How to Put a Ham Radio Antenna in an Apartment, Attic, HOA and Small Spaces - Livestream
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- Patron Pick August! What antennas should you look at setting up in compromised spaces? We'll talk about it tonight!
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0:00 Intro
2:00 HamTactical.com New Shirts
4:30 Zoom Guests and Panel
9:35 Mike - Question on tube linear amplifiers
26:00 Alex - Recent emergency story on ham radio saving a life
30:00 Alex - Hiking and radio "How do you get your signal out?"
43:30 Edward - What antenna setup for a rented townhome?
52:20 John - Protable APRS iGate for SAR work
1:08:00 Eric - Evacuation ready scanners
1:20:00 Fred - Questions on hex beams vs. three element yagis
1:36:40 "What is the best hand held from $100-$200" - Наука та технологія
14:20 Attic Antennas: I installed inexpensive wire dipole antennas in the attic: 10 meters, 20 meters and 40 meters. 'Had to wrap the wire around the attic walls, using electric fence stand-offs in creative ways. Using only 100 watts, I worked all 50 states and 5 continents during low solar flux conditions. Ham "super stations" (stacked multi element Yagi beams on 150 ft.
towers running 1,500 watts plus) were pissed off when I gave them a signal report of 5/7 to my 5/5. My cost: just under $100. Their cost: just under $1,000,000. You don't need to be rich to be a ham. All you need is to be innovative and creative.
3 separate feedlines or a fan?
@@thibeault Three separate feed lines. 10 meters, 20 meters, and 40 meters. Use RG-8 or Belden 9913 or equivalent coax. Also use an expensive antenna switch such as Alpha Delta multi-antenna switch. The extra cost will save you watts and prevent RFI leakage.
H.O.A. Advice: If you are a Ham, living in an H.O.A. DO NOT....I REPEAT, DO NOT let anybody know that you are a Ham Radio Operator !! And tell your household members to keep their mouths shut too. REASON: If your neighbors know that you are a radio operator, they will be the first to point the finger at you if they have any R.F.I. (radio frequency interference) on their TV,
AM/FM radios, Computers or other household devices. Even if you are not transmitting, they will still blame you, even though you may not be the source of their interference. You may be fined by the H.O.A. or even taken to court. Many hams have been down this road.
The two main issues for Hams in H.O.A. neighborhoods are 1. The appearance of their outside antennas. 2. The R.F.I radio interference they cause to neighbors.
If you want to continue to operate, you must hide your antennas very well, and you must NOT let neighbors know you are an Amateur Radio Operator. If a neighbor mentions, in a casual neighborly conversation, about some interference, noise or problems with TV, Computers, Stereo, or appliances, the best thing to do is to say:
"Yes, by the way I too have noticed some interference on my TV, Computer and Stereo, especially ever since I noticed the city electric crew working on that new transformer or big unit thing they were installing down the street, about a week ago." "Perhaps I will call the city regarding that".
Blame the R.F.I. on the city, state, power company, phone company, cable company or any other large powerful electrically-based corporation. Never let neighbors know you are a Ham. You are asking for social and legal trouble if you do. Many hams can attest to this advice. Many hams have had to move multiple times because of 1. Antenna appearances and 2. Causing R.F.I. interference to neighbors.
If you want to continue your radio hobby without trouble from neighbors, it is best to keep ham radio a secret. Either that or move to a location where you have the land or spacing that can allow you to 1. Have noticeable outside antennas, OR 2. Your transmitting will not cause R.F.I. to neighbors because of your large spacing between houses.
Run QRP to reduce potential problems. I QSO'd UR5 from U.K. about 1200 miles using 1 Watt c.w. out and indoor dipole in the attic about 28 ft above ground.
Bill, G4GHB.
@@bill-2018 QRP only works when atmospheric band conditions are rich and working well. In fact, lately, even running 1,500 watts is not working very well with the psychotic roller coaster band conditions on 40 meters. Band conditions are everything to H.F. amateur radio success or failure. Good luck with QRP. When it works, it is really fun !!
@@jennifer86010 Very true j, but QRP can be amazing. Now cycle 25 is getting going things can improve, and are, as my 17m contact shows.
