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Ham Talk Live! Episode 188 - Stealth Antennas and HOAs

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by WB9VPG, Oct 29, 2019.

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  1. AG7PL

    AG7PL Ham Member QRZ Page

    I am in an HOA, though admittedly I have a couple acres of land. I built up an offset-center dipole that runs from 160m through 10m, strung between four palo verde trees and across my garage, between 8 and 15 feet high. In the trees, I painted the wires and balun palo verde green, through the air sky blue, and across the garage, garage tan. Built my own balun and also a diplexer to split out the 6m band where I added a vertical dipole in the same tree as the OCD. I run about 130' of LMR-400 down the tree, underground, and then through painted conduit along the covered patio and in to the house through the eaves. Once in the house, conduit continues across a wall and pops through it to the den on the opposite side where I have my radio. Very stealthy. It's been up over a year and no one has said a word. It really is pretty much invisible - EXCEPT for one small detail I overlooked: When the sun is high in the sky, the dipole casts a shadow on the front of the garage. You can't see the wire, but the shadow gives it away for anyone in the know. Never considered shadows when I dreamed up the plot. Oh well, no problems so far, and I live in an HOA where the property manager and the president drive around the neighborhood once a month to dream up notices to spring on unsuspecting property owners. Check out my page on QRZ for pictures of the installation. Yeah, I know it is overkill, but I am retired, so I have plenty of time! 73! (BTW, I bought the home before getting in to amateur radio. Love the house and neighborhood, but want to have by fun as well.)
     
    AK5B and K3SZ like this.
  2. K1VSK

    K1VSK Ham Member QRZ Page

    The theme here is that you should petition Congress to alter your wife’s opinion when it conflicts with other peoples’.
     
  3. AK5B

    AK5B XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Good to see that you were wise enough to include flat paint in appropriate shades that match your surroundings around your clandestine antenna. Blending in instead of standing out never hurts, especially where antennas are concerned (fascist HOA or not).

    "What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't yearn [to prohibit.] (old HOAn proverb)

    Very nice job and well thought out in advance (and I wouldn't worry too much about the wire shadow across your garage; it's virtually impossible to know or predict every aspect in advance of any installation).

    Two thumbs up!


    Lord Stealth
    17th Earl of Camouflage
     
    N7RZG and WA2LXB like this.
  4. KI7FQR

    KI7FQR Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Being a member of an HOA and a ham, creativity is the key. I have a long wire hidden among the trees and a hex beam in the back yard that rests below the roof profile. Antennas can't be seen from the street and the monitors that drive around hunting for weeds and trash containers left out past collection times are pretty lazy as they are after the obvious violations. Final key is maintaining a good relationship with the neighbors.
     
    AK5B likes this.
  5. W8LV

    W8LV Ham Member QRZ Page

  6. NG3P

    NG3P Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    When I first got my license, I lived in a third-floor apartment with a balcony on the back side of the building. It faced a small parking lot, but on the other side of the lot was a nice stand of trees. I had two issues to solve: 2m/440cm operation and HF operation. The complex didn't allow antennas, and were picky about what you could have on your balcony, so it was a challenge.

    For 2m/440cm, I first tried a copper J-pole on a stand on the balcony. It was fairly close to the brick outer wall, so I found some fleck-textured Rustoleum spray paint that matched the color of the brick, and once painted, you couldn't see the thing against the brick unless you knew where to look and the light was just right. It got out really well, too. Except that my downstairs neighbor complained to us about the 2m part being heard on his clock radio. He worked nights, so he slept during the day, and really hated getting woken up by a 2m QSO coming through his clock radio. He'd bang on the ceiling with a hammer to get my attention. So I did a bit of research, and came up with another solution: a Moxon loop, built into a wooden lattice garden privacy screen. Actually two of them, one at each end of the balcony, zip-tied to the railing. Other people had done that so they could sit out on their balconies without being subject to peering eyes from other balconies. I made the Moxon out of 18ga hookup wire, with an X-shaped crossbrace of 1/4" wood dowels, hung on the inner surface of one privacy screen. It worked like a champ into the local repeaters, and the emission pattern kept it from getting into the building, and thus, the neighbor never complained again.

