HOA Stealth Ham Radio HF Antenna Episode 3: HOA Approved HF Dipole Disguised As Holiday Lights
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- HOA Stealth Ham Radio HF Antenna Episode 3: HOA Approved HF Dipole Disguised As Holiday Lights
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Great idea! This also inspired thoughts of 3D printing fake lights that could be clipped onto antenna wires.
I thought Bob was going to pull the bulbs off the original string and attach them to an antenna wire, to disguise it.
I love that idea!
@@AdrianBoyko I thought that idea too. But he has done well to fool HOA.
If you have a metal gutter and a two story house, you already have a horizontal HF loop antenna that WILL need a tuner, however, it does work. There are a few things you need to do to make it work.
This works much better with continuous gutter as there are less connections to ensure. You DO need to make sure each section of gutter is electrically connected together. The best way is to solder the ENTIRE joint together to minimize corrosion and other possible faults over time. Use 450 ohm ladder line to bring as feedline into your shack to minimize noise. Where you are goin to connect the ladder line, treat the gutters as a dipole and connect while using some sort of insulator between the gutters and caulk to prevent leaks. You may also need to ensure your gutters are NOT grounded to any metal on the house.
Love the gutter idea Dennis. So many antennas on people houses and the just don't realize it.
I live in one of the richest counties in Virginia. ( the county is rich, not me by a long shot) My HOA is one of the largest in the country. I solved the antenna problem by joining the County's ARES organization. (It helps that Fairfax County also hosts Rescue One, the premier Search and Rescue group.)
I sent in my request and asked to speak at the Design Review Board. I wanted to put up a multiband vertical antenna and an off center fed Dipole antenna. I provided sketches of the property, notated where these antennas would be hung or installed. and brought the OCFD to the meeting. I also brought a copy of the FCC's letter that states that with a few exceptions, Federal, State or Local governments cannot restrict Amateur Radio. I did point out that within the letter it states that, because an HOA has a contract with the members, that they were within their rights to deny my request. I also went to great lengths to explain RF interference and the danger if someone was to touch an antenna that was transmitting. The vote was 3 to 1 in favor with the only amateur radio operator on the board abstaining. Because of my efforts, more Hams in my HOA are using HF antennas that they don't have to hide.
Still, I love the thought process behind this build. Please keep up the great work!
Robert de W4RBJ
Robert that is a great way to approach an HOA! Congrats on your method, success, and model to others.
Hi Bob! Just came across your channel today and subscribed. I’m in the somewhat unique position of being President of a single family condo association of 77 homes in New Hampshire. I’m also have been a ham for 57 years. I have advocated for allowing very limited antennas for hams in HOAs and Condos. I think your idea with the lights is great! I even think just the white wire without the lights is fine. If you didn’t tell someone the wire was there, they wouldn’t even notice it! I have woods behind me and run a couple of wire antennas back to the woods. Most residents don’t even notice them. Keep up the good ideas!
Thanks Steve for the input. You are right on just the wire, and I think I'll take some video of that after I pull the Christmas lights off.... The white wire should just disappear next to my white drip edge--no one will ever notice.
Cool idea Bob. I think your SWR difference is probably two-fold. You may be getting some parasitic effects from the light wires but one thing for sure is when you go from close to the ground and raise it up, the antenna looks shorter. I had same issue with my Cobweb antenna. I would throw the analyzer on it and see what you got. Might need to do some adjusting of the length to get it closer to resonant.
Good observations House of Ham; it is certainly closer to the ground than a 20 meter dipole should be. Thanks for stopping by and watching.
Brilliant idea. Thanks for taking the time to produce this well thought out and useful video.