Great Job! My HOA states that no "Short Wave" radio antennas are allowed. 70cm and 2m not technically short wave, I put an antenna up strapped to a vent pipe. No complaints so far and it's been up for a year.
i love exploiting loopholes
I even used brass curtain rails for a CB antenna, these are not connected in the middle and pass each other for the curtains to lap past each other. A brass curtain pole, cut it in the middle and put a wooden pole in between and that made a dipole. These worked well inside a flat (6 floors) Also I put one bolted to the rails of a balcony and the whip straight up, there was so much steel rail it acted as a ground-plane. Another one was bolted to a wall outside a flat, it had a bent TV antenna pole "L" shaped bolted to wall and a whip bolted to a bracket with a ground-plane at 45 degrees pointing away from the whip, this gave a good SWR and worked well. We did one with a thin steel bracket, a steel 9ft whip and another steel whip at 45 degrees for a ground-plane, it worked really well and was almost invisible unless the sun glinted off the steel whip, but even that could have been sprayed. All can be scaled up or down to work elsewhere on other bands, within reason, 40 and 80 meters might be a problem! Though if using a whip for radiator and ground-plane might work well enough.
Gonna study for my tech license after I return from the beach, and glad you're showing these antennas, bc not only would my hoa be upset, but my mom too (I'm a teen).
Did you get ur ticket?
Interesting and fun. Some good ideas there. Makes you realise what struggle it is for some folks.
Josh - can you provide some details on your hotel room set up? I travelled a lot pre-COVID, and it is starting back up. The SOTA/POTA wires are great, but sometimes you just can't set one up in the room. Always good to use what somebody has already figured out. Keep up the great discussions!
What a great idea! A crash course. I was licensed as general class in 1981. After 10 years my heart was stolen by computers. I got reticence recently and I feel like Rip Van Winkle. Its all new, but some is the same. Thanks
As a computer guy with love of RF too, check out if there is packet radios still in your area. You’ll have a lot of fun!
Ran a 10/15/20 fan dipole in my condo attic for years. From New England worked as far as Midway, Russia and South America. Then they ran digital cable and noise went to S7.
I made a four band fan antenna in my attic. 10,20,40 and 60 meters. I’m in NC and I have hit all the US, Canada, South America, as far east as Ukraine. Works great. Also have an end fed. All this and a tuner, I have a good time. I have a j-pole on the outside for vhf/uhf, no one notices it.
@36:25 the Hamstick Dipole for 40m is only about 8' long. So, it might work as a ground-mounted antenna. But, it's a compromise and you won't be able to put one up for 80m.
Love the video Josh! I have a question about the JPole in the window (I have ordered one from N9TAX). What is the minimum safe distance between such an antenna and human beings if I plan on transmitting at 20W? What if I push my ICOM 2200H to it's max transmit power of 65W? Good up the great videos
My church put up a gmrs repeater at our camp they called the fcc and ask them what radios we should use and they said the baofeng I have to say they've been working really good have a nice day
Great Video but a question: If I currently have a Cx-333 for VHF/UHF and I get a multiple band dipole for HF how far apart do the antennas need to be? Thanks
I have 5 dipoles, 20-10m in my attic. 20m has two large loops at the ends to fit in and 17m has one loop. 1 Watt c.w. into UR5 last week on 17m. about 1200 miles. Okay, he had a quad but he was only using 10 Watts.
G4GHB.
Can you do a video on RF exposure? I find the FCC page on exposure woefully inadequate
Hello, thanks for the information. What‘s the name of the antenna that you used in the hotel room?
I bought a BF-F8Hp and 2 Motorola T800 talkabouts. The BF because I'm interested in HAM and considering getting licensed and the T800s for family members. So the issue is I can receive on the BF from the T800 radios but cannot transmit to them. There is no problem transmitting and receiving between the T800s. I followed the steps on programming the BF with chirp and all seems to have gone well. Any thoughts on why I am not able to transmit to the T800s from the BF?
I've been wanting to ask if y'all ever pick a spot on HF bands and try to contact all your youtube fans? can make it a challenge between all the other youtube people and y'all make a contest out of it you each have you're own channel and they must say a specific word of your choosing and you score a point losers buy winner a case of beer or something
Very nice presentation, Josh! Still enjoying my HRCC Extra Shirt!
