HF Antennas in Apartments and Renting

HF Antennas in Apartments and Renting - Secrets to Success!

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Күн бұрын

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@Kinetic79 5 ай бұрын

The flat/micro coax pass through works well to get from inside your window out … but you also often have the option of putting your EFHW or EFRW (9:1) transformer right inside your window and routing the actual antenna wire past the window frame. That’s especially useful if you’re on a higher floor and you don’t have access to the window from outside of your apartment. It’s also quite stealth. It sounds like it might not work, but because the wire is routed perpendicular to the window frame, and bc the width of the frame is such a low % of a wavelength at HF frequencies, it can actually work well. If you do that, I suggest that you consider taking strain off of the insulation within the window frame. I’ve done this by placing a small cable clamp on the antenna wire, right outside of the window, that routes a thin piece of black bankline back inside… and I have that tied off to a sturdy attachment point. This keeps the antenna wire from pulling on the transformer box directly. You can route the wire counterpoise the same way (e.g., hanging straight downwards from your window), or if you have no other option just choke your coax after some feet, inside the apartment. I do this, and I have no RFI issues even on a 100w rig. But a choke is mandatory at some point before you get to the rig for anything not QRP. Also, I have had success using a 1lb counterweight instead of tying off the end of your antenna. This allows the trees to flex without too much worry, as the weight will shift up or down as needed. Bungee+counterweight is probably even better. 9:1 is great if you have a tuner, and reduces the need for you to stress about trimming for perfect resonance. Finally, I recommend 26awg Polystealth, which has a 25# breaking strength-plenty, even in high winds, in my experience. Regular copper is probably not tough enough to last, and anything with greater breaking strength is probably a bigger hazard. Polystealth also has abrasion resistant and reflection-resistant coating. Just a few extra tips for peeps to consider. Good luck!

@chevyguy1128 2 ай бұрын

I also have a endfed wire antenna and what I did is used a spring as a tension relief so when my mast pipe moves in the wind the wire can move to and not get over tightened and snap.

@ModernHam 2 ай бұрын

Not a bad idea!

@nerdinium 5 ай бұрын

I put a screen door spring on both ends of my antenna to absorb the stretch during storms. Its crazy how much trees sway back and forth in high winds. I offset the springs 5 feet away from the antenna with a second section of cord. My antenna has been up for over 15 years now.

@ModernHam 5 ай бұрын

Good call. Those trees can definitely move quite a bit.

@michaelpohl348 5 ай бұрын

Good idea. I currently use bungy cords on each end, cheap, and they work surprisingly well (plus they're camo, I tried to keep shiny metal out of my setup).

@aquahoodjd 5 ай бұрын

You're doing a really good job by the way cuz I saw you when you started;!

@ModernHam 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for sticking around!

@andrewandrosow4797 4 ай бұрын

It isn`t a problem at all - when you have an access in a yard and rent an apartments at the 1 floor. But if you living in a flat, that exists in 9 storey building, the nearest tree is far from your windows, and building has a shape of letter "L" (when you see on the roof).I have not any license, I only have 1W transmitter for experiments .I experimented with short antennas (I living on the 4 floor) that had been installed on a balcony (in external side). At the distance 60Meters on the 2460 KHz my receiver indicated 2 puncts (15microVolts). When I was in shadow - behind an another building - the signal fall until 1-2 microVolts.

@VA3OSO 5 ай бұрын

I sport a SOTAbeams travel mast out my apartment window into a tuner. It's certainly a 'compromise' antenna, but it gets out all over the place and great consistent DX.

@ModernHam 5 ай бұрын

I haven't heard of that one before. I imagine it looks funny to the passer by lol.

@BradSnyder1 5 ай бұрын

All really good ideas. If there’s a will there’s a way.

@haxwithaxe 5 ай бұрын

Really soft closed cell foam works well to fill gaps under windows where regular sized coax is running. I've had a couple rg58 running out of a second floor window for about a year and so far it's worked fine.

@bett059 Ай бұрын

Thank You!

