Great thread. I worked hundreds of stations, SA, NA & EU, on CW in the 1950s
by loading up my bedspring in my small bedroom with a Viking II, lots of
fun. From time to time I would clip a lead to my Mother's clothes line and
work the locals on 80M AM, including the nightly AM Phone Net. There are
more ways than one to skin a cat. This of course would not break a pile up,
but then again, very few pile ups and nothing but gentlemen and gentleladies
on the air in those days.
73, Carl VE9OV
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike & Coreen Smith" <ve9aa@nbnet.nb.ca>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2001 21:44 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk]small lots antenna ideas
>
> Been reading every post in this thread and LOVING it. Brings back
memories!
>
> For years I lived in the city, then I bought 1 acre in the country, but
> went away to College for 2 years and stayed in a number of apt bldg's etc.
> Here's a mish-mash of ideas that worked for me in no particular order.
>
> Some antenna ideas for those with small lots or antenna restrictions:
>
> A couple clever things I did while away at college were.(if you can get
away
> with it)
> Huge multiband dipole (6m-40m) in the attic of a large apt bldg.. (placed
> there when the least # of tennants on the top floor were home during the
> middle of the day)(be careful to duck and step only on the beams!)
> Ran rg58 coax out a roof vent and clevering into my bedroom window
alongside
> trim. (top floor of course!)
>
> The piece de resistance' was for 2m, 6m & 10m I took an old channel 2 TV
> antenna and played with the elements.
> 4el on 6m, 5el on 2m and loaded the boom for 10m with a simple gamma
match.
> I u-bolted this to a stink pipe vent and turned it with a tiny RS rotor.
No
> one was the wiser. Looked just like any other TV antenna in the
neigborhood
> to the untrained eye.
> I practically laughed every day I looked up and saw it. That little yagi
up
> 40' worked pretty darn well. I ran 10-20w on all bands (just to play it
> safe) and not a single TVI/RFI complaint in a year. Everyone knew I was a
> ham cuz my car has 5 antennas on it + the call plates give it away.
>
> One other place I stayed at I used an R7000 buried inside a Mountain Ash
> tree and then a homebrew horizontal 6m loop mounted at the top of it. This
> was practically invisible for 6m-40m work.
>
> At another place I made a 20m ground plane by slinking up a tiny piece of
> copper wire alongside a wooden flagpole my landlord had attached to his
back
> deck, For the ground plane I used 2 -1/4wl wires snaked under his 2 x 4
> decking (with his permission). NOt a single hole drilled, no one knew the
> antenna was there (except the landlord) and it really did work quite well.
I
> think I could have placed a second band on the other side of the flagpole
> (with some interaction) and still no one would've known.
>
> At my Dads place years ago, my favorite stealthers were dipoles strung
> along, barely tucked under the very edge of the shingles on his roof,
either
> on the gable ends (as inverted Vees) or full out dipoles on the long sides
> of his house. I probably did have interaction with the shingles, but I was
> 14 and I didn't care. (no wonder that 468/f(MHz) formula never seemed to
> work well! Dad had a "no nail rule", though I eventually did get
permission
> to install a single eyebolt which I musta strung a mile of wire off of,
> heading out to various trees, poles and sheds in the yard, hi!
> Heck in a few years I had a couple hundred DXCC's with 40w-100w using
junky
> tube rigs and a str8 key!
>
> I loaded my old 5/8wl CB ground plane antenna (which were once common
sites
> and not so frowned upon) on 10m thru 20m
>
> I had a rusty Hygain tribander (and below it a 3-el 6m beam) at the 25'
> level, right in the top of a large willow tree. Hardly noticeable unless
you
> were looking for it.
>
> There were no antenna restrictions (per se) in my old neigborhood, but my
> Landlord (Dad) didn't like the looks of all those antennas, and there were
> the odd RFI complaints from time to time.
>
> They key is to think creatively and don't expect to be the first through
in
> a pileup. ( I never was back then)
> Wire can be your friend!
> Over the years I have used lots of "invisible" antennas using very small
> wire (and yes, it breaks a few times a year), and always
> had reasonable results.
>
> I have lots of alumimum up today and have an acre of land with LOTS of
> trees, so I still use wire for antennas. It's great and
> I have fun, but I still had fun for 15 years or so with many smallish,
> invisible or otherwise stealth-type antennas!~
>
> 7 3 de VE9AA, Mike
>
>
> List Sponsored by AN Wireless: AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
> Trylon Titan towers, coax, hardline and more. Also check out our self
> supporting towers up to 96 feet for under $1500!!
http://www.anwireless.com
>
> -----
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
> Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>
List Sponsored by AN Wireless: AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
Trylon Titan towers, coax, hardline and more. Also check out our self
supporting towers up to 96 feet for under $1500!! http://www.anwireless.com
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|