Awesome! Thank you! I appreciate the support.
Old video I know but got my extra last Thursday
Great stuff Josh and as always, thank you!
Running an IC-7300 radio barefoot.
I am in a townhouse and have been using a 40/20/15/10 end fed mounted through a second floor window and run out to the corner of my fence with some paracord. I'm using a 12-foot extendable painter's pole attached up on my corner fence post as my support with a guy line running from the top to counter the line tension and keep the pole from bowing. -this is an NVIS antenna at roughly 15 feet, but it tunes nearly 1:1 on 40 meters and well under 2 on 20 meters; I've still worked some DX on it in good conditions.
I'm in southern NJ and my reflected "sweet spot" is the Carolinas up to Maine, to give an idea of the kind of pattern I'm getting, which I see in maps generated from my logs.
I also have an MFJ 1786 Hi Q Loop mounted horizontally in my attic which works well due to the shallower takeoff angle.
I use an MFJ 1702C switch for the antennas and an earth ground. -All of my gear and antenna grounded to it.
This is far from an optimal antenna setup, but I can get out and have worked 40 countries so far with more to come.
The point is that EVERY antenna installation will have its own unique challenges, and that the more studied, resourceful and patient you are, the better the results will be.
Has anyone tried using the radiant barrier as an antenna yet? It seams if you would connect a few sheets together on each side of your roof and plug that into your antenna port, you might have fantastic reception
Could you use the gutter system as an antenna?
Finally got around to watching this video. Going to be missing the live-streams most weekends due to work. Thanks for throwing my SlinkTenna into your slides Josh! 73!
Night Operation: Neighbors are nosy. They are observant, and they want to know everything about you. They will be observing you and your habits. If you live in a house, and you want to work H.F. bands but can't use an outside antenna for fear of it being seen by neighbors who might report you to the H.O.A. Nazis, you might consider working H.F. bands after the sun goes
down. Once dark, you can erect an inverted V wire dipole antenna for 40 meter band operation, using a telescoping mast, but you have to remember to take it down before the sun comes up. Or, install a wire dipole wrapped into a nearby tree that is invisible.
Remember to disconnect and hide the feed line before sunrise. Remember the two thing that nosy neighbors look for are 1. Your Antenna. 2. Any R.F.I. interference they notice on their TV, Stereo, Computer or appliances.
Damn! Missed the stream and after chat. :( Also can you give more info on your "hotel portable"?
My problem is that I live in a 7 story concrete building that probably has iron rebar in the wall. And no balconies on the windows. The best solution is a glass mount 2m/1.5cm/70cm antenna that would normally be used for a car. That works well as long as i have my Tech license. I have looked long and hard and the only think left for me is the MFJ-1621 window ledge mount antenna. I will put is up at night and then take it down before dawn.
Any chat on rfi affecting solar controls or meters?
Great info! Especially for a noob like myself. Quick question. Can you use radiant barrier material on the floor of your attic to block rf from the rest of the house?
Possibly. It really depends on the RFI you’re dealing with.
New subscriber Mike Glover brought me here and I am completely new to the idea of needing a radio of some sort. I haven't a chance to yet binge your channel, but look forward to it. One question I have is the susceptibility of radios to the impact of something like an emp. Is this a concern and how do you safeguard against it? Do you have a video on this topic? Thank you
Yes, yes and yes. Emp is a concern. Radios are affected and they generally need to disconnected from any antenna and put in some kind of shielding to protect from it. I have put up a video on the topic.
Wa6ols "WES" here I use a balun fed vertical for 40 10 and an EFHW for 80 - 10 EFHW goes as a flat top along the roof apex length of the trailer in a trailer park. Power kept at 15 watts to abate tvi.
dipoles erected horizontal are directional just like loop antennas.
intresting subject...
"APARTMENT BALCONY RAILING..."
If you're not smart enough to tighten things so they don't come apart and fall down, then you probably shouldn't even be playing with CB Radio.
