio:
http://www.g4ilo.com/stealth.html
See N0HR Stealth Ham Radio:
http://www.g4ilo.com/stealth.html
See Stealth Antenna Links:
http://carc.ham-radio-op.net/hamlinks/stealthantennas.html
GL es 73, Tom K3MOV
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by N6AJR on January 27, 2010
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Nothing easier than a SGC 237, and a longish wire to the roof or a tree going up and a radial or 2 for counterpoise ( in the ground or around the base boards..) for an all band antenna. not greqat but not bad.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KB2FCV on January 27, 2010
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If I could get some line out to the trees outside my window, I would.. problem is there is a maze of power lines right outside the window with many feeds to all the various townhouses in our complex. There is just no safe way (and the trees are nice and tall too!). Instead, I have access to my attic so I put an HF loop, a 6m dipole and a 2 meter 3 el beam up. It's not the best but I have QSL cards from the Indian ocean, africa, europe, south america and the south pacific to prove that it works. None of those QSO's were easy but were certainly done with what I'm using. Where there is a will there's a way.
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K1TN on January 27, 2010
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See below. This from a 2nd floor apartment balcony, "no antennas allowed." The end-fed wire isn't even straight; more like three sides of a square. I also use a 135-foot "snake" antenna for RX on 160 and 80; that's "not allowed" either. Actually, my landlord knows but he doesn't care because I pay rent on time and my checks don't bounce.
2009 CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
Call: K1TN
Operator(s): K1TN
Station: K1TN
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: NJ
Operating Time (hrs): 23
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 2 2 2
80: 21 7 13
40: 206 26 74
20: 230 24 75
15: 90 18 57
10: 2 2 2
------------------------------
Total: 551 79 223 Total Score = 458,738
Club:
Comments:
Antenna: 66-foot end-fed wire in a tree. Elecraft K3, NA software.
Jim Cain
At The K1TN Superstation
Atlantic City
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by G3LBS on January 28, 2010
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KR4WM recommends Transworld antenna. I had opportunity to sell my 5-bed-with-trees house and have had to move temporarily into 2 bed condo with HOA police (not in the bed). I have one of these Transworld antennas now and it is very successful with my 706 at 100 watts, particularly when I go outside on Grand Island NY surrounded by Niagara River. The antenna is inside the garage for home use when Buffalo snows me in. When I put my 8877 amp with LP filter on at about 400 watts it wipes out the TV any ideas please?
Also if I hang clothes on antenna do clothes dry more quickly, and does it alter the SWR do you know? HOA forbids 'outdoor or indoor antenna installation'- is there any way round this? If I can't get answers I may go portable in a barrel over the Niagara Falls.
Buffalo Gil W2/G3LBS
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by WD9FUM on January 28, 2010
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I tried loading up my rain gutters just for fun and worked the Canary Islands.
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KC8VWM Ultra Stealth Secret Weapon Antenna's
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by KC8VWM on January 28, 2010
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So you think you cant put an antenna outside because the HOA might see it?
I know of at least 12 dozen ways to install ultra stealth antennas "outside" your home in plain view that don't even appear to look like antennas at all...
Here's just a few of them...
1. Purple martin birdhouse antenna:
Ground mounted vertical antenna is located inside the PVC pipe which holds up the birdhouse. Alternatively if horizontal orientation is your preference, you can use "guy" wires to support the PVC pole. It is these so called supports that hold up the birdhouse pole that are used as the actual inverted V antenna. Be sure to ramble on and on to the HOA about how much you love bird watching, try to emulate a few bird calls just for fun and observe how quickly they will become very bored and go away.
2. Weather instrument antenna:
Another ground mounted vertical inside PVC pipe. The weather vane should be constructed out of plastic. Attach a cheap plastic thermometer and a fake homemade rain gauge to the side of the PVC for maximum effect. Alternatively if horizontal orientation is your preference, you can use "guy" wires to support the PVC "weather instrument pole." It is these so called supports that hold up the "weather instrument pole" that are used as the actual inverted V antenna. This way you will know exactly what the temperature of your antenna is at all times.
