Very creative! Some Ham's do NOT understand what living in an HOA controlled neighborhood is like and are quick to judge. I totally understand as I live in a VERY strict HOA gated community. You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't have a clue what an HOA is in the first place...lol! Reminds me of what many long-time Hams told me when I got my Novice license, "Stop your whining and string up a damn wire and get on the air"! So I applaud your ingenuity!
Nice video, glad you're on the air!!! I'm in a townhouse with an HOA. I strung a 30' 20 gauge wire, with black insulation, on a tree branch that extends over my back yard. At the bottom of the wire I have an Icom AH-4 automatic antenna tuner, an 8' ground rod pounded in about 7.5', and good lightning protection on the coax. So far so good. I stay on 20 and 40 meters, mostly stateside, Canada, and Mexico on SSB. You might find the wire and the tuner would work out better for you, no need to take it down, and it's even harder to see! At any rate, your video does prove that you don't need a lot of expensive stuff to get a functional antenna up!
I live in the woods here on a few acres . No restrictions whatsoever but I am getting older and it is getting increasingly more difficult to take care of the property . I will however do it until I cant anymore and may be faced with a similar situation that you have there . you are working around things to the best of your ability I see . It would appear that living in a restricted space would also require some patience as well . I lived on base Housing when I was in the military and they would actually measure your grass and send you a letter telling you if it needed cutting . An HOA situation would be reminiscent of that and would be difficult for me to adapt to that again especially after so many years of being free to basically do whatever I want here . With that being said I have been looking into many types of stealthy antenna systems for future operation . I am primarily a HF CW operator which makes thing interesting . I have also considered a small RV HAM shack on wheels . I backpack and do S.O.T.A. and remote areas . I also am mainly a QRP operator so even a little stealthy station could be set up in a small apartment without to much worry of RFI . Anyway I enjoyed your video . It was thought provoking for me ....
You go boy! Man, I used to use 80 mt off brand (Workman, actually very good, my preferred hamstick brand because they're hollow, and more forgiving) hamstick dipoles. With a goooood tuner I was working stateside stations, especially during contests. Not like my full sized antennas now but I was on the air having a blast. I started out with a 17mtr hamstick dipole on the chimney, and made my first HF contact with it. I stll remember it vividly and got the card. Then I rolled an ugly balun, put it all on a TV rotor on the chimney and was working DXPeditions in the South Pacific during solar minimum. I got my Worked All Continents with it and about 2/3 way to DXCC, and that was with no digital work at the time, maybe a little CW, just can't remember. People are always going to look down on you! Especially if you haven't joined the StepIR + Elacraft + kilowatt club. Even if they hear you fine as soon as they find out what you're using, then they'll just have to criticize! I actually had more fun in many ways back then on a shoestring, figuring out what I could make work than I do now. You got a excellent setup! You'll be prouder of every contact you make there with that setup than any of the ones after you get a beam and an amp! Get some QSL cards printed up too and confirm some of your cooler contacts, even stateside ones. Put their cards in your book and keep them for life. Make notes in your logs so you can remember the really cool or difficult contacts you pulled off and with what in what conditions. You'll LOVE reading back through them years later. I worked Jim Smith, VK9NS, one night just before he died. I had an old 10/11 meter vertical antenna rigged up and loaded up on 20 mts that if I had asked anyone they would have told me it wouldn't work. Furthermore I was tuning around the 20 mtr band in the middle of the night during the deadest solar minimum ever and found a couple of VKs having a conversation. I just listened in for a while (because they were the ONLY stations on the entire band) until they finished up, gave him a call and heard my call come back! I made the contact, chatted for just a minute and scratched it all