Topband: Re: 160m Real Estate -- recap of replies (long)

[Jeffrey Herman]

Wow, you guys are great! And here I thought I'd be the only one
to think of getting a home with hamming in mind! (Present QTH
excluded...). Below is a collection of all the replies I received.
I'm a little hesitant to load up the lanai railing, since it 
extends the entire length of the building; I fear that someone
in another apartment leaning against it might get the $@#%
shocked out of them! I'll have to remain on 10m for now.

I hope you who replied don't mind me "broadcasting" your great
replies to the list, and I don't break protocol by doing so.

73, Jeff KH6O
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W2pm@aol.com
Jeff - I recently selected this QTH on the quality of the "neighborhood"
- height above average terrain, low noise, lots of tall trees, etc.  Im
glad I did.. Did you ever read ON4UN's earlier Low Band book where he
mentions that if you look thru the callbooks you will see lots of
addresses on "Mountain Ave", Heights Terrace, Longview Rd, Hilltop Lane,
etc. ?? Its true..  73 Pete

Bill Gerhold <Billg@warwick.net>
How could you be so short sighted. I learned from my mistakes.  Who needs
a view of the pacific when you could put up long wires and stuff.
Bill WA2AEH

"Zaimes, Jon" <jzaimes@wilmingt.gannett.com>
Absolutely! In fact, ham radio has been a significant factor in the choice 
of each of the four homes we've owned over the years, and 160 meters to some
degree in all of them but especially the last two. So now we're on 12 acres 
in the country in rural central Delaware -- only one hour to my office in 
northern Delaware, and 30 minutes for my wife (AB1P) in the other end of the
state! I have checked out the last two homes several times both night and 
day with a mobile rig for noise levels before purchasing. Also have 
checked out zoning regulations relating to towers and put a line in the 
sales contract something like "there be no restrictions against amateur 
radio antennas or antenna support structures." The key word for the
Realtor  is "nondevelopment", hi.   73/Jon AA1K

W7lr@aol.com
Hi Jeff. Guesss I lucked out - we did buy 5 acres years ago, mostly for
our big dogs to roam.  Turned out to be a good dx qth.  Didnt start 160
until many years later, but do have one acre for topband verticals and
they work well.  Hard to say which is a greater benefit/priority - view
or dx??  73    Bob W7LR in Montana

Rob <w4rjk@home.com>
how high up drop a wire and load it up

TNeill1648@aol.com
Jeff, my primary residence is a 150 acre farm 15 miles from Nashville.  I 
bought the farm with antennas and hamming in mind.  My 1800 foot Beverages 
work well. 
My secondary residence is a Gulf Coast condo on the top corner floor 
approximately 200 feet high.  I have a 90 ft balcony rail that I load on all 
bands via a tuner and have over 250 DXCC countries all with 100 wts from the 
condo.  Works well on 160 too!
Try loading your railing and I think you will love it!.    Tom K4XG

George & Marijke Guerin <gmguerin@voyager.net>
We moved to present location for two reasons.  Liked the house, & it is on 4
acres so I can put out a couple of beverages.  I am about to put another one
thru a neighbor's back yard looking NNE.
If you are in a high rise, maybe you can slope a 1/4 wave antenna down and
ground the coax to the balcony railings or building structure and get on top
band.  If not, consider a club station where you can work the lower
frequencies       Good luck      73  George       K8GG