@michaelpohl348 5 ай бұрын

I've ran a few renter setups, every location is different! I currently use a 1x4 in the window with bulkheads to get through the window. I have a 41 foot Random wire antenna with about 100' of coax zig zagged through the backyard and the antenna tied off at the fence and the wire in the tree! Works well for me, I have worked all over the world from CA. Before, I was on a second story apartment, and I used Han Sticks on a tripod, and speaker wire with a clamp to the rain gutter as a radial (even though it was above the antenna). That also worked surprisingly well! I was able to pull the silicone back from the TV Coax and shove a wire through there to get in, since we used the door often to the balcony. When I left, I replaced it, and you could never tell! Keep haming! K6MRP

@CaptainHat12 5 ай бұрын

There's a lot of information on hiding HF antennas in urban and rural areas both indoors and outdoors in a publication with the title "Special Forces Radio Antenna Manual" that can be found in pdf form online.

@lyledal 5 ай бұрын

I have a 40M EFHW strung up through my apartment. I don't have any way to get a wire from one of my windows to a tree or structure. I keep the power below 50W, and the wire is no where near my noggin so I'm comfortable with the set up. Only bummer is, I've recently ahd neighbors move in both to one side AND below me. Haven't transmitted since. We'll have to see how it goes. OK... power has gotten up to 80W, but it is *usually* 50 or below.

@ModernHam 5 ай бұрын

I've thought about doing the same in some cases. But I managed to get around it one way or another.

@kd5aj 5 ай бұрын

Im in the same boat....

@freetimeelectronics2341 5 ай бұрын

Great info. Thanks

@W6IWN_Radio 5 ай бұрын

Great info. Thanks, Billy 👍

@aquahoodjd 5 ай бұрын

E-town:_). That was a pretty good giess. Grenup County, Lexington,. Montana,. Louisville - now Bern Switzerland

@threepistols7 5 ай бұрын

Traffic behind me = a cat on the run

@aquahoodjd 5 ай бұрын

Yeah I have a big problem with that at mine

@Francois_Dupont 5 ай бұрын

solution #2 for people inside appartmetnt on floors, with no backyards: make a faraday suit, and use a Frame Antenna from the inside of the flat. lol

@chevyguy1128 2 ай бұрын

Nice video

@aquahoodjd 5 ай бұрын

How do you say antenna is how I knew you were from Kentucky!

@aquahoodjd 5 ай бұрын

But that's not a criticism because I lived for 20 plus years outside of the United States and have lost my accents but I can place about anyone based on their accent. 0 that's about everybody who speaks English around the world not just the United States.

@ModernHam 3 ай бұрын

It definitely gives me away. You've got a good ear for accents.

@pathopkins4500 5 ай бұрын

Explore RAIN GUTTEER ANTENNAS =) Plastic ...... metal RAIN GUTTER ANTENNA is metal ( I used an "S" hook to connect and LONG WIRE CONNECTION on the ANTENNA TUNER ) .... if plastic RAIN GUTTER ANTENNA just lay a like color wire in the gutter =) If you are lucky enough to have an second or above ground HAM SHACK location ALWAYS USE AN Artifical Ground Tuner and a 88 foot long coil of wire around a 2" PVC plastic Pipe and TAPE the un-connected wire end very well ....... worked many contents on 5 watts on PSK-31 for years ( yep even FT-8 a few /-)

@JonathanKayne 5 ай бұрын

I am in a situation where i have none of those options- no trees nearby and an apartment where I have an S9 noise floor. My only option is pota or SOTA or mobile operations. It really sucks because I have been designing full radios and its hard to test them without an HF antenna in the apartment.

@ModernHam 5 ай бұрын

I've heard of people using balcony mounted antennas, or fiberglass telescoping poles out of the window with random wires. If you have the money, an indoor magloop could also be an option. You may also be able to attach a wire to a gutter outside if it's close by with an alligator clip and use that as an antenna.

@JonathanKayne 5 ай бұрын

@@ModernHam I've tried everything except for the magloop. As I said, it's an S9 noise floor. At those levels you can't even hear FT8.

@Steve-iy5eq 5 ай бұрын

One guy was in a high rise building with no balcony..... he put a wire up running around the perimeter of his room...with some success

@Steve-iy5eq 5 ай бұрын

@JonathanKayne definitely try the mag loop for hf. You should be able also to get vhf repeaters with a decent antenna near the window