I’ve been lucky in the two HOAs I’ve dealt with. I currently have a 1/4-wave stealth wire vertical and an MFJ 10m Moxon concealed and camouflaged in the trees in our backyard. I’m lucky to have the trees because since I’m on a corner lot, people can drive not just along the front of the property, but up/down one side of it. All the trees do a great job, so if you’ve got trees, you’ve got the perfect place for at least wire antennas. I also have an MFJ-1786 mag loop that is painted and kind-of disguised as yard art/kids’ plaything on top of a 12-foot pole in the backyard. Still conceal from the streets, but I have a cover story. And it doesn’t look like an antenna to the layman, so that makes it nice. I’ve also run a wire loop all the way around the house on the eaves of the roof, about 12 feet off the ground, used it on 75m for a while. Used an MFJ tuner and fed it with twin lead. Check out my QRZ page and look at the map of my QTH, you’ll see what I mean in re the trees.
In my previous QTH, we lived in an end-unit townhome that backed up to a greenbelt. Along with the MFJ mag loop on that same 12-foot pole secured horizontally to the deck railing with pipe clamps, I made a 40m inverted V, with the feedpoint at the eaves of the roof right outside my 3rd floor bedroom window, and the two lengths of wire going out into that greenbelt. Nobody said anything, heck even — I — could barely see it or notice it unless I knew exactly where to look.
So, overall, wire is probably the *first* route to consider since it can be very thin and therefore easy to hide in plain sight, but your mileage may vary, so the designs mentioned above are as legit as any other. Having trees and other shielding from the street definitely helps. If you’ve got trees, a vertical (either wire or properly painted) is a great idea, on the verge of being a “no-brainer.” But start small and take your time. It may take a few weekends, you don’t want to be seen outside all day and attract attention. Write down your plan — makes it much easier!!! This way you don’t attract attention and get the lookie-loos curious. After you get one up, just operate with that one for awhile, making sure you don’t get talk about interference, nosey neighbors, etc. Read your HOA newsletter, and attend a meeting to make sure no one is voicing any complaints. Check out your neighborhoods Nextdoor website if they have one, for people asking questions or complaining. After a few months with not a peep from anyone, put up another one if you want. Gotta pretend you’re a secret communicator behind enemy lines!
Jeff, KF5KWO