The best application so far, (for the apt. railing and HF single sideband), has been the Chameleon deal with some sort of whip mounted on top, at least 102" maybe. I've made many worthwhile contacts with that antenna set up. Definitely worth the money.
73!
.357 is great for bowling pins. Puts the guys with 9mm to shame.
Ground floor apartment, seniors building, patio with 8 foot ceiling. Magnic loop does not work indoors (too much wire in concrete) and no yard. I need ideas! Thanks for all your videos.
Is there a bit of grass outside the patio you can use? Maybe setup a Wolf River Coil close to your patio, then take it down when you're done playing radio?
A necessary topic: How do you reinstall your KX3 radio firmware using the Elecraft firmware downloads from their website? I can not do it to save my life, and my KX3 now can not transmit on SSB, CW etc. Have the 50 ohm 100 watt dummy load, the USB cable , and even the reinstallation states that the "firmware installed correctly." But all I get is "ERR TxC" I am being ignored by Elecraft tech support, even though I have purchased 2 complete KX lines (KX3, PX3, KPA100).
In the short term you may want to reach out to Elecraft. But it is on a long list of video ideas.
Flagpole antennas..on the market.
Starts(ish) at 11:50
Doesn’t OTARD prevent HOAs from banning antennas?
I pinched the crap out of a finger with that mag mount!
Thanks for getting Ham bug again and back on the air again getting some new radios, NH7QH
Thanks for watching.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Keep up good work
Are you (or more to the point Leah) going to get set up as a sponsor the the next QSO Virtual Hamfest in March? It would be cool to see a Ham Tactical booth. :D
How would you put radial on a mobile 10 meter antenna in a apartment to lower your swr?
Hang a wire off the edge, or connect to a rain gutter?
Man was gonna install a 10-80m Nelson end fed dipole my back deck has about 7 45 feet high supports I was gonna try to make something work.. Any recommendations?? Been trying to get online months
Sure, do that. Just get the wire up.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse get the 10-80 or 10-40
Will solar panels on the roof negatively impact HF reception and transmission?
They can generate rfi. Which will hurt receiving weak signals.
are you gonna do pota? lol its cool i cant do it as i m not a ham :)
Will a attic antenna work with a metal roof? Thanks
Yes, in that your signal will radiate. But the metal roof will likely make it horrible for both receive and transmit.
Great video!
My apartment building is L-shaped, and I have a pretty long apartment at the back of the L on the 2nd (top) floor. No roof access, no balcony, no patio, no back yard. I'm more set up to do HF in the field (but that's not really happening during the epidemic). W0AXR gave me his 10-40m homemade magloop; I use that both in the field and in my living room, or even out in the staircase on the end of the building. I actually make FT8 contacts with it!
We're also working together on a 80m small transmitting loop, 58' circumference running horizontally around the top of the living room wall. Big cap with a stepper motor controlled by an Arduino. It's not behaving by the book; we suspect there might be some structural steel hiding in the wall. The building was built in 1962, and is brick exterior and I'm certain the wall framing is wood, but there might be a beam up the middle. We're playing games with the match at the feedpoint, and I've actually worked with it a little. It also has resonances at 40, 20, and 10, but it may need an adjustable match to work on them. This has turned into a long term experiment.
Good luck! I’ve got the same sort of problem
Another fantastic video thanks again so much for adding it! Tony Ridlen KC9QVE AMATEUR EXTRA Marion,Indiana
I’m in an apartment.
On the bottom floor.
Behind a set of railroad tracks.
Behind a hill.
Behind a raised highway.
HF ain’t happening for me. 😭
Hang it from pvc poles sticking out two windows ..if they open
KØMRD watching in replay
Thank you Josh. Great info. I lived in an HOA and had a good size antenna in the back yard. Nothing was said for as long as I had it up. So not sure if they knew what it was or in the HOA that I lived in, or ham antennas were ok. Either way I moved out and now live on a half acre. Lots of room for any antenna I want now. 73 Clark KG7LOI
The chapter titles in this video are all wrong! Pls fix, very confusing.
Do dipoles need radials?