    Now it was HF's turn. I shot some magnet wire into those trees on the other side of the parking lot, and tied off the end to a small dowel as an insulator. This was tied to the other privacy screen with twine, and the whole thing was invisible from more than 10 feet away. I carefully dropped another magnet wire down behind a downspout next to my balcony, where it was completely hidden. This whole mess connected to a random-wire tuner inside the apartment, and then to my rig. I made a lot of good HF contacts on that antenna, including Europe. If the weather tore down the magnet wire, I just shot a new one into the trees. A year later, we moved into the house we have now, that sits on 2/3's of an acre with a few trees. One of the absolute non-negotiable issues was that we would buy NO HOUSE with an HOA or deed covenants and restrictions. We've never had a problem here. I have two main antennas, a W3EDP end-fed wire, that goes from a 5' mast attached to a disused chimney down to an equally-disused clothesline pole in the backyard, and a Comet CHA-250b vertical on a tilt-down base and wall-mounts on our mudroom, with a 25' Channel Master telescoping mast to loft it. Both antennas are invisible to the street out front, so nobody has any reason to complain, even if there WAS an HOA.

    I already knew about the evils of an HOA gone power-mad from a townhouse I owned before I moved to where I am now. An HOA can be very useful for maintaining common areas and managing services like lawn care and snow removal. But when they start looking for things to fine you for, and have the power to kick you out of your place and rent it out to recoup any association assessments you may be behind in paying, that's where I draw the line. The one I dealt with was also outright corrupt, getting kickbacks from vendors under the table and filling the pockets of the old fart who'd been president of it for years. They ripped off the money being used for common areas, going so far as to approve some roof repairs at one price, but then arranging for kickbacks by allowing the contractor to use sub-par materials. When an HOA is honest and fair, they can be an asset. But too often, the power corrupts those in charge, and it quickly turns into a despotic mess.
     
    WY7BG, AK5B and WA2LXB like this.
  7. W4SEX

    W4SEX Ham Member QRZ Page

    That's no solution for me living in a Condo complex
     
  8. AK5B

    AK5B XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Obviously not, while thinking like that. Where's there's a will there's always a way.

    Example: MFJ-935 with an 8.5' length of HVAC quarter-inch soft copper bent into a loop and both ends attached to the terminals on the back. That temporary installation will get you on 10-12-15-17-20 meters reasonably well from your patio table, balcony or condo common area for up to 150-watt QSOs.

    There are many other possibilities available to any ham willing to undertake a bit of stealth, cleverness and ingenuity---almost too numerous to list, but with a bit of searching they will become readily apparent.
     
    WA2LXB likes this.
  9. WA2LXB

    WA2LXB XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    See the first page of this thread...4th post down-tons of links. If there isn't a solution in there for you then I'll concede that you must be living amongst the RF Police. If that is the case, get yourself a screwdriver antenna and operate from the comfort of your mobile QTH;)
     
    AK5B likes this.
  10. W4SEX

    W4SEX Ham Member QRZ Page

    I was specifically speaking of the big TW antenna that I quoted him on.
     
  11. AK5B

    AK5B XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    OK, I guess a big 8-foot tall antenna that sets up/breaks down in 5 minutes is indeed out of the question...sorry!

    Perhaps a 2 or 3 -foot loop/MFJ 935 box on a tabletop might just squeeze in to your space, instead?

    There's always the "stick a hamstick or screwdriver on your car and run the feedline into the house" trick to consider, too.

    Both work reasonably well for temporary, occasional HF ops. Don't give up the ship, at any rate.

    Good luck; sounds like you'll need it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2019
  12. KD2SVR

    KD2SVR Ham Member QRZ Page

    MFJ <and Others> offer loop antennas that are small enough for inside use. Any have experience with these < used Inside the QTH>. 73's Dave KD2SVR
     

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