down in my paper log, which I still have, and sent him one of my home made QSL cards not having a clue who I just worked. In about a month I got his card in the mail, filled out in his hand, confirming the contact with him on Norfolk Is. I proudly stashed it away in my near empty little QSL box and thought little more about it. Some time later I had the chore of taking the XYL to the eye doc or dentist or some appointment and on my way out of the house I grabbed one of the old QST or CQ magazines out of a stack that someone had donated to me, to read during her appt. While flipping through the magazine I came across an article with cool looking black and white photos of a 3 man DXPed that Jim, his wife, and another ham made to Willis Island VK9WW in 1992. I enjoyed the article and photos very much and then breezed through the rest of the magazine until time to go. But something kept my mind going back to that article. When I got home I pulled out my logs and found that contact. It was the guy in the article! I retrieved the QSL card and paid more attention this time and noticed the "Heard Island DX Association" on the card. Now quite intetested I did a search or two and started reading about this guy, and he had been there and done that and much more! He and a couple others even traveled to P5 and introduced Amateur Radio to the leader(s) of North Korea before the country was completely closed off to the rest of the world. A truly fascinating well lived life. BTW all hams should get and read his book 'The Old Timer 60 Years In Amateur Radio'. Anyway I have the pleasure of having a true legend in my log! And he was a damn nice guy who took the time to work a new ham that (I) didn't know that I wasn't even supposed to be able to do with that equipment especially under those conditions! I guess my point is to just work whatever you got and can get/have, have fun, don't let anybody talk you out of it, and the MAGIC will happen! 73, Bill
Just got general license. This seems perfect for me. I was looking for a mobile solution for HF. All mobile screwdriver antenna is upward of $300. Frankly i don't see myself operating HF while driving. This will be easy to throw in the trunk and quickly set up
I have several videos on my experience with Mobile HF. I don't, sadly, have a screwdriver, but have good-enough luck with Hamsticks and Opek HVU-100 mobile antennas on a trunk-lip mount.
and remington attac mount that antenna will help alot and two you only need about 4 counter poise for each band uplan on i study and try diffrent mount and i found 4 cut right at the resdent freq works great
In many RV parks antennas are also against the rules, but for the most part, I have never been bothered yet as I am a QRP man and TVI is a problem mostly of the past. I do get billions of birdies from PWM charge converters though so I am in the process of setting up for Parks on the Air which involves less QRN and more fresh air, LOL. Cheers, Dave - KU9L
Interesting antenna! I'm looking for one that self tunes all bands as I'm retired and don't want to be chasing out to the garden to re-tune for every band.
I took 28' of solid copper, and ran it up the main trunk of my silver maple tree in my yard. At the base, it is fed with an Alpha Antennas FMJ balun. It is totally invisible and it kicks the shit out of the Hustler 4BTV I had 10 years ago.
I have the same issue with HOA. So I used camo paint to make the antenna blend in with the background of trees in my back yard. It seems to blend in pretty well and the neighborhood Ghestapo has not written me a nasty gram to take it down since putting it up three years ago..
@@bobsullivan5714 Got a loop antenna in the attic and nothing the HOA can do about that. The key words to your comment "reasonably accommodate" have different meanings to different people. What may be reasonable to me may not be reasonable to the HOA. I've already been down that way in the courts. Until congress passes a comprehensive bill to over ride HOA restrictions, we all will be SOL.
@@jarmstrong2843 It's worth sending a Letter of Demand to the HOA.....Attorneys fees would be minimal .... The FCC Regs. are a good argument worth making. What it comes down to is giving the HOA a choice of either fighting a battle ....or not. Personally, I would NEVER buy property that included a HOA.....
Bob Sullivan Like I mentioned, I have already been down that road and it cost me plenty in legal fees. No use trying to fight city hall ,so to speak, when the deck is already stacked.