William James <cfwsj@ux1.cts.eiu.edu>
At our previous property I had been on 160 with 10 watts of "homebrew"
CW  to about a 50 foot wire maybe 15-20 off the ground.  Best "DX"(?) was
CT.  When we bought the property for the present home (about 1/2 mile from
the other one) twenty-three years ago, I think in the back of my mind there
was the hope that eventually I would get back on 160.  The terrain is
relatively flat in this part of east-central Illinois but we really moved
to a worse location as far as elevation is concerned.  We are in a shallow
valley.  The lot, however, is larger that the previous one.  It is about
110 feet wide and 200 feet long.  The back 70-80 feet is part of a lake
that we share with about two dozen other home sites.
While I got up a trap vertical in our back yard within about a year of
moving in, the only other antennas I have used over the years have been
various wire antennas: loaded loop and delta loop on 40, 1/2 delta loop on
80, two element delta loop on 20, and about two years ago I put up an
inverted "L" on 160.  Thanks to very good neighbors, I was able to tie the
horizontal end of the inverted "L" to a tree across the lake and put some
fourteen radials around about 180 degrees along the lake wall or in the
lake.  An additional additional eight get rolled out on the back lawn
during the winter for another 90 degrees.
In the two years of rather casual operation, and that mostly in SSB
contests, the inverted "L" has netted five continental areas with 100 watts
of SSB.
This has been a long answer to the question you raised.  In short my
wife and I bought this place because we wanted more space and we wanted the
lake frontage.  In the back of my mind though, I saw it as a place to put
up far better antennas than I could have at the previous residence even
though it was a bit "down hill".  Another factor that I remember entering
my mind was that here the power and telephone lines were underground while
there they were above ground.     73, Bill - W9LYN

Ford Peterson <ford@cmgate.com>
I move to my 5 acre farm 5 years ago.  It's on small hill (60' or so) and I
have a view of the horizon in all directions.  I can see 4th of July fire
works in several counties.
I chose this real estate because it suit my needs.  I must admit, ham radio
did play a significant factor in my mind (zero in my wife's).  All things
considered, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Next time I'll look for 10
acres with more trees tho.  I have lots of trees but in the wrong places.
Ford-N0OQW

Greg - ZL3IX <zl3ix@inet.net.nz>
I've just signed the papers on a home with that in mind!  73, Greg, ZL3IX

k6se@juno.com
I did, 25 years ago.  Not a bit sorry.   73, de Earl, K6SE

John Farber <jfarber@sprynet.com>
I can say I definitely had HR and 160 in mind when I chose my present
house and lot. Many tall Redwood trees far enough apart to hoist a FW
loop for 160 m on. It has worked vy well for me on TB, 80 and 40 when
fed thru a HB link-coupled tuner and using window line. GL and hope you
find a good spot.   John, KG6I

Skip Reba <ws9v@royell.net>
Well I lived in town (Springfield,Ill) for the first 13 yrs of my ham radio
days. In a house with neighbors an all the complaints from me bothering
them an them bothering me with qrm,qrn,making garage doors an all the rf
horror stories.Any how after meeting Jerry (WB9Z) an Lori Rosalius an
guest oping from his location which is a country setting an very well
equiped for the low bands I put that on the priority list as far as buying
a house.So in 1997 I found a 17 room house built in 1842 with 6 acres of
yard on a setting of 640 acres of just pure flat farm ground.The closest
people to me are 1 1/4 mile away to the west. Doing electric motor repair
for a living,it not only became a asset living here but I also do the work
for the farmer that owns the ground around me an he allows me to put up my
beverages for the low bands. I wouldnt sell move or be thrown out for any
reason Its  a super spot you can shoot a gun ride a 4wheeler or even
sunbath neked if you choose. Who will see.   Happy hunting, 73 Skip WS9V

Herbert Schoenbohm <herbs@vitelcom.net>
You should have chosen St. Croix.  I have the view of the Caribbean plus
hundreds of acres of open fields..  The sea level location on the coast
was selected for enhanced 160 meter operation and beats my previous
hilltop location significantly.
We have surfing here too but nothing even close to bonsai pipeline
except wen there is a passing hurricane.   Herb (KV4FZ)

Craig Clark <nx1g@top.monad.net>
i did. we have 25 acres in the woods here in NH. We hate suburban living.
we love being "woodchucks."     73 Craig Clark W1JCC