Nope
Speaking of condo and apartment patios. I've noticed myself and also had friends that have had issues with indoor and patio signals having VERY very poor propagation. In all cases the home was constructed with stucco walls, and if you think about how those are constructed aside from the wood framing, they have a layer of wire mesh very similar to chicken wire which helps the stucco stick to the wall, and I imagine that is working like a bit of a Faraday cage and blocking a good portion of the RF spectrum. We did some testing both myself and friends, and sure enough getting the antenna outside of the stucco walls seemed to have an immediate effect and make a very big difference in RF performance. Granted I'm sure some of that interference is also due to many other factors like the walls/wood itself, other devices in the home, etc. But worth looking into if you're having issues.
CttC: Antenna info @10:15
can we finally get together legally and Ban HOA's? Not a single person ive ever met that has had to deal with one likes it.
I would do attic, don't have to worry about lightning
Question
Seems to me the HVAC equipment in my HOA attic would generate a lot of RF interference, right?
Abrupt end to the video, did I miss something?
People on the zoom chat were hammered and screwing with him so he axed it
At first got weard looks but they don't think they work. Hihi joke is on them. Japan, Neaterlands .
Wa6ols That vertical is 15' off the ground.
I love that going stealth with your antennas may include hiding them from a spouse!
I LIKE THIS TOPIC KG6MN
Cons of attic: solar panels. :(
Use an antenna that doesn't look like one. Use something like a looped dipole. Nobody will know what it is.
Hi Power FT8 is just brute force... No skill required... 50W FT8 is already like 50KW SSB
Great, thanks.
I would donate to your channel but I am dirt poor and dirt cheap ! In fact my ex wife called me {the cheap BASTARD! } .
I don’t need no frighten tshirt
Ok.
Sir, this is a Wendy's.
Simple. Move away from the HOA, then do what you want.
Covenants and HOAs are becoming more and more prevalent these days...even in starter home areas. With covenants, you may not have an HOA but neighbors can still sue. Thus, you either live in absolutely horrible neighborhoods or out in the country...the latter isn't always a good option.
@@KREllis-vr1ix If I could afford it, (I'm on SSDI), I'd buy the house in the bad neighborhood, (which, pretty much all of Akron [cracKron], Ohio is), and I'd line all the walls on the 1st floor with Kevlar, and I'd certainly entertain/invoke my 2nd amendment right which is another hobby I can barely afford, but guns and ammunition is every bit as necessary as food! Because I absolutely despise HOA's as they are a blatant contradiction to the rights, freedoms, and liberties this country was founded upon and don't deserve my blessed urine running down their pimple covered backs on the coldest day of they year! (this is mostly intended as comedic sarcasm, which is my other specialty that I offer for free).
I am one of those "apartment dweller operators" that has been doing this for many years now starting out on CB radio when I was still an immature pot-head, so I know what works and what doesn't in the realm of the technology and how to force the property management to accept me and my Ham radio, and I'm not above pulling the "gay rights" card and accompanying rainbow flag at which has resulted in fearing that I'll call the ACLU and also claim that interfering with my Ham radio affects my Depression in a negative way and my result in physical harm to me. 90+ % of the time they have backed off and let me get my thang on!
73!
Get into the HOA with other members.
Vote to make it ineffective and toothless.
Can you just pack up and move tommorow if you WANTED to? Most people can't. It's not cheap to move. Not having an antenna isn't a rational reason to uproot your entire life. Use your head a little bit maybe?
Additionally, almost all new homes built today are in an HOA. The ones that aren't, are usually places on huge pieces of land that is very expensive. For the rich, that's great. For the rest 99% of us, we aren't. Ham Radio shouldn't be only for the rich. You sir need to do some soul searching.
Maybe DON’T LIVE IN AN HOA!
I get the apartment thing. We’ve all lived in one of those.
Its really easy to say that on UA-cam I have found. I gave you stats. HOAs have gobbled up a ton of housing leaving people with less options.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I know in some areas is hard. But we took an extra year to find a place because I refused to live in an HOA. It can be done, but it’s more work or a longer commute. HOAs need to join the dodo.
Do you realize it took you about 14 minutes to get into any content? While your videos have a lot to offer, there’s a lot of wasted verbiage. Food for thought.
Thanks for watching!