@@jarmstrong2843 I am enclosing the following information as a service to others following this comment thread. This is a portion of the information contained in the following link: B. Antennas Permitted without a Discretionary Permit. The following amateur radio antennas are permitted as accessory uses in all districts without approval of a discretionary permit: 1. Enclosed Antennas. Antennas completely enclosed within a building. 2. Single-Wire Antennas. An antenna consisting of a single wire not exceeding one-fourth inch in diameter. Such wire antennas may be located in setback areas provided the antenna does not extend above the maximum building height in the district. 3. Vertical Antennas. A single ground-mounted vertical pole or whip antenna not exceeding 42 feet in height, measured from finish grade at the base of the antenna, and not located in any required setback area. Support structures or masts for pole or whip antennas shall conform to standards set out in the California Building Standards Code. A building permit may be required for the support structure or mast. Source link: www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
I have a Hustler 75m coil, and looking at your video, I wonder if I could add that to my 17’ telescopic whip. 10-20m with the whip, add the Hustler coil to get 40m and 80m? Ideas? Oh. I have an MFJ auto-tuner.
Put a flag at the top of the antenna and if they (HOA) complains just tell them it is your flag pole. I live in an HOA and they have accepted the flag pole story for why I have a 33 foot vertical in my backyard.
Would it work to encase the vertical antenna inside of a larger PVC pipe? Such as a Hy-Gain AV014AVQ 40 - 10 meter, 18 foot vertical antenna? The larger PVC pipe would be ground mounted and would look like a patriotic flagpole.
Brilliant Reply 😊😉😂...It often amazes me how it's called the land of the free yet they have Pen Pushing idiot's making up Rules and Regulations to stop the poor Hams having a bit of Enjoyment yet we are all being Irradiated by the Microwave RF from Mobile Phones and WiFi Routers, I would much rather live next to a Nice Ham Radio Tower than than stick a Microwave Emmiting Mobile Phone next to my head...It's a No Brainer.
A friend of mine has this exact back yard including fence. We put an alpha delta dx cc dipole on the wood fence and I swear we work the world and it plays well on 75 really well. 10-15-20-40-75 you would probably want to throw this in the corner of the yard after trying the dxcc. lol improvised hams 😉
It's a few hundred watts SSB (I think) and like 50 watts digital. I since replaced it with a Silver Bullet 1000, and though it's rated for something like 300 Watts SSB, I put more then 500 watts into it with no problems (just be aware of your keydown time). I probably wouldn't try to put more than 70 watts digital into it, though.
Check out my 80 meter z antenna video and send it to any ham that has a small yard like you the antenna is for small yards get a polley wheel hang it in the tree it be easy to lower
Very neat ! I moved from Florida were we lived in a retirement mobile home park and know just what you are up agents Now we moved to SC and have 2 acres with no restrictions YEA ! :). Will enjoy watching your videos pls ck me out here on you tube k1zek well 73 keep having fun. 73 good on QRZ and You Tube O yes 160 -70cm HI HI k
If you're referring to the comment in the video I think you are, I felt that LMR 400 was probably overkill for a 30-foot run to an already well feed-point matched antenna, but I used it anyway! If I remember correctly, it was only about $40 on ebay for 30-feet.
Very creative! Some Ham's do NOT understand what living in an HOA controlled neighborhood is like and are quick to judge. I totally understand as I live in a VERY strict HOA gated community. You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't have a clue what an HOA is in the first place...lol! Reminds me of what many long-time Hams told me when I got my Novice license, "Stop your whining and string up a damn wire and get on the air"! So I applaud your ingenuity!
Yes they do, that’s why they don’t live in one! HOA is not even an option, very anti American.
Nice video, glad you're on the air!!! I'm in a townhouse with an HOA. I strung a 30' 20 gauge wire, with black insulation, on a tree branch that extends over my back yard. At the bottom of the wire I have an Icom AH-4 automatic antenna tuner, an 8' ground rod pounded in about 7.5', and good lightning protection on the coax. So far so good. I stay on 20 and 40 meters, mostly stateside, Canada, and Mexico on SSB. You might find the wire and the tuner would work out better for you, no need to take it down, and it's even harder to see! At any rate, your video does prove that you don't need a lot of expensive stuff to get a functional antenna up!
