The Stealth Ham Radio Antenna the HOA Will Never Find -- Its a Decoration Light Long Wire Antenna

[@WECB640]

Great video Bob. I'm not sure how much RF is being coupled into the gutters and/or into the AC mains, but I suspect that the coupling into these conductors help the radiation. The point here is that an antenna does NOT need to be "resonant" to work. As long as we tune out the reactance (preferably at the feed point) there will be current flow and RF radiation. In any case, it works BETTER than your normal antenna, and that's great! 73 OM

[@HOAHamRadio]

Thanks for the view and comment. Working better than the reference antenna was probably a fluke, and certainly a small sample size. I'm trying to show operators with challenging circumstances we shouldn't give up. It certainly isn't the best antenna that could be put up, but it may be the best antenna a specific person in a specific set of circumstances can put up. If its safe and it works, go for it. Appreciate the positive feedback.

[@LWRC]

That is pure nonsense! How much of that RF energy actually gets radiated for reception on the other end instead of turning into heating a rain gutter??!!!

[@KD9ZHF]

@@LWRC not at all. I made my first 1000 FT8 contacts with my rain gutter.

[@GeneMaUSA]

Just hope your HOA Assocoation doesnt see this video :)

[@HOAHamRadio]

Me too!

[@coolvideos8864]

HOA are abit of a Mystery here in the UK. Can you imagine buying YOUR house and then being told what you can and can't do with it? Mental that people actually want this!

[@HOAHamRadio]

I understand people outside the USA don’t get it, mostly because you have not been provided all the information. First and foremost, I did not buy my house and “then being told” what I can and can’t do with it. By law, before I ever buy a home in an HOA, I am informed by the Realtor the home is within an HOA, I am provided a list of all the benefits and all the requirements. I am provided with every document about the requirements which are recorded in the public record. It is the most informed decision I can possibly make. So, I made an informed decision of my own free will to exercise my right to live in the state of Florida, in Tampa Bay with grocery stores in walking distance, world class restaurants, public transportation, hospitals and doctors offices in walking distance, Home Depot and Lowes two miles in either direction, miles of beaches 15 minutes away, 6 public parks, miles and miles of bike trails, 3 professional sports teams 20 miles away, an international airport 15 miles away. Because of where I chose to live, my property value is protected by reasonable rules provided to me by law for review prior to my decision to exercise my right to purchase my home where my lawn is mowed for me, trees trimmed by the county, two professional golf courses, an Olympic sized swimming pool, tennis courts, all while affording me the irrevocable right to fly the flag of the United States of America; on which flag pole I hang my amateur radio HF antenna, along with numerous other antennas on which I have made thousands of contacts around the globe. Because of how densely populated the Tampa Bay area is, to live within driving distance of my employer, I could not possibly live in a home which is not in an HOA. So I could choose to change careers, and spend thousands of dollars to move to a home in the country where there are no HOA rules, where my neighbor can start a race car business and test cars in his garage all hours of the night, open a dog kennel with dogs that bark 24 / 7, start a meth lab undetected because of how remote the property is. Its like antennas, we make choices. I like my choice of where I live.

[@jamess1787]

Am in agreeable with this guy; I live in "America's Hat", so there are a few HOA's around here, but yes, I choose to not live in one for the aforementioned reasons. It's nice that you can rely on legally binding agreement to rell your neighbours what they can or can't do ... That being said, I can walk up to them, talk to them and we can both come to a mutual agreement as to what is or isn't acceptable. I guess for those who need the rule of law to stop people from opening a firing range in their backyard: that's reasonable. There are a few collective rules enforced by my city, lawn maintenance, fence maintenance and general property upkeep: you can't keep reptiles or rare/native species as pets, but nothing too offending or egregious. Telling me what colour to paint my house: well you, sir, can go take a hike. 😁

[@coolvideos8864]

@@jamess1787 Thanks James. If I buy something I should be able to do whatever I please with it.

[@jamess1787]

@@coolvideos8864 agreed. You, Bob and I are sane. There are not always sane people around and we might both be stuck living beside an all-hours garage band or home made still/hobbiest rocketeer.

[@tahoma6889]

There are now laws in place that prevent HOA from banning antenna. A licensed operator can have one and no HOA can interfere with that. However, being discreet is a good thing.

[@JamesHindsW5ATJ]

Great video Bob. My wife just told me we were hanging Christmas lights today. Little does she know : )

[@HOAHamRadio]

LOL. I hope I didn't / don't get you in trouble.

