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Author Topic: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.  (Read 1961 times)

W8LV

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Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« on: July 24, 2019, 12:44:24 PM »

Now temporarily located on Holidays Deep in HOA Occupied Territory in the "Sunshine State" (where it is raining most of the time) but always on Covert Antenna Projects Assignment...I wanted to pass on this suggestion, based on my observation of the general construction techniques observed here:

If you live in one of those Gawd Awful Condos, Radials would go nicely in the the little decorative rock and shell "Garden" next to your place.
No Problem there....

The Vertical?

Got a tall section of wood moulding as part of the "decorative" part of the dwelling?
Well, you MIGHT consider placing a wire right in the corner of where it joins the outside wall, and you might just caulk it in place.

You might be able to temporarily affix it easily with superglue or something from near the top most window until the caulking sets.

If the insulation on the wire is white, it's going to stay mostly hidden as the caulking ages..
Caveat Emptor....this is just a suggestion based on my observations. Try at your own risk... Your mileage may vary...

73 DE W8LV BILL
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K1VSK

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2019, 02:43:10 PM »

You are suggesting use of common area placement of an antenna which is almost universally not allowed REGARDLESS of whether it is an HOA.

That’s “collusion”
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W1BR

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2019, 03:09:58 PM »

OMG!!! Call Mueller, quick!!
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K1VSK

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2019, 06:44:02 PM »

Mueller called. He thinks the League will petition the FCC to define ‘no antennas’ to exclude concealed carry antennas and then write a 400 page summary which leads to nothing  for Congress to investigate for three years.
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N8AUC

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2019, 06:52:46 PM »

That's beautiful!

How well would it work, *IF* you were to do something like that?

73 de N8AUC
Eric
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W8LV

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2019, 09:23:25 PM »

No ...

That's called beating the HOA Man.
And it's a Beautiful Thing!

Just like placing an antenna in the Attic.
Which works.
In spite of the foil.

And Wait... There's More!

Over and above the "Caulked Vertical".....
"Someone" just might be able to "caulk up" a 20 Metre Half Square this way...
Right under the Nose of the HOA Jackboots!

May Caulked Antennas, J-Poles Camouflaged in patio flowerpots and Ventennas come to YOUR HOT soon!

As it keeps raining down here in the "Sunshine" State,
I will keep adding to my notebook of ideas, looking again at these structures and pass them along.

Sleep Tight and don't worry too much about mods to Part 97!

73 DE W8LV BILL

« Last Edit: July 24, 2019, 09:27:38 PM by W8LV »
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ONAIR

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2019, 09:51:19 PM »

Conductive tape would be easier to install and take down!  You can still beat the HOAs in Florida!   Check here:  www.K4VRC.com
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W8LV

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2019, 10:41:28 PM »

Conductive Tape...Another good idea!

And From Russia (and Canada!), with Love:

Here's more on the Half Square!

http://www.antentop.org/w4rnl.001/scv4.html

Wow! Antentop has lots of Ham reading material for the Prospective Ham in YOUR HOA Neighbourhood:
And Get This: It's Free! What a Revolutionary Idea!

www.antentop.org

I see that one of the ways to feed the Half Square is from an upstairs corner window...

Wait...I see The Future: A Ham Shack in a Townhouse right in the middle of an HOA Occupied Territory in the Land of Fla!

THANKS, Antentop! You Rock!

It seems that Igor GRIGOROV, VA3ZNW, (ex: UA3ZNW, UZ3ZK, RK3ZK) put this whole free Ham mag thing together...
THANKS Igor!


73 DE W8LV BILL
« Last Edit: July 24, 2019, 11:02:19 PM by W8LV »
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K1VSK

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2019, 05:57:26 AM »

Modifying or defacing property belonging to others as described above usually results in a tort claim. Interesting to see someone advocate violating enforceable rules thereby subjecting the violator to punitive actions simply to play with an inanimate object. It takes all kinds...
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W1BR

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2019, 07:07:27 AM »

Depends on how that HOA defines common use area.  A hidden wire on the structure surface may not violate rules.

You can always put up a fake OTA antenna, and the feedline as the HF radiator.  But, I would not run more than QRP in that situation for several reasons.

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AC2RY

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2019, 07:53:09 AM »



You might be able to temporarily affix it easily with superglue or something from near the top most window until the caulking sets.

If the insulation on the wire is white, it's going to stay mostly hidden as the caulking ages..
Caveat Emptor....this is just a suggestion based on my observations. Try at your own risk... Your mileage may vary...

73 DE W8LV BILL

Any antenna close to a structure will give you nothing other than solid S9 noise on all bands. So forget about it. The only way I know to hide antenna in COMMON AREA is when that said area is a patch of wild forest (I had wire antennas set up that way for two years). Other than that your only likely option is to blend vertical between trees on YOUR part of the property - you can use fibreglass pole with wire inside properly camouflaged to be almost invisible until someone stumbles into it.
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W3WN

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2019, 09:17:36 AM »

You are suggesting use of common area placement of an antenna which is almost universally not allowed REGARDLESS of whether it is an HOA.
< snip >
Not necessarily.

