In the Gutter with Ham Radio (
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- Опубліковано 22 жов 2024
- John, KE0RWV, wants to use his rain gutter as his antenna. Will it work? What's the best way to do it?
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I ran my rain gutters in my apartment building for almost 2 years. Actually completed my DXCC on it. I used a 9:1 unun and a MFJ VersaTuner to match it. Worked very well… except that it was pretty noisy being right against the building filled with cheap Chinese electronics. I ran the counterpoise back to my station ground rods. It worked on all bands 160-6 meters.
We have a member of the CODX Club here in Bend Oregon who lives in a HOA and he has worked DXCC on FT8 using a gutter. If there is a will there is a way!!
There’s a Facebook group for everything: I belong to one just for rain gutter antennas. The admin is working on getting his WAS award, using his rain gutters. Very nice guy.
What's the name of the group ?
@@GiacomoMarenco Raingutter HF Antenna
took a few lengths of down spout, put them together and stood them up with 550 cord. Fed it at the bottom with a 9:1 unun. worked pretty darn good for a makeshift vertical antenna
That's a really neat idea. Cheep, light, and conductive.
What would be the way to make the gutter a free to the air TV antenna David ?? Look forward to hear from you as you are really informative and get down in the weeks with facts that are right on. Peace vf
My father-in law-loaded his gutters with decent results. Bottom line was he could get out and work stations and stations could work him, so it did what it needed to do. So, don't knock it until you have tried it :)
At my last house I loaded the tallest gutter, about 25' tall with a 8' "T" on top. Probably acted as a bit of a cap hat. Simply ran a short wire from the bottom of the vertical piece to a 9:1 unun, and spread out a dozen 11.5' radials. That was one heck of an antenna, and worked far better than the 40m EFHW I had up too.
If you are going to use your gutters as a horizontal antenna then change the downspouts to plastic. Not only does that keep the downspouts from acting as random stubs but it keeps the RF well out of reach of anything which can experience pain.
If you are going to use the downspouts as part of an antenna then replace the bottom of the downspout with plastic so that the first point of possible contact with a radiating element of the antenna is 10 feet above grade or the walking surface below it.
Another isolation technique is to use a false plastic downspout as an insulator for the vertical portion of the antenna. By feeding that with coaxial cable which has it’s shield grounded only at the tuner end of the coax you can isolate it from contact quite effectively.
It’s a little like a swimming pool in that the plaintiff’s attorneys will try to convince a judge and/or jury that your unguarded antenna is an attractive nuisance. If that argument is sustained they the court will conclude that you failed in a duty to the child to isolate that danger from contact by that child. Remember that in many States a minor child is incapable of trespassing on your property. It is held that you must know that children will wander anywhere they can physically get to as part of the very nature of being a child.
Tom Horne
I don't like making plans for the day, because the word "premeditated" gets thrown around in the courtroom.
I think you'd need to make sure the metal downspouts don't reach the ground. Mine are changed to PVC a foot or two before they get into the ground. They were already that way when I moved in and I assume the prior owner was wary of lightning as we are on high ground.
Came here to say the same thing.
Yes you can do this! Thanks 👍👍 Dave
I take it that when it rains you may want to pause operation……considering what water running thru the gutters would do to to the impedance of this makeshift antenna!
Put those jumper bolts on the side - not the bottom of the gutter so they won’t block the flow of debris. Otherwise you’ll have a log jam at every joint!
I check at a corner with a meter to make sure that it shows a short all around the house.
My parents always said I'd end up in the gutter.
What an idea!
yes with a counterpoise for each band you want to work, and a tuner preferably manual
Why preferably manual?
@@sammiller6631 autotuners sometimes wont tune certain bands well or finish tuning on non resonant electrical lengths and are more designed for ready made compromise antennas like g5rv or doublets a manual tuner like a 949 can get you much closer with a random wire which is essentially what a random length of gutter is.
@@fredbissnette3104 How is a doublet a compromise antenna? It's a dipole fed with ladder line which is much lower loss than coax.
@@sammiller6631 any antenna that requires a tuner is a compromise, an antenna that is 100% resonant and provides dead flat swr is the desired situation for the frequency you want to work
I use gutters as radials on my 9:1 efw. Works very well
Most gutters are aluminum. You need to be aware/concerned about galvanic corrosion if you use non-aluminum hardware for your electrical jumper connections.
Excellent point.
What about the HOA Buster?
If you connected the front leg of gutters (in your drawing) and connect to a ground spike to use as a ground or counterpoise? (For an efhw)
After reading OET Bulletin 65 I’m afraid of things like this in close proximity to occupants and pets. Am I over-thinking it?
i want to test using my gutter as a 10 meter ant compared to my hamstick 10 meter dipole do i need a balum or just hook center to gutter and shield to ground stake ? I do an ant tuner
Was considering this just today as I was putting up my new EFHW dipole sloper behind my house. Question: Can a two foot tall aluminum fence set in concrete blocks running three quarters the way around my property serve as either a ground or a counterpoise?
It might - give it a go. You may want to experiment with a ground rod attached to that fence.
Back in 79 when I got my Novice ticket I spent all my lawn mowing money on a HW-16, a hand full of rocks and a used MFJ tuner. I wound a 9:1 unun and 36ft of gutter and worked 80,40 and 15m. My best was Guam on 15M.
Good video. 73, AC3HT
Not only tighten the connections every few months, a dab of electrical grease with reduce corrosion ant perhaps a bit better connection. 73 de ke4obe
What if you laid an alpha delta dipole antenna line inside the gutter to hide it?
That's what I've been wondering... or maybe little outriggers clipped to the guttering
I was wondering the same thing. Taking wire and following peaks of the roof. ???
Get your mind out of the gutter (ba doom, ching!)
Yes you can
I talked to a fellow ham last week on the radio he was 5/9 ++ i asked him what you were running radio antenna system he told me hes in an hoa area then he told me hes using his rain gutter i didnot believe it he really was hes in a hoa area thats why hes running the gutter the hot side separate then Ground he was very strong i couldn't believe it i remembered talking to a nother ham 2 years ago talking about secret antennas. It was in an old handbook and finally i worked a ham with one its working great for him he does ft8 etc on it antenna are a cool topic⚛
This guys artistic skills are amazing. Step back Rembrant.