I live in the woods here on a few acres . No restrictions whatsoever but I am getting older and it is getting increasingly more difficult to take care of the property . I will however do it until I cant anymore and may be faced with a similar situation that you have there . you are working around things to the best of your ability I see . It would appear that living in a restricted space would also require some patience as well . I lived on base Housing when I was in the military and they would actually measure your grass and send you a letter telling you if it needed cutting . An HOA situation would be reminiscent of that and would be difficult for me to adapt to that again especially after so many years of being free to basically do whatever I want here . With that being said I have been looking into many types of stealthy antenna systems for future operation . I am primarily a HF CW operator which makes thing interesting . I have also considered a small RV HAM shack on wheels . I backpack and do S.O.T.A. and remote areas . I also am mainly a QRP operator so even a little stealthy station could be set up in a small apartment without to much worry of RFI . Anyway I enjoyed your video . It was thought provoking for me ....
You go boy!
Man, I used to use 80 mt off brand (Workman, actually very good, my preferred hamstick brand because they're hollow, and more forgiving) hamstick dipoles. With a goooood tuner I was working stateside stations, especially during contests. Not like my full sized antennas now but I was on the air having a blast.
I started out with a 17mtr hamstick dipole on the chimney, and made my first HF contact with it. I stll remember it vividly and got the card. Then I rolled an ugly balun, put it all on a TV rotor on the chimney and was working DXPeditions in the South Pacific during solar minimum. I got my Worked All Continents with it and about 2/3 way to DXCC, and that was with no digital work at the time, maybe a little CW, just can't remember.
People are always going to look down on you! Especially if you haven't joined the StepIR + Elacraft + kilowatt club. Even if they hear you fine as soon as they find out what you're using, then they'll just have to criticize!
I actually had more fun in many ways back then on a shoestring, figuring out what I could make work than I do now.
You got a excellent setup! You'll be prouder of every contact you make there with that setup than any of the ones after you get a beam and an amp!
Get some QSL cards printed up too and confirm some of your cooler contacts, even stateside ones. Put their cards in your book and keep them for life. Make notes in your logs so you can remember the really cool or difficult contacts you pulled off and with what in what conditions. You'll LOVE reading back through them years later.
I worked Jim Smith, VK9NS, one night just before he died. I had an old 10/11 meter vertical antenna rigged up and loaded up on 20 mts that if I had asked anyone they would have told me it wouldn't work. Furthermore I was tuning around the 20 mtr band in the middle of the night during the deadest solar minimum ever and found a couple of VKs having a conversation. I just listened in for a while (because they were the ONLY stations on the entire band) until they finished up, gave him a call and heard my call come back! I made the contact, chatted for just a minute and scratched it all down in my paper log, which I still have, and sent him one of my home made QSL cards not having a clue who I just worked. In about a month I got his card in the mail, filled out in his hand, confirming the contact with him on Norfolk Is. I proudly stashed it away in my near empty little QSL box and thought little more about it. Some time later I had the chore of taking the XYL to the eye doc or dentist or some appointment and on my way out of the house I grabbed one of the old QST or CQ magazines out of a stack that someone had donated to me, to read during her appt. While flipping through the magazine I came across an article with cool looking black and white photos of a 3 man DXPed that Jim, his wife, and another ham made to Willis Island VK9WW in 1992. I enjoyed the article and photos very much and then breezed through the rest of the magazine until time to go. But something kept my mind going back to that article. When I got home I pulled out my logs and found that contact. It was the guy in the article! I retrieved the QSL card and paid more attention this time and noticed the "Heard Island DX Association" on the card. Now quite intetested I did a search or two and started reading about this guy, and he had been there and done that and much more! He and a couple others even traveled to P5 and introduced Amateur Radio to the leader(s) of North Korea before the country was completely closed off to the rest of the world. A truly fascinating well lived life. BTW all hams should get and read his book 'The Old Timer 60 Years In Amateur Radio'.
Anyway I have the pleasure of having a true legend in my log! And he was a damn nice guy who took the time to work a new ham that (I) didn't know that I wasn't even supposed to be able to do with that equipment especially under those conditions!
