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Author Topic: 35ft long stealth apartment dipole plus two other non-stealth antennas  (Read 412 times)

W5PB

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  • Posts: 33

Hi everyone - first post in this forum. I moved to an apartment almost a year ago, and came up with a way of working HF that is not optimal but seems to work for now.

I constructed a 35 foot long dipole, ran it along the outside of the apartment along the balcony floor, up the walls (hidden in the cracks) and along the ceiling. The stucco walls use a plastic mesh, so the antenna actually gets out ok. I've been able to work FT8, FT4, JS8 and WSPR on 20, 30 and 40 meters. Also a couple incomplete CW contacts, so I need to keep trying there. I haven't tried other digital modes and have written off SSB. The antenna is fed with ladder line, into an MFJ window panel that I painted and hid with a chair.

If you look closely, you can see some wire at the top left of the door, although I eventually ran that up along the wall. I was worried someone would see the ladder line and say something, but nothing happened. The shack is in the living room, directly on the other side of the wall. I usually run around 50 watts, but have pushed it up to 100 with no RFI, aside from my laptop. That was cured by extra ferrite on the USB cable and moving it a few feet away.





So a few months later, I decided to add a W6LVP receive loop. Weeks went by and no one said anything, so then I added a homebrew VHF/UHF ground plane. Still no complaints. Perhaps I got lucky.

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W6QW

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  • Posts: 462

Congratulations on your creativity.  If something is said about the loop and ground-plane, just say they're TV antennas sanctioned by the FCC OTARD regulations.

For future reference, you can purchase 0.030 aluminum welding wire and spray it with a color similar to your stucco.  You could attach it at the outside bottom corners of the deck above you and bring it down to, say, the center-point of your railing (forming a V wire element).  Attach the ladder-line between V-shaped aluminum wire element and the railing (yes, you may need to drill/tap a tiny screw attachment point or carefully scrape a bit of the paint and clamp the ladder-line wire to the railing).  The aluminum wire is virtually invisible and you will find your HF performance will be much better than the stealth wires you have against the stucco siding and metal door frame. You could also split the V-element into two sections for a V-shaped dipole.  And, of course, there are a number of other stealth possibilities.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2020, 08:58:18 AM by W6QW »
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WX7Q

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  • Posts: 150

Congratulations on your creativity.  If something is said about the loop and ground-plane, just say they're TV antennas sanctioned by the FCC OTARD regulations.

For future reference, you can purchase 0.030 aluminum welding wire and spray it with a color similar to your stucco.  You could attach it at the outside bottom corners of the deck above you and bring it down to, say, the center-point of your railing (forming a V wire element).  Attach the ladder-line between V-shaped aluminum wire element and the railing (yes, you may need to drill/tap a tiny screw attachment point or carefully scrape a bit of the paint and clamp the ladder-line wire to the railing).  The aluminum wire is virtually invisible and you will find your HF performance will be much better than the stealth wires you have against the stucco siding and metal door frame. You could also split the V-element into two sections for a V-shaped dipole.  And, of course, there are a number of other stealth possibilities.

I would like to echo W6QW thoughts. Good job. Have fun.

WX7Q
Jim
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W5PB

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  • Posts: 33

Great idea! I did think about attaching wire to the corners of the balcony above me but my ladder is rather short and I would have to really stretch to reach up there. I decided not to risk falling off but maybe if I can find a higher ladder it would be easier.
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