[TowerTalk] Antenna in attic

[Brad Anbro]

Hello all,

A new acquaintance of mine, who is a newly licensed ham, would like to install an HF antenna in his attic. In my 40+ years as a ham, I have never installed an HF antenna in an attic. I have installed many wire antennas outside in the open air, but none in an attic. I am guessing that he would like to end up with a dipole for 20 meters, so that he can get on HF and make a few QSOs.

I am assuming that the antenna should be in the clear and as far away from the wood as possible. Is that correct? Also, is the required length appreciably different than a dipole installed outside in the air (468 divided by the frequency in MHz)?

Thanks for any help with this!

73 de Brad, N9EN