K4LDR <k4ldr@hitter.net>
I selected 46 acres on a distinct rise for my new home we  constructed in
1997.  I am 6 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, near Crystal River, FL.  The
driving force for that amount of land was to NOT have neighbors very near
with their self-perceived right to have any say (what-so-ever) about my
antennas.  Our county has 110,000 population and I planned for the crowded
future, since we are in an extraordinary growth boom.  I also wanted to
have, and do have, 160M Beverage wires....(which I have dreamed of over my
44 years in ham radio).   To give you a feel for the size of my 46 acres; it
is a few feet off from a perfect square of 1,415 ft on a side, with the
house in the middle.  3.3 Sq ft main house, 1.8K sq ft guest house across
the courtyard, 1.6K sq ft separate shop building for mechanical and
woodworking efforts.  Radio central is in the main house near the kitchen
with a 2nd entry from outside thru a screen porch, separate head with shower
and urinal, PVC pipe antenna cable ports on 2 walls, separate 240VAC
receptacles,     separate wiring for gasoline alternator power source.
Florida is basically flat, a couple feet above sea level, and my home is at
135 ft ASL.  It is on a huge sand dune from 10,000 years ago.  On VHF, I
have an unobstructed path to Tampa/St Petersburg
60+ miles South.  Likewise the other directions but the ground is level for
a longer distance with forest.  Any earth ground is tough to find because
our sand dune is perfectly porous sugar sand with the water table at 135 ft.
Lightning is a problem and fear.  This is the 2nd highest lightning
frequency of occurrence locale in the world.  We've been directly struck on
near-house trees, on antennas, on the ground surface, on our 900 ft buried
power and telephone cables....you name it!  Had a fire in radio central and
the flame/heat/smoke alarm devices in the ham shack and house worked
perfectly bring the fire crew.   Spent plenty on intercom, TV, telephone,
modem, etc., replacements and repairs.   I knew that the lightning could be
pretty serious and put a Ufer ground system in the house foundation when we
poured the concrete footers and floor slab, and a LOT of additional
lightning protection, per the PolyPhaser lightning manual.  Without the Ufer
and other precautions, maybe the house would be destroyed by now.
Anyways, between lightning strikes during the season, I have a great time on
amateur radio especially on 160 meters.
Up the road North about 200 miles in Barnesville, Georgia is W8JI with
plenty of land for his 160M four-square and numerous Beverages.  Less
lightning there though.  His 160M sig is so strong here my radio vibrates!
(Like the 60kHz submarine com site sigs)
I lived in an apartment in Atlanta, GA for 11 months and dropped a 130 ft
insulated wire out the window and used a Dentron MT-3000A tuner.  It worked
surprisingly well on 80-10M but I never tried in on 160M.  Perhaps u ought
to butter up your building manager and maintenance staff and run a wire from
ur balcony several hundred feet to a convenient insulator fastening anchor
at ground level.  200 ft or more would be a killer on 160M.
Where there is a will, there is a way.  Ya never get anywhere without
trying.  And, my last bit of wisdom is: If you can't erect the "perfect"
antenna, then do something less and just struggle a little more.  160M is
fun, though punishing and discouraging at times.  Most of the newcomers to
amateur radio don't want to spend the patience.  If there is no instant
gratification, then their interest wanes rapidly.
Gud Luk.     73,  Pete  K4LDR  Citrus County, FL

Roger Graves <rgraves@uvic.ca>
Thanks for the nice reminder of Hawaii sun, blue color, flower aroma. Very 
nice for me here on a gray winter day in Canada. Enjoy being stuck where 
you are! But maybe you can either put an antenna on the roof, or run 
remote control to a big tower on top of one of those hills!
I have a city lot with a 64 ft tower in the backyard. You can see the "Pacific" 
as in the Strait of Georgia from the top of the tower, but not from the house 
unfortunately.    Enjoy the view Jeff,    Rod VE7VV

k7ca@infowest.com
One of my considerations on moving to the Cedar City area of 
Utah was 160m operations.  But having low noise and plenty of 
room for antennas is good for more than just 160m.  73, Al K7CA





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