HF Antenna in the attic ham radio magnetic loop antenna for HOA
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- Опубліковано 18 сер 2016
- Hello Operators
A former colleague and good friend in Ukraine, asked about a stealth antenna, and how it might work for his situation. The operator asked about magnetic loop antennas for HF, and if they could be would be completely hidden from view, by the surrounding community.
In this video, I am using an attic mounted magnetic loop antenna, with a remote control for tuning. The Antenna is the Chameleon F-LOOP with the RTRR rotator Tuner.
Globally ham radio operators are finding it increasingly more difficult to deploy large HF antennas for amateur radio. In many cases they are limited by homeowners associations, deed restrictions, lack necessary space, … For some operators living in conflict zones, putting up a large antenna array for HF communications may bring unwanted attention.
In North America, the ARRL has backed the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2017. It was introduced in the US Senate on July 12, marking another extremely small step forward for radio amateurs restricted by HOA or deep restrictions.. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are the Senate sponsors. The measure will, for the first time, guarantee all radio amateurs living in deed-restricted communities governed by a homeowner's association (HOA) or subject to any private land use regulations, the right to erect and maintain effective outdoor antennas at their homes. The Senate bill, S. 1534, is identical to H.R. 555, which passed the US House of Representatives in January.
chameleonantenna.com/PORTABLE%... Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. - Наука та технологія
Field Testing the new Chameleon P-LOOP 2.0 Magnetic Loop Antenna ua-cam.com/video/Rfbnt4-xg1g/v-deo.html
Outstanding as always!
Where I live, I have no attic. I instead have two more floors of residences above me.
THANKS MY FRIEND
Excellent video. Well done.Thanks for sharing. 73 Henry.
+va3hry many thanks Henry. The kindness is much appreciated.
Thanks for watching and for commenting.
Thanks for sharing.
+Multi-Tool School You are welcome. Its always nice to see you stop by. Much appreciated!
Those are awesome antennas . The price point is commensurate to the awesomeness however. Thanks for sharing !
+SurvivalComms agreed they're certainly not the least expensive antennas on the market but the functionality and performance more than makes up for the cost.
Thanks for watching and stopping by, it's very much appreciated.
Great video!!
+Chameleon Antenna 👍 Thanks!
Excellent video. Great Job.Thanks for sharing. I bought a Baby Loop antenna and hope to meet you on the air HIHI! 73 PD2JHP
You are one of my heros.
Very nice vid my good friend Nord👍I'm a new beginner and just bought myself a Yaesu FT 587D two weeks ago still in the box😊. Would this antenna work for my
FT- 857D? And what sort of tunner would you recommend. (Yaesu FT 587D). I've just subscribed to your videos. Very informative thanks for sharing. Cheers mate ☺👍
You can add a Wyze cam for less than $50 and use your cell phone to watch the video feed of the antenna position in the attic. Wyze cams are great and reliable. I have several around my house for security purposes.
thanks julian for your videos help my nice videos my friend 73 and good dx
+Alvaro Gaitan 👍👍👍
Great demonstration. Only suggestion would be to add a price level. Saying the full setup will cost somewhere less than $1000 should not scare away folks that know HF requires this kind of cost for some antenna solutions. Am sticking to this price assuming some remote compass-arduino is attached.
I enjoy watching your videos and expect to buy a magnetic loop before long. Mike W6QT
Thanks for the comment Mike. In really enjoy making these videos 👍
Like the review very much Julian. I have recently moved into a single floor condo townhouse with a substantial attic - however the noise level on an end fed wire is around S9 to 10 over. In your experience would the F-Loop substantially reduce the noise so I could do some shortwave listening and get on JT65 and Pactor again? The remote controls would allow me to use it in the attic space right above my radio room. I could put it out on my deck - only when in use because of the resident restrictions - but that becomes a pain especially during the winter months. Anyone's advice in similar circumstances would be appreciated. Rob
+Robert James thanks for reaching out Robert. There's a few different things to consider before I answer your question. As you see this video I'm using it in exactly the same way you described. But before I even started to consider the magnetic loop I had to think about reducing the amount of interference I was getting from the electrical devices in my home. That's the first step. So all of the cheap Chinese Transformers and usb chargers got the hammer and went to the trash. Anyway you get the idea, but once I reduce the noise levels as much as I could I tried the endfed again. Of course the noise level was much lower about an S4 S5 which for weak signal work is still too much. It was at that point when I got the RTR or kit and put the loop above the Radio Room. At this point I have a 0 noisefloor using the F Loop. With a traditional dipole, I still have that S4 to S5 noise level. I don't have a lot of experience with indoor wire antennas, so I don't know if those are an option for you. As far as the loop goes, if you don't mind not running 100 Watts, and you have no other alternative, I would say go for it.