3. Satellite TV dish antenna:
Put a 10 foot pole at the furthest point on the property. Like in the backyard at the fence line. Place a satellite dish prop on top (people throw these away so there free for the taking) Run a “Feed line” from any corner of the house extending over the back yard and running to the satellite dish. The “feed line” is actually an "end fed zep" antenna. Gud DX!
If any neighbor asks why the feed line is extended over the backyard to the dish, just explain that it’s better to do it that way than the idea of getting it all tangled up in the lawnmower. All you need to do at this point is simply observe the dumbfounded look on thier face.
4. Outdoor ghetto blaster dipole:
The fake and non functional "patio radio" should be purchased at a yard sale and have detachable speakers which will actually function as a dipole antenna when the speakers are stretched out from the radio and "mounted" in a location such as below an awning or on the railing of an outdoor patio deck, apartment balcony etc.
The speakers are just empty plastic shells with no speakers actually inside them. The "power cord" leading to the radio prop is actually coaxial cable and is used to connect to the dipole antenna (so called speaker wires) from the inside of the radio.
Mount the speakers, and "plug in" the stereo. (Coax feedline now appears to resemble an ordinary power cord) but it plugs into the back of your rig. You are now on the air in full dipole stereo.
5. Fishing Rod Prop antenna:
This is just a simple 20 foot crappie pole proped up against the house, patio, fence, deck or on a balcony etc. You simply surround the pole with an old fishing tackle box, portable cooler and fishing net around the crappie pole to give your antenna maximum visual effect - The black "fishing line" on the pole "is" the wire for the antenna. A matching network can be hidden inside the "cooler"
Feel free to install a real fishing hook on the end of your antenna too as I suspect this design will catch the really big fish in the DX pileups.
6. The Tire Swing Vertical
This is simply a regular rope hanging down from a high location in the tree.
Simply attach the rope to a small tire so it looks like an ordinary tire swing hanging down from the tree in the backyard etc.
The vertical antenna wire is somewhat woven into the strands along the rope. (The wire should be the same color as the rope if possible.) A matching network can be built inside of the tire if desired and don't forget to bury some radials below the ground and use "bury flex" feed line running to the house.
7. The Badminton Net Antenna.
The dipole is weaved into the netting. The feed line connects to the center of the dipole antenna which is built directly into the net. Feedline goes directly into the ground below. (The feed line can run on the inside one of the metal rod supports to hide it.) Alternatively, an inverted V antenna is used as supports for the poles.
Besides the idea you are now always operating "net control" , the badminton net is actually fully functional too. So be sure to invite some people over from the HOA to help improve your score. They will never know it's an antenna.
8. The Bicycle Prop Antenna.
This is a good antenna situation especially for apartment dwellers with balconies but it also works well in other situations too such as HOA's. Attach your favorite screwdriver antenna (or even a 20 foot telescopic crappie pole) to a bicycle but be sure it has a nice orange flag on top.
Since the antenna is actually mounted on the bicycle itself, it's not really considered to be an antenna installed on the house by the HOA so no one will actually care about it. The bicycle should be placed in a desirable location like up against a fence, beside a tree or even resting up against a patio deck, patio furniture etc. (Those darn kids always parking their bikes just about anywhere huh? )
Chain it up wherever you decide to leave this bicycle in permanent storage etc, run some bury flex feed line underground and attach buried radials around the base of the bicycle if you like.
Now don't tell me you can't put up an antenna because of so called antenna restrictions. lol
73 de Charles - KC8VWM
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KJ4LCM on January 29, 2010
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This problem has absolutly nothing to do with hams, and everything to do with the LITTLE HITLERS who have no lives, small mans syndrome, and too much time on their hands, so they do everything they can to control what other people do. We need to do something with these morons so we can get back to what this country was built on. I agree that some people overdo everything, and there need to be rules, but this in not Russia, Cuba, or some other communist country run by ruthless dictators.I personally will NEVER live in a community where the stupid rules diminish my right to happiness. Until we as a whole start standing up against these morons, it will never stop. Remember, " He who gives up freedom for security deserves neither freedom nor security"!
