An antenna restriction any ham would love

[ae6yd]

I put up a wire dipole for 40 over the weekend, at about 7 feet between some trees and a fence behind my apartment. A couple of feet of the driven element ran over a walkway, overhead but just barely. So my apartment maintenance guy approached me today:

"The owner wouldn't like that if he paid us a visit. Can we put it up higher?"

Did I mention that he brought a ladder with him? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[AA0CX]

The owner of my apartment building let me load up my downspout/gutter -- which is right outside the patio door of my ground-level apartment. #The building is three-stories -- and the gutter portion extends horizontally about 20 feet. #It makes a nice "Inverted L." #Plus, it gets out. #See! #There ARE reasonable, nice apartment owners/managers out there. #

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[KE5FRF]

Quote[/b] (KF6CZG @ Mar. 27 2006,15:52)]I put up a wire dipole for 40 over the weekend, at about 7 feet between some trees and a fence behind my apartment. A couple of feet of the driven element ran over a walkway, overhead but just barely. So my apartment maintenance guy approached me today:

"The owner wouldn't like that if he paid us a visit. Can we put it up higher?"

Did I mention that he brought a ladder with him? #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Yeah, well I can see my busy-body neighbor fuming about my antenna all day long. Yesterday my little boy wanted to go play with her kid, and I said OK, go knock on the door and ask. He went over, and a second came back and said "Miss Erica was mean to me"...I asked him what she meant, but he said she said "what do you want?" when she answered the door. He's five... real good attitude, lady!


The crazy thing is the antenna is up only during the late evenings and a little during the weekend. She says it's an "eyesore" when it is up. Well, her birdfeeder and trampoline are higher than my fence, and I can see them from the backyard, but I haven't resorted to calling them "eyesores". One man's thing of beauty is another man's thing of ugliness, I guess. Anyway, she can get over it. I worked very hard to make it stealthy. Some of the local guys have suggested I go to another local ham's house and load up his spare tower pieces (he's got about 80 feet of Rohn tower laying horizontal in the yard that he has "future plans for")...They suggested leaving them visible on a trailor for a few days, and they said they would come over with sledgehammers and spikes and make a bunch of noise for a day or two, just to make her "wonder".

Just a possible solution for any of you guys with potential HOA issues, to shut people up.

[kl7aj]

Quote[/b] (KE5FRF @ Mar. 27 2006,14:19)]Quote[/b] (KF6CZG @ Mar. 27 2006,15:52)]I put up a wire dipole for 40 over the weekend, at about 7 feet between some trees and a fence behind my apartment. A couple of feet of the driven element ran over a walkway, overhead but just barely. So my apartment maintenance guy approached me today:

"The owner wouldn't like that if he paid us a visit. Can we put it up higher?"

Did I mention that he brought a ladder with him? #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Yeah, well I can see my busy-body neighbor fuming about my antenna all day long. Yesterday my little boy wanted to go play with her kid, and I said OK, go knock on the door and ask. He went over, and a second came back and said "Miss Erica was mean to me"...I asked him what she meant, but he said she said "what do you want?" when she answered the door. He's five... real good attitude, lady!


The crazy thing is the antenna is up only during the late evenings and a little during the weekend. She says it's an "eyesore" when it is up. Well, her birdfeeder and trampoline are higher than my fence, and I can see them from the backyard, but I haven't resorted to calling them "eyesores". One man's thing of beauty is another man's thing of ugliness, I guess. Anyway, she can get over it. I worked very hard to make it stealthy. Some of the local guys have suggested I go to another local ham's house and load up his spare tower pieces (he's got about 80 feet of Rohn tower laying horizontal in the yard that he has "future plans for")...They suggested leaving them visible on a trailor for a few days, and they said they would come over with sledgehammers and spikes and make a bunch of noise for a day or two, just to make her "wonder".

Just a possible solution for any of you guys with potential HOA issues, to shut people up.
You just need to put up the "birdfeeder from hell" http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Something that could support a Condor.

Eric

[WB2WIK]

Bird feeder antennas:

http://www.isotronantennas.com/photos1.htm

The 80m and 160m ones are very tall bird feeders.

I'd recommend you install several and see what the neighbor thinks....

WB2WIK/6

[ae6yd]

Either that, or become very patriotic and install a number of suspiciously tall flag poles. With "guy wires" strung between them. Antenna farm anyone?

[WA2ZDY]

Steve, I'd say from looking at those pics, W8USR doesn't work a lot of DX. An 80m antenna the size of a hula hoop. Yerite.

On the other hand they look like GREAT birdfeeders. Heck, they have to be good for something.

[kf6rdn]

Quote[/b] (WA2ZDY @ Mar. 27 2006,15:21)]Steve, I'd say from looking at those pics, W8USR doesn't work a lot of DX. # An 80m antenna the size of a hula hoop. Yerite.

On the other hand they look like GREAT birdfeeders. #Heck, they have to be good for something.
Maybe he's got enough of a long coax run that gets loaded up along with the "antenna".

Then again, I have pretty good luck with a magloop so who knows if that contraption works.

[ai4ep]

...could you string a di-pole between 2 trees, with an american flag hanging from the middle , and consider calling it a show of patriotism ?

just an idea....

[ae6yd]

I was toying with the idea earlier of stringing up a low dipole, hanging some towels on it and calling it a clothesline. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[PE1RDW]

be carefull at what location you put the towels, they might catch on fire when you key up http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[DK1KPP]

You could get caught in a trap with the "patriotic antenna" idea here in Germany:
If you put an atenna tower up the neighbours will call it a eyesore and consider it possible danger for their health.
If you put up a flag pole with the German flag they'll spread rumors that you are a hidden Nazi... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Meanwhile I'm a strong supporter of Thai and Chinese food, my stealth longwire runs proud from my window to the sign of the chinese restaurant in the ground floor! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
No complains so far and lots of good QSOs http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[PE1RDW]

The official dutch flag rule actualy makes it iligal to put up the dutch flag without a celibration, it gets even worse with the orange banner in top, that is only alowed on royal birthdays and queensday. the red/white/blue banner is only alowed when a member of the royal family is visiting.

However when you are on a schip it is expected that you put the flag out at stern or in the mast in the morning and take it down at night and the orange banner can stay up all the time if you have a sailing mast. But you have to remember that you use a curved flagpost on the ruder or sturn if you have a flat bottum schip.

confused yet? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[DK1KPP]

Wow! And I thought german bureaucracy is weird!
I suppose football matches count as a royal celebrations http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[PE1RDW]

They are exept when your team beats our team, but we both know the long soccer history between our nations http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I can't wait till this summer when the "legioen" and the "manshaft" will party. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[ae6yd]

PE1RDW, I'd take 'em down when keying up. Or maybe run low power and use it as an RF-powered clothes dryer! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[VE7NOT]

Funny the mention of clotheslines. My longwire on the roof here is being used as one http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

My relatives still use old maritime hf radios for communications usually on 4Mhz . Last time i was there they had it hooked up to the clothesline. I asked my uncle how it worked and he showed with a with the swr meter that it had a 1.3 match. Not bad i guess. Most of the mobiles are using ham hf antennas now http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

But yes a clothesline idea is not bad.

[WA9SVD]

Small, hula-hoop sized antennas? And a legal limit amp? Get the platter ready! Pigeon on, key the amp, roast squab done to a perfect sizzle!