[SECC] Antennas for Those Who Can't Put Up a Tower

[Jeff Clarke]

I was motivated to start this discussion after NQ4I suggested we talk 
about something other that digital modes. If you drove by my house you 
wouldn't even know that a ham lived here because you can't see any 
antennas. Unfortunately we have a HOA in my neighborhood so a big tower 
with beams is out of the question. Fortunately I do live on a two acre 
wooded lot so I can hide wire antennas in the woods. Plus I'm at the 
very northern part of my subdivision and the neighbor behind me owns a 
10 acre lot and doesn't really care about my antennas. I've live here 11 
years and not one complaint from them.

The KU8E antenna farm is the following:

160 Meters - Inverted L with 8 full size elevated radials.

80 Meters - Inverted V with center at 65 ft, 130 foot long Center fed 
zepp with center at 65 ft.

40 Meters - 130 foot long Center fed zepp with center at 65 ft. 
Broadside NE/SW so it's bi-directional on 40 meters, 40 meter dipole at 
45 feet broadside SE/NW

20 Meters - Dipole at 45 ft broadside N/S.

15 Meters - Full wave vertical loop.  See http://kt4qw.com/acan1.htm\ 
<http://kt4qw.com/acan1.htm>

10 Meters - Full wave vertical loop.  See http://kt4qw.com/acan1.htm\ 
<http://kt4qw.com/acan1.htm>

6 Meters - 5 element yagi hanging from a tree at 45 ft. This is my only 
aluminum antenna.

In the past I've experimented with half squares and a Lazy H but don't 
have these up right now. I'm to the point now that I would like to 
expand on my antenna farm  (if you could call it that !) and have some 
directional antennas. I've though about maybe putting up a quad or 
dipole array point to EU. I did buy a SpiderBeam once and intended to 
hang it from a tree limb. I never took it out of the box because it just 
looked too complicated to put together so I ended up selling it.  I've 
also thought about buying a tribander and just hanging it from a tree 
limb but that seemed like a expensive investment, especially if the limb 
broke and it crashed to the ground.

So my question for those in a similar situation what's your suggestion 
for a good contesting/ DX antenna?

Jeff KU8E

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