(Sorry for the rant.)
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WA4XAY on January 29, 2010
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I don't care for the HOA "Nazi's" either but be fair, would you want old refrigerators on front porches and cars up on blocks?
In MHO being a ham operator details a little ingenuity and inventiveness so outsmarting the HOA's shouldn't really be an issue.
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Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KJ6BVA on January 29, 2010
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What do folks do to get the coax in the home when they are renters? We are renting a home in California with a small back yard and no restrictions. however we are not allowed to drill into the house.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by N0SOY on January 29, 2010
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You could make a plate to pass the cables through the window and leave it a inch or so open. The plate would allow the window to be open enough to pass the wire but not let all of the heat out. Insulation material will work also. Simple, easy and easily removed.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by KJ4LCM on January 30, 2010
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The fridge thing is covered in my comment about people who overdo everything. I resent people who say I cant have antennas, collector cars, flags, etc...
I live in an area where it is illegal for a man to be in his yard on Sunday without a shirt on!!! Who gives anyone the right to keep me from parking my company truck in MY driveway??? I pay the mortgage, and that truck makes that possible! We working class make the community possible in the first place! IT WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT US! Nor would cars, houses, planes or ANY of the nice things that the Nazis own and take for granted. The creeps on top would all wither and die without the working class. PERIOD!
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WA4XAY on January 30, 2010
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I am in total agreement with you about the HOA Nazi's but correct me if I'm wrong here, Didn't you say in a previous post "I personally will NEVER live in a community where the stupid rules diminish my right to happiness". ???
What did I miss ???
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by N5YPJ on January 30, 2010
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20 years ago I used a mobile antenna on my vehicle to get on the air from my highly restricted apartment. It was better than the indoor antenna I tried but not as good as the invisible random length magnet wire the manager and I came with when he saw my determination to get on the air.
Just remember to disconnect the coax from the vehicle mount before driving off! HIHI I once read in an antenna book that somebody had done that, it wasn't me I swear.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by NI0C on January 30, 2010
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KJ6BVA asked:
"What do folks do to get the coax in the home when they are renters? We are renting a home in California with a small back yard and no restrictions. however we are not allowed to drill into the house."
When I operated from my rented townhouse (as described in a previous post above), I ran my coax through the existing hole that was made for the air conditioning plumbing. I simply removed the putty that had been used to seal it up, ran my RG-58 alongside the plumbing, and sealed it back up again. In my case the air conditioning compressor unit was conveniently located near the hamshack.
73,
Chuck NI0C
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K6JPA on January 30, 2010
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KJ6BVA asks:
"What do folks do to get the coax in the home when they are renters? We are renting a home in California with a small back yard and no restrictions. however we are not allowed to drill into the house."
I suggest you consider a product like the MFJ-4602 Antenna Feedthrough Panel, which sits in your window, and does a decent job for what it is.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WB6CVR on January 31, 2010
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When I lived in an apartment next to San Diego State in the 1970s, I was on the bottom floor of a two-story building. Right outside the bedroom window, which looked out onto a driveway to the rear parking area, was a rain downspout. With easy access to the roof, I strung a full sized 40 m dipole between a couple of vent pipes, ran the coax down the rain downspout, then routed the coax up the side facing the stucco wall, and into through the window. No one ever said anything but boy did I tear up the stereo for the students living above my unit.
73 Eric
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by KI6WLP on January 31, 2010
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Maybe the antenna companies need to get creative and design ham antennas to look like palm or pine trees just like the cell phone compaines are are doing to some of the cell phone towers I've seen.
In Irvine, CA where the HOA and city rules are somewhat infamous in our county, even at the city hall, the police and other departments hide their antennas in the "clock tower".
Comet or Diamond if you happen to read this, take note, "go green" Just my two cents.