I guess my point is to just work whatever you got and can get/have, have fun, don't let anybody talk you out of it, and the MAGIC will happen!
73, Bill
Nicely done. You can do much, with little, if you try. Good to hear from you.
I use same configuration with this antenna and Wolf River coil. It's a very good system.
I recently upgraded to the Wolf River Coil! It does work better I think. Here's my video on it: th-cam.com/video/p7P4ugDY7fs/w-d-xo.html
Just got general license. This seems perfect for me. I was looking for a mobile solution for HF. All mobile screwdriver antenna is upward of $300. Frankly i don't see myself operating HF while driving. This will be easy to throw in the trunk and quickly set up
I have several videos on my experience with Mobile HF. I don't, sadly, have a screwdriver, but have good-enough luck with Hamsticks and Opek HVU-100 mobile antennas on a trunk-lip mount.
and remington attac mount that antenna will help alot and two you only need about 4 counter poise for each band uplan on i study and try diffrent mount and i found 4 cut right at the resdent freq works great
In many RV parks antennas are also against the rules, but for the most part, I have never been bothered yet as I am a QRP man and TVI is a problem mostly of the past. I do get billions of birdies from PWM charge converters though so I am in the process of setting up for Parks on the Air which involves less QRN and more fresh air, LOL. Cheers, Dave - KU9L
Interesting antenna! I'm looking for one that self tunes all bands as I'm retired and don't want to be chasing out to the garden to re-tune for every band.
I painted my aluminum vertical a flat, dull dark brown. That made it a lot harder to see. Should work for you, too.
I took 28' of solid copper, and ran it up the main trunk of my silver maple tree in my yard. At the base, it is fed with an Alpha Antennas FMJ balun. It is totally invisible and it kicks the shit out of the Hustler 4BTV I had 10 years ago.
I have the same issue with HOA. So I used camo paint to make the antenna blend in with the background of trees in my back yard. It seems to blend in pretty well and the neighborhood Ghestapo has not written me a nasty gram to take it down since putting it up three years ago..
FCC Federal regulations now require HOA's to "REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE" amateur radio antennas.....Research it and advise your HOA accordingly.
@@bobsullivan5714
Got a loop antenna in the attic and nothing the HOA can do about that.
The key words to your comment "reasonably accommodate" have different meanings to different people. What may be reasonable to me may not be reasonable to the HOA. I've already been down that way in the courts. Until congress passes a comprehensive bill to over ride HOA restrictions, we all will be SOL.
@@jarmstrong2843
It's worth sending a Letter of Demand to the HOA.....Attorneys fees would be minimal ....
The FCC Regs. are a good argument worth making. What it comes down to is giving the HOA a choice of either fighting a battle ....or not.
Personally, I would NEVER buy property that included a HOA.....
Bob Sullivan
Like I mentioned, I have already been down that road and it cost me plenty in legal fees. No use trying to fight city hall ,so to speak, when the deck is already stacked.
@@jarmstrong2843
I am enclosing the following information as a service to others following this comment thread. This is a portion of the information contained in the following link:
B. Antennas Permitted without a Discretionary Permit. The following amateur radio antennas are permitted as accessory uses in all districts without approval of a discretionary permit:
1. Enclosed Antennas. Antennas completely enclosed within a building.
2. Single-Wire Antennas. An antenna consisting of a single wire not exceeding one-fourth inch in diameter. Such wire antennas may be located in setback areas provided the antenna does not extend above the maximum building height in the district.
3. Vertical Antennas. A single ground-mounted vertical pole or whip antenna not exceeding 42 feet in height, measured from finish grade at the base of the antenna, and not located in any required setback area. Support structures or masts for pole or whip antennas shall conform to standards set out in the California Building Standards Code. A building permit may be required for the support structure or mast.
Source link:
www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
all so get you inline swr input would go from swr to the swr antenna then out put goes to the antenna
I am using a CB half wave ground plane and a manual antenna tuner for 6 10 11 12 17 20 30 40 60 80 and 160. Can't get a good SWR on 15.