Thanks James; all my brain thinks about is, "how do I turn that into an antenna?"
great idea. I made an 11 meter diapole back around the early 2010s. I used either 10 or 12 guage soild copper wire I got from Lowes. I used a coax T connector for the center part of the diapole. I taped the diaple to the clothes line I had stretched out in my back yard. I used the clothes prop to prop up the center to get rid of the sag. The coax feed line was taped to the clothes prop from the ground up to the diapole. I didn't have to have it stealth or camouflaged but it ended up being that way. A friend came over and I told him my diapole antenna is in my yard and he looked right at it and couldn't see it. He thought it was the clothes line because it looked the a the clothes line. It was only around 7 feet above the ground. I don't know if that can be a good one for you to try being you have the HOA. My grandfather was a ham operator and he had wire diapoles in the air in his back yard. I remember sitting with him in his basement shack in the 80s when I was younger and watching him talk to countries all over the world. He ran 100 watts through them when he talked. He used to wipe out the livingroom TV because it was using a outside roof antenna. He also had a 30 foot tower at one end of his house with a big 4 element horizontal beam and a mastpipe mounted on the other end with a Cuhsman R5 verticle.
Thanks for watching cheezst8ke, and thanks for the info on all the options and experiences.
Try using 10-12 gauge wire for the dipole and you will get a larger bandwidth.
Great suggestion, thanks for the tip.
Great idea, and it seems to work well. The only problem i can see is when the yokels ask you why your lights are not working, pleading ignorance may be the answer, "Well they did work when I put them up, and if you think I am going up there again checking every bulb, you have another think coming!" This sort of answer may work for a while. 73, and given the seasonal nature of the antenna, Merry Christmas. Jim M7BXT
Merry Christmas indeed James and thanks for watching.
That answer won't work after you have gone on UA-cam and told everyone about it.nStill I love innovative antennas and this is a cool idea.
If I built that antenna, my HOA rules for holiday decorations would me to use it from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day.
Its interesting how HOA's differ in their rules. I think I'm in a pretty good one here, meaning, they are not as strict as some.
I get the idea, but seems like an awful lot of work. I have cup hooks up under the eave. If you use wire the color of your house you can't see it from the street even without trying to hide it with lights. I doubt you could even see black wire if it were a really small gauge like the stealth antenna wire. The small cup hooks seem like they would last a lot longer than the shingle clips. Mine have been up for 15 years. They have been up longer than I have been a Ham because I did use them for holiday lights. 73 Chuck WG5X
Thanks for sharing Chuck. I wanted to get above my soffit since it is all aluminum. Your recommendation on the hooks and wire are spot on...most people will never notice it, and it is certainly less complicated / work.
I suggest you run for a seat on your HOA using a platform of "Abolish the HOA."
Sounds like a great idea! Thanks for watching Pete.
This is an amazing idea. I'll have to see if I can something similar at my apartment. Thank you for the video.
Glad you found it useful Dusty. Some people think I'm crazy, others like my ideas 🙂
That was fun! Thanks for the video! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it; more creative ideas coming.
Just put the dipole up under the eve. Skip the lights. Make sure to use same color wire as the color of the eve. All set. No detuning from the other wires or aluminum drip edge. ‘73. De N1FJB
sramsdellwdm, for sure. Easier set up and blend right in. Thanks for the feedback and for stopping by.
As always, great video. How do you handle questions about the lights not being on?
Thanks for watching Outlaw. I think I just assumed my neighbors would never ask...and I'd ignore them if they did.
Very creative 👍
Thanks Ape, my brain just won't stop scheming on ways to overcome the "challenges"
Great idea, good video. Thank you Sir. A question, Do you have a video describing the install of your home entrance box for your various coax cables. I have looked on your channel and if it is there, I missed it. Have a great day and 73. W8VHS
Thanks Vern for the kind words. I will shortly...I just completed the build out of the new shack and have started on the series showing all the steps. That outside utility box, cables, and my internal switches will be part of the series.
@@HOAHamRadio Thank you Sir.
@HOAHamRadio Could you not just twist the bulb leads to short the bulbs and avoid the need for glue?
I guess it depends on how the lights are made. That would have created the needed friction fit, but it likely would have made electrical contact on the lights I bought.