Craig - KI6WLP
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by NI0C on February 4, 2010
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To me, there's almost nothing that looks more stupid than a fake tree; I laugh every time I see one.
73,
Chuck NI0C
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by KE7AVV on February 4, 2010
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Both my wife and I are hams. We moved into a HOA community with restrictions on antennas. To work with the problem, I got elected to the Board and got myself on the Architectural Review Committee. After working stealth for a couple of years and spending time earning respect in the community, my wife and I began to share with people regarding our emergency communication work and public service. Now, we have permission even from our management company (the largest in Arizona) to discreetly erect our antenna at the back of the house. We were also successful in having the HOA amend its Design Guidelines to accommodate ham radio, using the PRB-1 as the grounds for over-ruling the CC&R's. AND... we are now recruiting new hams in the community (over 1,700 units)!
Another idea is to build ornamental lighthouses in the backyard. Some trailer parks allow tall, wooden yard decorations if they are attractive and well built. One could easily hide a six-meter vertical in one of these.
Are you childless and in an HOA? How about getting permission to erect a small children's fort? Most ARC's don't ask if you have children. Build a small fort or play structure according to Design Guidelines and rig it up. Just remember to keep the neighbor's children off of it when you're transmitting.
Then again, there's always the Ventenna, loop antenna on the eaves, magmount on cookie sheets or spaghetti pots... the list goes on. Why complain? We're smarter and more capable than any restrictions that can be placed on our antennas. In years gone by, hams were restricted by bandwidth. In response, hams developed some of the most efficient radios ever designed for maximizing our bandwidth. This newer generation is being restricted with regards to antennas. So, in the true spirit of ham radio, we can redesign our antennas for stealth work that even the military would be jealous of.
Speaking as a ham, a HOA VP, and the Chairman of an ARC, embrace the challenge, rise above the challenge, grow through the challenge, earn respect instead of making enemies, and do what you can to have the restrictions lifted. In the meantime, antenna restrictions will only cause our hobby and our skills to grow.
Down with the restrictions! Until then, let's have some great fun letting this generation make its contributions to ham radio.
73
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by VE3WDM on February 5, 2010
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I live in a townhouse complex and antennas are a huge no no. My car was not parked in the driveway as it was full with family cars. I was in the extra parking and had to bury 90 feet of LMR 400 in the back field in poly pipe out to the car. It was a great setup just had to put the antenna on the car hookup a short coax patch cable to the LMR 400. The antenna was a Valour 4 band antenna and worked great. All was going well until the city wanted to put a pathway right in line with my coax. Came home one day to see my poly pipe exposed and workman scratching their heads as to what it was. They ended up cutting through it I tried to splice it and bury it again but water got in the coax and that was the end of that glory run.
I had that setup for about 3 years and it was a task burying the cable and most had to be done in cover of darkness but it sure worked great. Now my setup is a High sierra side kick antenna at the side of the townhouse and it only goes out during contests. It sure was not as good as the antenna on the car but Im still on the air.
Mike
VE3WDM
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by N3JQD on February 7, 2010
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I too live in a Townhouse / antenna restricted community. Fortunately, my end unit backs up to a wooded area and I don't have any neighboring houses, either next to or behind me. So, I a mounted a dipole in the trees behind the house. The coax feed runs along the ground & up the back of a tree. Most days I canot even see if it is still there. So, from the nearest road it's essentially invisible. I believe in not to tell anyone, just hang some discrete wire. My antenna works great on most HF bands and I even run an amp. No interference because everyone's TV is digitally fed here. Our HOA is extremely active, vigilant, litigious and outright obnoxious. They would attack me in a minute if they knew my wire was there. Pennsylvania recently passed legislation that allows and promotes antennas/towers. But, if one signed an agreement with the HOA upon moving into the neighborhood then the law doesn't matter. So, quitely put a wire up if you live in an HOA community. I'm going to lengthen mine as soon as spring arrives. Albeit, I must work in the stealth of night.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by WA8FOZ on February 7, 2010
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<< I too live in a Townhouse / antenna restricted community. Fortunately, my end unit backs up to a wooded area and I don't have any neighboring houses, either next to or behind me. So, I a mounted a dipole in the trees behind the house. The coax feed runs along the ground & up the back of a tree. >>
Good work. I recall hearing the story of a fellow in a similar situation. His back yard bordered on a farm that was not a part of the development. He went to the farmer and bought (or leased) a small strip of land contiguous to his yard. He put up a tower and other good things, running buried coax and such in his back yard out to his antenna farm. The association could do nothing about this. Sometimes the good guys win.