I have a Hustler 75m coil, and looking at your video, I wonder if I could add that to my 17’ telescopic whip. 10-20m with the whip, add the Hustler coil to get 40m and 80m? Ideas? Oh. I have an MFJ auto-tuner.
Put a flag at the top of the antenna and if they (HOA) complains just tell them it is your flag pole. I live in an HOA and they have accepted the flag pole story for why I have a 33 foot vertical in my backyard.
if the flag story works , fly it proudly,,,,,
Would it work to encase the vertical antenna inside of a larger PVC pipe? Such as a Hy-Gain AV014AVQ 40 - 10 meter, 18 foot vertical antenna? The larger PVC pipe would be ground mounted and would look like a patriotic flagpole.
how about a g5rv along top of back fence- more invisible -less counterpoise for the lawnmower.
Fantastic job. We work with what we got, and this proves no matter the limitations, we can all still operate. 73 M6CYV
Kenny Nicholson hey thanks! Its fun and challenging but it works. Thanks for watching!
I didn't see an antenna. I saw a really tall tomato plant support. But absolutely no antenna. I don't know what you're talking about.
shhhhhh, it's stealth you moron
Lol. Well obviously it's a compromise antenna but it does work - and on 20-meters it's a full 1/4 wave vertical.
rob b, it's sarc, man. Try to keep up
Brilliant Reply 😊😉😂...It often amazes me how it's called the land of the free yet they have Pen Pushing idiot's making up Rules and Regulations to stop the poor Hams having a bit of Enjoyment yet we are all being Irradiated by the Microwave RF from Mobile Phones and WiFi Routers, I would much rather live next to a Nice Ham Radio Tower than than stick a Microwave Emmiting Mobile Phone next to my head...It's a No Brainer.
Not to Mention Smart Meters Joining in with Eradiating us.
I think I heard him on my rock-n-roll station.
Cool set up
Keep going!
A friend of mine has this exact back yard including fence. We put an alpha delta dx cc dipole on the wood fence and I swear we work the world and it plays well on 75 really well. 10-15-20-40-75 you would probably want to throw this in the corner of the yard after trying the dxcc. lol improvised hams 😉
Cool. But I have a question. Where I can find such inductance coil?
Many thanks!
RadioWavez P-80, though since then I've upgraded it to a "Silver Bullet 1000" which is better and that's what I recommend.
What does it do?
Hello, does anybody knows what is the power rating of this antenna.
It's a few hundred watts SSB (I think) and like 50 watts digital. I since replaced it with a Silver Bullet 1000, and though it's rated for something like 300 Watts SSB, I put more then 500 watts into it with no problems (just be aware of your keydown time). I probably wouldn't try to put more than 70 watts digital into it, though.
Check out my 80 meter z antenna video and send it to any ham that has a small yard like you the antenna is for small yards get a polley wheel hang it in the tree it be easy to lower
I think you need a camera with image stabilization
Agreed.
What's the longest redial?
The longest Radial was 60-feet. Roughly 3-4 of them. Then some at 33-feet, some at ~18-feet, and some at ~14-feet.
@@SWRadioConcepts Wow, ok thanks. I researching antennas for an apartment, too long for me.
Very neat ! I moved from Florida were we lived in a retirement mobile home park and know just what you are up agents Now we moved to SC and have 2 acres with no restrictions YEA ! :). Will enjoy watching your videos pls ck me out here on you tube k1zek well 73 keep having fun. 73 good on QRZ and You Tube O yes 160 -70cm HI HI k
this HAO antenna 10 cm off the ground makes me sick.
Good coax is overkill. I don't understand. you Spend lots of time and money and good coax is overkill
If you're referring to the comment in the video I think you are, I felt that LMR 400 was probably overkill for a 30-foot run to an already well feed-point matched antenna, but I used it anyway! If I remember correctly, it was only about $40 on ebay for 30-feet.