Need Ideas for a Stealth Antenna

[N3FNE]

I've moved into a subdivision with antenna restrictions. For the summer SSB contest, I put a 1/4 wave magnetic mount antenna in the metal gutter in back of the house where none of my neighbors could see it and made a few contacts, but I'd like something that works better and is more permanent. Here are some ideas I've gathered so far:
- Flag pole: I'd have to put it in my backyard, which the neighborhood would think is an odd location and, alas, the yard slopes down from the house and isn't flat.
- Attic dipole: Years ago, I used an attic dipole in a townhouse. It was okay, not great. My attic here has the central heating gas furnace which means there is a lot of metal up there and I wonder what that would do to my signal.
- End fed antenna: I have some young trees in the backyard and maybe I could run a wire out a window to one of them. However, I'm pretty certain that at least two of my neighbors would be able to see it.
- Wild ideas: I've read about hams who have tried using their gutter systems or window frames for antennas. Has anyone experience with those?

[wj5o]

Pete,
I don't know about You location in Georgia having pine trees or not...... But, I put up a ground mounted Hustler 4 BTV in the back yard and used krylon camouflage spray paint to cause it to blend into the pine trees. ....... after about a year I have had no comments from either the neighbors or the home owners association...... The only antenna complaint coming from the local TV cable company which turned out to be the fault of one of their connectors.

[KK3Q]

I use a Zero Five vertical here as my main antenna and they have an excellent selection of flagpole verticals for deed restricted communities. Where else can you buy a flagpole antenna that comes with a ball, rope AND an American flag? You might take a peek at their new web site:

http://www.zerofivesolutions.com/

My own experience with my Zero Five has been nothing but great. It came with no instructions, I assembled it and had it up and running in 45 minutes, I can tilt it over in five minutes when storms like Fay visits. Does it work? Check the online log of VP6DX for my callsign (I do not own an amplifier), it works very well into Europe on 30/40/80 and will be trying it out in Dec 08 for 160. Very well built antenna (and no I am not compensated for this )

[N3FNE]

My own experience with my Zero Five has been nothing but great.

Did you put down radials? I noticed on the website that they offer an option for a plate that can accommodate 60 radials. In one of the pictures on the site, they have a yard sloping down. That's about what my backyard looks like except with fewer trees.

[N3FNE]

I put up a ground mounted Hustler 4 BTV in the back yard and used krylon camouflage spray paint to cause it to blend into the pine trees.

I went to the Hustler web page and noticed that they have an article to camouflage the antenna as a flagpole, too. My trees are not dense enough to hide a painted antenna from my closest neighbors, I don't think. The antenna is 21 feet in height, isn't it?

[wj5o]

Pete,
You are correct...21.4 feet in the air for the 4 BTV antenna.... Looks like all the tall trees are in the back yards of Your neighbors across the street.
I also have a ten meter loop in the attic......(vertically polarized) however, noise is the problem as it seems to pick up all the common household "birdies" caused by TVs, florescent bulbs...even the neighbor's wireless router.

[KK3Q]

Did you put down radials? I noticed on the website that they offer an option for a plate that can accommodate 60 radials. In one of the pictures on the site, they have a yard sloping down. That's about what my backyard looks like except with fewer trees.

Yes I did, I have 56 radials down right now, somewhere around 3000 feet of 12 gauge soilid copper wire. My antenna is sitting next to my pool and the yard slopes in a manner similar to the picture on the Zero Five web site (maybe not as steep but still slopes downward). I'm not sure if this sloping helps or hurts the installation but it is all I have to work with. I will soon be adding some radials onto the installation to see if it will help any. Maybe by the end of the week I will have the web pages on my site about my antenna install. The radial plate was a good investment at only around $35.

[k6jpd]

i have a BTV flagpole with about 1000 feet of buried radials. (it doesn't have the 75/80 meter loading coil/stinger).
if you use self tapping hex head screws instead of the supplied hose clamps it will fit inside regular sized PVC pipe.

a gas powered sidewalk edger makes a nice slit in the ground to lay the wire into, you don't really have to re-fill the slits, just turn the sprinklers on and they will be gone in a few days.

[KB2KHR]

Hi All,

I live in a Senior Citizen's Complex. I need an idea for a stealth antenna that I can setup in a 10' x 10' room. I have been off the air since 2001 and I would very much like to get back and work 10-10 # 's and 10 meters in general.

Thank You!

[I0QM]

Hi Edgar,

I'm not able to understand if You need an indoor antenna or an outdoor one. I apologize for my lacks in the languages.

Just to start, a buddy dipole at V-shape or inverted-V should be possible in either condition, since at 28 MHz full size still small and it should fits well on 10'x10' room. Add a 1:1 balun then as single band antenna works easy on 10 meters.

73 Bob.

[KB2KHR]

Hi Edgar,

I'm not able to understand if You need an indoor antenna or an outdoor one. I apologize for my lacks in the languages.

Just to start, a buddy dipole at V-shape or inverted-V should be possible in either condition, since at 28 MHz full size still small and it should fits well on 10'x10' room. Add a 1:1 balun then as single band antenna works easy on 10 meters.

73 Bob.

Hi Bob,

I'm looking for an inside antenna that would allow me to work 28mhz. I apologize as I should have stated that it was for an inside installation. Thank You!

[I0QM]

Hi Edgar,
Simplest things are the most difficult to find.
I made a long search on the internet, as probably You has done also, and I was not able to find or recognize a complete solution to fit your requirements for sure.

A simple half-wave-length dipole antenna for the 10 meters band could be home-made by two piece of wire and some coaxial cable. That requires a lot of patience to cut and fix wire, coaxial and ropes. Better doing with some solder; a little difficult to finally fix ropes in the 10' x 10' room.

This is what I used in the 2004 when gone back on ten meters after many years:


I was so lucky to got as first QSO with CE6ABC by the dipole indoor antenna.

73 Bob

[KB2KHR]

Hi Bob,

I had done some searching on the net with no results and I Thank You for the diagram and measurements. I'll have to go and get what I need to build the antenna.

73, Ed

[VE2TH]

Good evening ED,

You said in a room 10' X 10' = A TOTAL OF 40' SO WHY NOT PUT A SMALL WIRE ON EACH WALLS
hold in place by some kind of spacers to keep the wire off the wall.

You could install it near the ceiling, to stay off as much as possible of the 120 volts outlets which are at abt 12 inches of the floor.

This way you can have a nice LOOP and you can cut it out for 28/29 MHz, ( 1005 divided by 28.6 MHz = 35.1 foot , tune it with a Q section of 75 ohms coax, 1/4 wavelenght of coax RG-59/U, 246 X VF =velocity factor divided by the frequency, now you have a 2 to 1 balun. You have to put PL-259 at each end and then a small run of RG-58/U or RG-8X to your transceiver. This way you have access on all the band without a tuner, and believe me, it works very well when condx are there.

If you want to go on other bands such as 10/12/15/17 and even 20 meters, you put a short line of 450 ohms instead of the coax cable, and you tune it with a small manual tuner.

The only bug, is, sometimes you may experience RF in the shack, but with ferrite on the speaker cables or any other cables which you think it can pick up some RF, it cures the problem.

Here I began having trouble with 20 or more watts, below that no problems.

Mine was a one band affair (28/29 MHz only) coaxial matched because it is my favorite band.

It cost nothing to give a try, this way you will see by yourself how it suit your needs. But It was a very great idea for me.

So Ed, let us know about your progress,

Best 73 Michel VE2TH/QRP
Ten X 14504