My 5-Band Attic Antenna for Ham Radio

For those with smaller gardens, or indeed no gardens, the attic may be one of the best options as a site for an antenna. Whilst it is easy to install a VHF antenna in the attic, it can be even easier to install and HF antenna. Here, Peter G3OJV shows how it is very easy to install a multi-band HF antenna, even in quite a small loft or attic.
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[@GordonHudson]

I have a fan dipole for 17/12/10m in the loft. It works very well. It's an inverted V and I think that helps with angle of radiation. I also had two electric fence springs as a dipole. They were stretched to same length as a 17m dipole and fed via a 4:1 balun. It was resonant on 30m and didn't need an ATU. It worked surprisingly well but it was a very reactive load.

[@stevewheatstone1856]

Nice one Peter, love the ladder line through the ceiling idea.

[@W4BIN]

I have always used 75Ω coax with dipoles (73Ω) " 'cause the hand book says so." RG-59 or RG-11 for higher power. I always drill the holes in the ceilings in the corner of a closet and out under the door. Ron W4BIN

[@jaywon555]

Thanks for your time in making these videos Peter, as a green hand you've given me lots of knowledge and saved me time and hastle with your experience and skills, thank you.

[@watersstanton]

Glad to help

[@davem7847]

Great video, have been using an Inverted V antenna (with extra leg length by zig zagging wire) from the ridge post since 1995. Inverted V has bi-directional radiation pattern (N/S & E/W). Not as good as outside beam, but gets me on the air, even with DX. Antenna design is a great thing to experiment with.

[@erpece]

I have used an indoor EF random wire antenna with an external tuner and solar panels in all directions on te roof. It is of course a comprimised antenna, but it will work fine for European contacts on HF.

[@keithgabel755]

Thanks for this video! I can’t have anything outside due to HOA restrictions but can certainly use my attic space. I’m just getting started in ham radio but want to dig deep into it so I’m gathering as much intel as I can as I clearly have much to learn. Good, sort of basic overviews like this are giving me many great ideas. I appreciate that you don’t talk down to anyone, too, as some people can be so full of themselves you hate to watch their videos, even if the video is on a topic you’re interested in. Thanks!

[@M0UAW_IO83]

There's lots of interesting laws about flying flags which might allow you to erect a very patriotic flagpole, one that might happen to need support wires running back to the house Good luck and good DX

[@MichiganPeatMoss]

These are always great videos for review, at least until I rebuild my momentum when antenna work comes around amid other interests. Just when I feel accomplished, there's always something else to learn and take note of.

[@JackCumming1]

Will definitely be trying this soon. Thanks 😀

[@scottb.2022]

After I got my license 1 1/2 years ago, I installed an EFHA inverted V 4 band antenna in my attic. It has worked well, but found it was a bit noisy. Last fall, I installed a 4 band vertical in the back yard and the noise level is much lower. So, while the attic antenna worked, it had 1 to 2 S units more noise than the outdoor verical.

[@alex-plays8407]

Appreciate your content and that you share your experience - Thank you :-)

[@watersstanton]

My pleasure!

[@redstickham6394]

Great video! Doublets are pretty good. I had a doublet in the attic that was bent into a rectangle and it worked pretty well, but had some strange radiation pattern characteristics. It was fed with Radio Shack TV Twinlead into a MFJ 4:1 balun and tuned with an LDG Z11Pro auto tuner. I had to take it down when I had some work done in the attic and wasn't able to put it back up. I have recently built a linear loaded dipole and hung it in my attic and need to install the feedline, which is going to be 300ohm balanced line. I look forward to seeing how well it works or if it will work at all. That's a big part of ham radio, experimenting with something to see if it works.

[@watersstanton]

Thanks for sharing.

[@larsjohansson442]

I am putting up a folded dipole in the loft. I hope it works as good in multiple bands.

[@qutips33]

I have an elad fdm-duo and if I have too high swr foexsempel 6 in swr then the fdem duo stops sending and a warning comes on the display to high swr, and then I can't tune with the tuner, so a duplet antenna can have too high swr for the radio and that is a problem la2vla

[@hartengel7724]

I have a question regarding this doublet: Is there a minimum/maximum ladder line length you can cut for this 5 bander. Great video thanks Hart va3kis

[@watersstanton]

The ladder line can be any length.

[@richardallison8745]

No one seems to talk about safety and RF exposure to the family in the house. At low power I am sure it might be okay but 100 watts and up I would do calculations to make sure. I am not sure why anyone in a HOA would do HF. I moved into a HOF one time and the HOF and I were always at odds. Now I live on 2.5 acres and no one bothers me.