We Hams are always trying to put up an awesome Ham Antenna, so we
can talk around the world. The problem is that where we live will
determine what kind of ham antenna we can use. Some areas or
neighborhoods do not allow the erecting of any kind of antenna, be it a
ham antenna or any antenna. So what do we do when this happens ? Do we
just throw in the towel or do we think of all the possibilities, try
them out to determine what works best.
Well I would survey my area and then determine what kind of antenna I can work with. Some people will try to erect a dipole antenna
of some sort and hang it in the trees. I have seen some people hang it
basically from the gutters around the house. Other hams may use the
flagpole type antenna, put a flag on it and install it in your yard.
Usually these are a vertical antenna
like the hustler 6btv antenna. There were other verticals that were
made for this purpose. One such vertical antenna may be the DX
Engineering Vertical Antennas made of telescoping aluminum tubing.
If
you go with one of these flagpole type antennas, remember that you will
need to install some kind of ground radials to make it function at its
best. There are also others that have the vertical antenna on a tilt
over system so they can raise it and lower it when it becomes dark
outside. Just remember some pesky neighbors will be watching and report
you. This will definitely spoil all your fun. So the key is to make it
not an eye sore. In other words what they don't know won't hurt them.
Now
if you can place the antenna outside in any manner, then it may have to
be inside the house. This means that you will want it as high as it can
go. The highest point in your house is generally the attic. Not all
houses have a big attic to put up an antenna. One way is to use a wire dipole type antenna and bend it in as many ways as you can to make it fit. This is entirely possible and will offer some pretty good results.
The other type of antenna for an attic situation is a rotatable dipole.
Of course you won't be able to rotate the antenna, but it should still
do a pretty good job. There are some excellent multi-band rotatable
dipoles that will do very well. Some ham stick dipoles
are not too expensive and may give some good results. It's just
basically what you can afford and where you can fit it. So get into the
stealth mode of ham radio and start chasing that dx today.