73,
Bill
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by KLEMM on February 10, 2010
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The cb anttena is a good idea. I use to use my atas
120 Yaesu scewdriver type anttena and put it on my pickup and run it into the house. No need for radial system, just the truck. I could DX and nobody could say anything.
Now I have a force 12, 16 foot flagpole and works even better. If you have tree's put up a dipole.
Good Luck,
73, Vinny
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by KB5IAV on February 10, 2010
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I've operated out of apartments/condos in the past, along with the home of my parents who thought it was great I got interested in ham radio, but the weren't so keen on antennas.
One antenna I used was a 50 foot single wire feed antenna in the attic with a homebrew antenna tuner. It loaded fine on 80-17 meters, but I had to keep the power low on 15, 12, and 10 because of RF feedback. Since 10 was hot, I put a 10 meter dipole in the attic and worked the world with it.
When I had an apartment with a balcony, I built a small wire loop, around 30 feet fed with twinlead into a balun and tuner, that could work open or closed. One night I heard a German calling CQ on 20 meter CW and on a whim, I answered it thinking he couldn't hear me, but he did. It wasn't a great performer, but it kept me on the air.
I also had am MFJ 1621 40-10 meter whip and an AEA Isoloop. Those also worked for me, and kept me on the air in apartments and condos.
Right now I have a small house and I'm still running 2 attic mount antennas, since the houses are close together need to keep it stealth. I use the Isoloop and a 60 foot half wave open loop(a dipole bent into a rectangle) fed with twinlead and it loads on 80-10 meters.
I've never tried it on 80 so I don't know how well it works there, but I have worked Colombia on 40 with it, and have worked Japan, Europe, and a lot of other DX on 17 meters. The odd thing about it is on 20 meters, it seems to not radiate much to the west coast, so I use the IsoLoop for that. I hope to get something outside soon, but for now, I'm working stealth.
Most of my hamming these days is digital modes such as PSK31, Olivia, DominoEX, FeldHell, RTTY, and any other modes I can find. With stealth antennas and low power, I'm having a good time on the air.
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K1YTG on February 11, 2010
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I am in California. Our neighborhood had a meeting on earthquake preparedness. I was assigned the responsibility to provide communications in times of emergency. So now my neighbors are fine with me putting up antennas because it is for neighborhood preparedness.
I have antennas going over their property and strung on their trees.
How about trying to get prepared for emergencies in your neighborhood. People have heard that in bad times nothing except shortwave works.
Norm
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RE: Hide in Plain Sight!
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by K6DBF on February 12, 2010
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You must have had a great time when they did room inspections.
I went to Radio School and Morse Code school in San Diego. On my duty days, I was fortunate to have to sit in the old Air Controller Tower, which overlooked the Admin Building by the CO's office. They had converted it into a Ham Shack; and my duty days consisted of sitting up their for 8 hours at a time, making as many contacts as I could. This was around 1971. Much better than mess cooking.
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by KG4RRN on February 15, 2010
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Suggestion:Get gray dull car body spray paint, or camo paint if near trees, and light blue always blends in with the sky,in sunny climates.
The military always paints antennas this way and it works.What antenna,you ask, when the neighbors knock.
I would like to see an article written by some on what they have done to hide dipoles, in the future.
The inverted L antenna is interesting, appreciate the
thought that went into that.
Copper wire also turns dark after weather has taken the shine off of it.
Remember gutters can be loaded too.
Insulating the correct length, is a challenge but can be done.
Show off those flagpole antennas, please!
73,
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