Depending on how the dwelling in question is constructed, and what parts of the outside area that are being considered for such use are setup. it's possible that the potential "caulk line" that would hide the hypothetical antenna might be within the owned or controlled by the occupant, and not within the "common area"

For example, my wife's uncle had a 2 story townhouse-style condo (for business purposes, of course) on a golf course in KP4.  The back of the first floor had a small enclosed patio that led to the (common use) pool.  A stealth antenna such as the one proposed could easily have been hidden within the siding along that back of the building, while staying entirely within the portion of the townhouse under the owner's control.

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Ban The DH!
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W8LV

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2019, 06:21:17 PM »

"Any antenna close to a structure will give you nothing other than solid S9 noise on all bands."

This just isn't True in many cases. As a matter of fact, some hams have indoor loops simply thumbtacked up,  or behind molding.

I'm still looking at the condo structures here deep in the "Sunshine" State, with it raining off and on all day, and all night. One thing Ham Radio teaches you is to be observant, adapt and overcome.
Doing the End Run around HOT Masters right under their very snouts from inside The Belly of the Beast really IS a fun and productive way to spend a rainy day or two, and it beats daytime TV. Or Anytime TV.

My Observations:
A lot of retrofitted security cameras, long runs in external conduit.
Possibilities here for a "camera" that isn't a working camera. Or one that works only when you want it to.
So there's a long conductor. You could modify it after any "inspections" and nobody is likely to mess around with it afterwards: After all, it's a "Camera".

There are a lot of hollow columns all over the place in general.
Some are wood. Some are fibreglass.

I'm rather surprised at the multitude of these "false" columns,
Both square and round. They seem like potential Termite Havens to me.

Speaking of "Termites" and Cameras, someone might even use a drill and use a cheap Harbor Freight Snake Camera to make a "close inspection" of such a column. To see if any termites are dwelling there, and to make double sure that there isn't any load bearing members under the decorative wood. Before dropping an antenna wire down there...And then CAULK that hole up!

A Wired "Security System" offers a lot of... Well... Wire that could be used for an antenna.
This "Security System" would have no monthly payments, and ensure "Security" from HOA Jackboots.
It might even do "double service" as far as that goes if things were done right...Consider the Foil Idea that someone else mentioned a few posts ago...

Orange Cords might be left outside at times.. . They are nice jacketed flexible conductors. You just might find one laying out on a balcony. It's readily moved in an out of doors and "hides" in plain site.

Got a big screened pool area? The Land of Fla seems to be LOADED with them. It might be metal. Or the frame. Or you might mount "lights" inside of it.

An enclosed screen porch or any screening really obscures the vision. They use a lot of back coloured screen in these parts.

Zip ties are your friends. And also, those double sided velcro thingies that are strong and can be done AND undone repeatedly might be your BETTER Friends.

Fancy that, I see the Security Golf Cart heading this way...

73 DE W8LV BILL




« Last Edit: July 25, 2019, 06:44:44 PM by W8LV »
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N8AUC

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2019, 08:44:47 AM »

Fancy that, I see the Security Golf Cart heading this way...

73 DE W8LV BILL

I hope you aren't about to get "busted" by "the man'.   ;)
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W8LV

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RE: Hiding Antenna in caulking as a possibility.
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2019, 01:19:52 PM »

Nah... HAM strength is Cerebral. Our side is all quarterbacks, and the HOA Jackboots have nothing but linemen. And now it's "Day 2", as he keeps puttering around in his little "Security" Golf Cart, complete with prerequisite Sécurité "badge"...

As I'm not well dressed (even worse than the Quintessential Tourist) I suppose he wonders what I am going to steal or something? But for this "I'm a Real Cop in my fantasies" Guy, it's Much Worse… I am "Thinking" which is quite a Superior Weapon. So while he doesn't know it... It's much more akin to Homo Sapiens vs. Neanderthal…

My Wife wants to move here.
But it's a puzzlement to me why anyone would pay over $250,000 US for a living space that must be less than sixty square metres, tops, in a place that's prone to hurricanes where it seems to rain every day, and statistically has the most lightning in the Country. And then there's the bugs…And I'm told: Sinkholes! But to Each his own, I guess!

I'd rather stay in Ohio. And dodge a Tornado now and then. And fish from the old Sandusky Bay Bridge. Plus, I don't want to sell a perfectly good Snow Blower (which has a built in headlight which makes it awesome) and lose money on that. But, the Pity of it is: That Wives get the Final Say on dwellings. Always. Always! It's their "nest", even long after the kids have grown up. I suppose it's Primal.

I continue to sip on a beer and listen to the Tecsun PL-660 Shortwave (Great Little Radio for Short Money!) that I bought along.

And Think…

I am also of the Opinion here based on my Observations, that Ice Fishing here must really suck...
Just my take!

73 DE W8LV BILL









« Last Edit: July 26, 2019, 01:24:44 PM by W8LV »
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