[@ok2it]

Hey! OK2IT there. I used to live in UK in rented flat....even worse than HOA I guess.....reason for moving back to OK2 Land and buying a house with some room for anrtennas hihi....anyway, what I used to do is I was using attic Dipoles, attic Inv-V and Attic Inv-V yagis also! I managed to put 2el. 40m switchable array, 3el 20m, and 5el 15/10m yagis, alle made of wires. I had to use lot of RF Chokes, RF Chokes and put grounding rod down and ground everything to reduce noise pickup and also RF burns. Good work!! 73

[@HOAHamRadio]

Thanks for the feedback @jiriculak6115. I haven't shown them off on the channel yet (except for my mag loop) but I too have attic antennas. You are spot on, it is a great alternative that no one else even knows is there. Appreciate you sharing.

[@SQL_HAM]

Thank you for posting so many ideas

[@HOAHamRadio]

My please; my brain neve stops scheming ....

[@tahoma6889]

No HOA will ever dictate or regulate an antenna. The law is clear, a licensed ham is allowed an antenna. However... Being stealth is great, cooperative is good. Load up the gutters! Lay wire on the roof as a Yagi. An end fed wire laying on the ground will get you on the air. A vertical inside the washer vent pipe. Easy stuff. The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2019 prohibits private rules that prevent amateur radio operators from installing outdoor antennas. The HR 9670 bill also aims to eliminate HOA restrictions on amateur radio antennas.

[@Ivor_Barry]

Sadly the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2019 died in committee. It never became law.

[@steveradloff7134]

Depends on the HOA. Mine specifically states all antennas must be used only for fixed wireless signals such as TV or direct broadcast commercial signals per 47 CRF 1.400, Restrictions impairing reception of television broadcast signals, direct broadcast satellite services or multichannel multi-point distribution services. Yes it specifically cites the code which also states: Fixed wireless signals do not include, among other things, AM radio, FM radio, amateur (“HAM”) radio, CB radio, and Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) signals. So the 6 of us in the neighborhood have figured out ways to get around this with gutters, other hidden antennas, temporary antennas or attic antennas. We will never compete with the 'big antennas' but still have fun and make contacts.

[@tahoma6889]

@@steveradloff7134 I find loops are a great option. Frame a wall with wire and feed it at the side. Put switchable break at far end and it doubles as a bent dipole.

[@davidc5027]

Good video. Looks like you are in Florida by the roof-line... You could tuck 16 gauge wire around the perimeter of the roof for a loop configuration. This would allow you to work 6 through at least 40 meters with an ATU. This shouldn't be very visible either depending on how you wanted to install.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Sounds like a future project I need to add to the list; thank for the view and suggestion.

[@32532jfbk]

If you haven’t used Lever Nuts instead of wire nuts, give them a try sometime; they’re great! I hope you sealed the UnUn if it’s living in the gutter!

[@HOAHamRadio]

Lever nuts, great idea. The antenna was just up for test during the dry season here, otherwise would have needed a great deal of weather proofing.

[@imark7777777]

as somebody who had a light set kicking around and wanted to make an extension cord out of it ( don't worry it's safe it has a fuse, does your extension cord have a fuse? ) for low power applications. Each section of lights is joined to a point then it goes back to a common wire and then into the next series section..... it was painstaking it was so painstaking to unravel in revival and I will probably only do it once more. I ended up having to cut sections and spice them back together as there is a continuous run only so far and then it's broken as it goes to a socket and then continues. Yes a continuous separate wire would probably be the way to go. As much as I would love to see them light up I just think that would be a really cool effect. unfortunately I know there's gonna be a few situations where somebody's gonna be complaining that they're not lit up and if they're not lit up they should be taken down.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Thanks for the view. HOA's can be a little different; in mine, no one would ever point out I don't turn my lights on; it others, the board president would be knocking at the door. I'll keep pumping out the ideas in hopes they are useful to some with minor adjustments.

[@Pasquare]

Thk / Merci. Idée intéressante. Toutefois il y aura du ROS en cas de pluie ou de neige. Ensuite, les plastiques des câbles et des supports des LED ne sont pas très résistants dans le temps aux UV. 73's Best Regards and Happy New year

[@HOAHamRadio]

Of course all valid points. For those who live in an HOA where this gives them a chance to operate with a wire, they will be happy for the trade off. Appreciate you stopping by and commenting.

[@dsharaf]

Camouflage: Hiding something in plain sight. 😎👍👍

[@HOAHamRadio]

Exactly!! Looks like it belongs.

[@judithwinner12]

I’m calling every antenna that’s not supposed to work a “bumblebee antenna”. Because just like how bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly…. 😀🐝

[@HOAHamRadio]

Oh my, I love that! Can I borrow your idea?