Most HOAs won't allow you to keep christmas lights up year round
Correct you are! Mine allows "decoration" lights year round. They don't think twice when you have white lights up. I recognize not everyone is as lucky as I am. Thanks for watching.
very cool ! Unsure why you still used the extra wire fr the antenna vs the long wire in the lights, since you disabled the lights ? Also whats wrong with Blinky Christmas lights ? lol nice video
Thanks for watching Darrell. When you send RF through the lights a couple of this happen. 1) They will burn out eventually breaking the continuity of that wire, 2) they will be bright towards the end of the wire and dim or not lit at all near the feed point, 3) they will blink weird, not in any way that looks like actual Christmas lights. So it draws unwanted attention; that was my logic. Appreciate the feedback.
@@HOAHamRadio gOOD TO KNOW !
Great video! I always enjoy seeing ways to stick it to the HOA overlords.
Are you going to the Hamfest?
@@tonyd6884 Yes Tony D, I plan on being there!
Hi, Bob. Great video! Gives me some ideas but presently I live on 50 acres in the foothills of Northern CA but since I am 81 might be shuffled by my kids to an hoa type setting. Hopefully not for a while. Anyway 73 Alan KZ6B
Ah 50 acres...lots of room for antennas! Thanks for watching Alan.
From the get go I would replace all conductive wires not in use with fake white nylon thread and glue the dead bulbs to it. Maybe consider a substitute fake bulb with no metal filaments in it. Go fake all the way.
Great suggestions cowboy6591; thanks for sharing your ideas.
I'd try the blinkey blink of ssb and cw
That would look cool.
Get a remote tuner like an SGC, and just tune the gutters and downspouts. No HOA required.
Glen, actually I wish I could. But I all my aluminum gutters are up against aluminum facia up against aluminum soffit... My brain says that won't work; what do you think?
terrific ideas 73 from kb2uew
Thanks Alvaro. The more ideas we all share the more options we all have. Thanks for watching.
That's some hogan's hero shit. Sgt kinchlow
Ron, you made my day; gave me a good laugh!
Ask your Ham friends to donate all their burnt out bulbs just swap them before you cut the plug off the strand so you can confirm they're duds.
LOL, slosolo2, that is a fantastic idea!
Could you just twist the bulbs as to short them at the base? Just wondering 🤔
Pyro, I don't think the construction of the plug will let you do that, at least not on the string of lights I used. Great suggestion...finding an easier way to disable each individual light would be helpful.
@HOA Ham Thanks. For the video. My friend lives in a HOA. I'll have him check on your idea.
All that extra wire right next to the dipole can’t be good. How about 1) glueing the bulb sockets to the continuous wire and then 2) cutting out all the wire between the bulbs? That leaves just the continuous wire with bulbs attached. Cut the leads off the individual bulbs if necessary, but maybe it wouldn’t be since all the wire connecting the bulbs has already been cut out.
I can hear the wheels turning and I appreciate all the feedback. I was hoping this would lead to others sharing their ideas...thanks.
why do people need antenas attatched to their homes for during holidays anyway?
Anyway, what's up with those holiday antennas...I mean lights.
Just turn your gutter into antenna with a 9 to 1 unun ! 30ft with or without down spouts!
RevBiker, my gutter is up against aluminum facia, which touches aluminum soffit around the entire house.... I often wondered. Do you think that would work?
@@HOAHamRadio UA-cam videos on it. I'm going to do it when it gets warmer out.
I guess its time I just give it a go.
I feel seen... Luck, WI is 0 today!
Brrrrrrr. Thought I would send you your first, or fifteenth, snow for the season.
Just put the wire up and paint it???????
Yep. Make it the same color of the gutter or facia, makes sense.
I Love this!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣this is Ham Radio Operaters in their Finest!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Me, I use the Wire in the Light, they are so Dumb that the HOA still will think is Regular Christmas Lights! Also end Fed Long Wires are very good to! Most HOA don't Mind Wires! Because of the low visibility!
ManuelPinner, for sure on the end fed! Thanks for the positive feedback.
You have the right idea om kg6mn
Thanks Jerome. My mind thinks about this kind of stuff non-stop.
Thanks for sharing this idea! 73 de Bill K0WHW @Bill-HRT
I was in the holiday mood, seemed like the thing to do. Appreciate you watching.