I hope this helps and feel free to ask me any type of questions you like.
73
Julian oh8stn
Of the two version which one do you feel is all around better or performs better? The rigid loop or the LMR400 loop version? Great videos and very informative as usuall
+Bradley Johnson hello Bradley. Definitely the 1-inch rigid aluminum loop is the better performer. I believe the performance gain comes from the increased diameter of the radiating element. Moreover your question sounds like an upcoming video comparison to produce.
Thanks for watching and for the question, it's very much appreciated.
OH8STN SurvivalTech Nord Yes, a comparison would be great. You do a fantastic job on your videos. Very detailed and organized. Thank you.
You could use an arduino to add the compass for your azimuth . Would be a very nice( as you said needed) addition to the product.
+James Bridges that actually sounds like a brilliant idea.
+SurvivalTech Nord Since you are running wires anyway, a Catkit and terminal kitten will let you use cat5 cable to separate either( or both) the compass or (and) a LCD display from the arduino. Would be similar cost compared to wifi, but would operate independent of a computer and be a more solid connection with reduced rf emission.
Is this antenna just for receiving or can you transmit with it as well?
Great video! At some point, I would like to pick up this loop with the RT-RR as I live in a HOA.
+VideosByDPF thanks and once again I remembered now that I forgot to reply to your message. I'm on 40 meters right now testing this setup. It's seriously not bad. I'm hoping to get Carl to release day interface to the motors so that I can build an open-source remote control handset with rotary encoders instead of the push buttons. As always thanks for stopping by. It's always good to get your comments, and they are very much appreciated.
Just got from vendor they dont have the rotator anymore. Do you know of any problems with the antenna or its future? I was considering this as a great solution for my attic. 73
Since they are getting pretty inexpensive how about using a WiFi camera to monitor the orientation of the antenna. A few compass calculations and you're golden. N6NRO.
Been debating one of these for a while. I live in an apartment, so this would be nice, if it'll work. Chicken wire holding up the stucco kills signal.
+Ed Fay check the playlist in the description. One of my first F-Loop videos was done with it from inside my home. It was an SSB qso of about 2000 km between Finland and UK. Honestly I was quite taken aback. Anyway thanks for watching and stopping by it's very much appreciated.
Problem is, this apt is a dead zone. 1 bar cell service, FM comes in weak, 2m was shoddy. I tried my Buddipole at my last apartment and couldn't hear anything other then static no matter the band. I'm just a little off put by dishing out cash for the loop, and it doesn't resolve the problem. My current option is my AlphaAntenna mounted to my car in a parking lot somewhere, not too fun in a Central Texas summer.
Ed Fay perhaps a better approach would be enlisting the help of other radio operators in the area oron the net. Find other operators with similar operating conditions as yours, then find out what they're doing to operate effectively. It sounds to me like you suffer from several problems at your location. The worst of which is RFI. Honestly though I don't know of any antenna system which will help you radiate effectively if you live inside a faraday cage :/
True. I setup my Alpha vert leaning out off my patio yesterday and was picking up a lot of CW and a few strong ssb signals. All might not be lost. Still considering a F-Loop and will throw the Alpha on the car this week.
Ed Fay throwing money at the problem usually doesn't work anyway. Better approach is always understanding the environment, then building a system which works in that environment. Remember, a mag loop will not work inside a metal box. It will work on a balcony though! It only needs to be one outer loop length high, and away from any metal. Hopefully you can get help before pulling the trigger.
Is the rtr discontinued?
Nifty solution to ever increasing antenna installation restrictions...
Agreed! It's not absolutely perfect, but compromised operations never are. Thanks for watching, and stopping by.
Nice review Nord, thanks - how do you feel about the difference between the model that uses LMR-400 and the one that uses the 1" aluminum pipe... is it worth the extra 100. ? Thanks for any feedback - best and 73
+pcomp Thanks. It's kind of difficult to say which one is better value because they're not really designed to be measured that way. The LMR400 version is definitely more portable, while the aluminum radiator is more efficient. So I definitely get better performance out of a aluminum radiator. The day gets better Mobility out of the air in LMR400. So the point of all of these Lego blocks is for you to put together the right kit for your operating conditions. Appear in the North where there isn't a whole lot of operators, I enjoyed the increased efficiency of the aluminum radiator. Another thing to consider is chameleon is about to release a power up kit for the F & P loops, giving them ~40 watt capabilities. That's also a lego block add on kit. The point I'm trying to make it look at the F-Loop from a price perspective, look at it from the capabilities it offers you.
I hope this helps
Well, at least if I hold out for the model with the aluminum radiator then it comes with the LMR400 as well, so I can have that flexibility. 73
are there any lan controlled antennas? (with rotar)
+hairynoggin not that I know of.
ok, thanks for replying - great vids by the way, your formula for presentation just works ...