[@judithwinner12]

@@HOAHamRadio Go for it! 🤩🥰🐝📻

[@judithwinner12]

Oh, and I’m not yet licensed… but working toward it.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Welcome to the ham way of life, you're going to love it!

[@pawetulski7115]

Great idea !

[@HOAHamRadio]

Appreciate the feedback, thanks.

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

You should have strung the wire as a horizontal Loop around your entire house, then terminated it into a 4:1 Balun and then a short run to the tuner with coax. With a Wide Range Tuner 10:1 (LDG) you could have been working 160-6 meters.

[@HOAHamRadio]

I like the way you are thinking here.... No my brain is working on how to pull this off.

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

@@HOAHamRadio Peace of cake. If I lived closer I’d help you. I’m in WI. Also you would be amazed at how well low power works !! I have lived in apartments most of my HF life. Let me know if you want a magnetic loop transmitting antenna, one of my friends makes them.

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Why would you go through the effort of disabling every light bulb? If you don't plug in the Christmas lights there can't be any interference, right? Also, turning the lights on from time to time makes sure no one suspects you.

[@HOAHamRadio]

There are fun videos out there where people show what happens when you put RF down a string of lights. It looks like the light string is defective and broken because the some of the bulbs come on, some don't, with different levels of light. So, it draws attention because it looks like something is malfunctioning. I believe that would be more likely to get a knock on the door rather than never turning on the lights.

[@jacquesmertens3369]

@@HOAHamRadio How could that happen if you don't turn both the RF and the lights on at the same time? If the RF is turned off it can't interfere with the lights.

[@HOAHamRadio]

@@jacquesmertens3369 RF actually turns the bulbs on, without every plugging the lights in. The RF does it. Here is a vid of someone showing the RF going through a string of lights, turning them on: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIPTeqRnod2khbM

[@jacquesmertens3369]

@@HOAHamRadio Interesting ! Is the phenomenon comparable to a light bulb inside a microwave oven? Just imagine what it does to your brain when transmitting.

[@JulianSortland]

@@HOAHamRadio Presumably it shows current or voltage peaks and nulls along the wire.

[@KD9ZHF]

They'll never know until they watch this video.

[@HOAHamRadio]

The price of pay for my viewers : )

[@redstickham6394]

Cool experiment. I just goes to show you never know what's going to work.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Exactly the point. Put up the best antenna you can, and there are many more textbook antennas that are better. But, if you have to get creative, experiment till you find something that works.

[@SilverSeleucid]

is your channel called HOA ham because you teach us how to sneak ham past the HOA? Or is it a totally unrelated acronym?

[@HOAHamRadio]

Yep, operate ham radio in spite of the restrictions. HOA's are interested in protecting property values. Whether or not the perspective is accurate, they view the site of antennas as detrimental to property value (think large towers). So, if you can disguise antennas so no one can see them, then no harm no foul.

[@chublez]

The irony that you'd be allowed to leave ugly non functional lights up year round but not a simple nearly invisible wire. Honestly if you can(or can't) get away with this in your HOA You can probably just hang a regular stealthy wire antenna at the same time as functional xmas lights and just not take the antenna down and no one would notice, the only reason people can see this is because of the light string and the color.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Spot on. That's a future video, just a simple wire that blends into the color of the roof.

[@nr3rful]

doesn't anyone ask why your lights are not lite up at holiday

[@HOAHamRadio]

No they don't. I think lights on houses has become so common no one pay attention...especially when they are plain white lights.

[@johnmazzone9227]

*Note to self* Dear Self, Never buy into real estate with an HOA.

[@LWRC]

Not to defend HOAs but most will only allow holiday decorations during a short period of time and NOT all year long!!!!

[@HOAHamRadio]

Yes, precisely what I stated in the video....

[@LWRC]

@@HOAHamRadio Yes but what good is that when 90% of the year is not available? The antenna should be out in free space and not next to the house!

[@HOAHamRadio]

Welcome to the channel @LWRC. If you watch over time, you will see I give amateur operators many options to operate year round in an HOA. That is the whole purpose of the channel and thus the name. Hopefully you stick around and offer your input and ham radio expertise to help others operate in spite of the challenges.

[@LWRC]

@@HOAHamRadio I did. Putting the antenna as decorative lighting doesn't aloow it to radiate into free space!

[@Mustelasan2]

🤣👍

[@HOAHamRadio]

Thanks for stopping by to take a look

[@johnsonstechworld]

Innovative idea indeed! 73 de VU2JO.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Whatever it takes to be able to operate!