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When I earned my ham license at ten years old, my dad didn’t have his yet. A few weeks after passing my Technician exam, we attended a SKYWARN training session together. While we were signing in, I requested the amateur radio operator and non-amateur radio operator forms. The registration manager handed the “ham” sheet to my father and the other to me—then looked astonished when we switched them.

In similar fashion, whenever we attend hamfests together, I frequently get asked how my dad managed to convince me to come along and spend my Saturday here. In an unexpected turn of events, he was, in fact, the one in need of convincing—but not a lot of it. (My parents are both shockingly patient and supportive of my seemingly odd hobby.)

Many YLs have had similar experiences. People assume they’re only attending an amateur radio event because they wanted to come along with their boyfriend, husband, dad, or whichever male family member or acquaintance accompanied them. This gets frustrating after a while. I’ve been asked more than once if I “wanted to get my callsign now,” even though I was wearing a callsign badge or was talking about what I like to do in the hobby.

Being a YL in amateur radio can be quite the experience. Fortunately, I love the hobby enough to make dealing with difficult moments worth it (although we really shouldn’t have to). After seven years in the hobby, I’ve learned that as a YL, standing one’s ground is very important. There will always be weird comments on Facebook and other social media—even in person— but standing your ground and not letting yourself be hurt by them is the best thing you can do.

If you’re finding it hard to enjoy the hobby because of encounters like these, getting involved as much as possible will help immensely. You’ll find a group of people with whom you enjoy spending time and who are supportive. Remember, you can get involved with every part of the hobby, regardless of whether it’s specifically for YLs or not, although YL-tailored events and groups can be a lot of fun as well. The YLRL (Young Ladies Radio League), for example, has a forum every year at Hamvention put on by their board (see video below). They also host quite a few YL-centered operating events throughout the year. The YLRL offers a worldwide group of YLs whose goal is to make the hobby more welcoming for women and to help them find communities they fit into.

In addition to the YLRL’s operating events, there are plenty of others—and the numbers keep growing.

The YLWWA (YL World Wide Award) took place in March. Modeled after the WWA, it was a very successful event. The objective was to make the participating YL operators the receiving ends of pileups for the week. I speak for the vast majority of the YL activators when I say that it did just that. In addition to having the opportunity to run seemingly endless pileups, there was an active group chat so we could support and encourage each other. The atmosphere in the group chat was very positive and fostered many friendships that will last much longer than the YLWWA week did.

Forming friendships with other YLs has been one of the most rewarding parts of the hobby for me. From local YL friends (even some at my high school who got their licenses) to YL friends who live countries or even continents away, the YLs that I know in amateur radio push me to be the best I can be, both in amateur radio and outside of the hobby. They make up an incredibly supportive group of women. Making friends with other YLs will definitely help you enjoy the hobby more. Of course, you shouldn’t feel like you need to limit your amateur radio friend group to just YLs.

I remember attending my first Hamvention with my parents before having “found my circle” at ten years old. By chance, the first forum we attended was conducted by a young YL only a few years older than me. She was giving a presentation about activities she had done with her local club. This was, more or less, the first time I had seen a YL this involved with the hobby. Here was someone I could imagine following in their footsteps.

At that moment, I knew I wanted to continue to pursue the hobby and inspire other young YLs like she had inspired me. I went on to present at the same youth forum as well as a few others, always keeping in mind that when I do a presentation, I have the opportunity to encourage another young YL who may be unsure about getting into such a heavily STEM-focused and male-dominated hobby. Having that privilege and the platform to do this has become one of my favorite parts of the hobby, and it serves as a source of motivation for me now.

The way today’s YLs speak about, portray, and take part in amateur radio shapes how future generations of YLs can and will be involved in the hobby. You never know when a young YL in your audience is looking for someone to relate to. While navigating being a YL can be frustrating, having an opportunity like this makes any of the potential challenges worth it. 

The post How to Navigate Being a YL in Amateur Radio appeared first on OnAllBands.

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Here’s What Some Experienced Hams Had to Say.

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DX Engineering’s Facebook page recently posed this question to its readers:

HOA restrictions? Small space? What antenna setup is actually working for you?

A flurry of excellent responses followed. Here are just a few:

• “I use the Alpha Antenna HOA Buster Gutter Antenna and an end-fed random wire, but I paint the wire the color of the location to make it blend in or hide in a tree. But where I have a tall white fence, I just paint my wire white. I’m one of those ‘switch from time to time’ operators: use the gutter for a couple months, switch to the random wire for a couple months, so I use both at my station.”

• “I have the Hustler 6BTV Antenna in the backyard with 64 radials buried. If anyone complains put an American flag on it. It would look just like a flagpole.”

The Hustler 6BTV 6-Band (80/40/30/20/15/10M) 24-Foot Vertical Antenna performs well in restricted spaces when installed with radial wires. It provides automatic selection of bands through optimum-Q traps, which are individually and precisely tuned and internally sealed. These traps are parallel-tuned circuits, which provide very effective isolation between the vertical sections, permitting precise multiband operation. The 6BTV has a power rating of 1,500W SSB/1,000W CW.

• “I have a couple dipoles up, but to my surprise the favorite antenna is a Hustler Vertical 5BTV.”

Get all the details about properly installing radial wires and so much more about maximizing your Hustler antenna in the 60-page DX Engineering 4BTV, 5BTV, 6BTV Instruction Manual.

• “Started with a Butternut HF6V painted brown to blend in with existing trees. Moved to a larger lot with numerous trees. I have a 75-meter full-wave loop, a two-element 20-meter quad that is fixed to the northwest, and a 160-meter half-wave inverted-L. All are number 14 Home Depot household wire antennas. 45 years and not detected by HOA. Be creative.”

• “Comet CHA-250HD for the win!! Vertical antenna and no radials. Worked over 150 countries!!”

• “I have 20-meter ham sticks in a dipole configuration about 18 feet and talk fairly well when the band is in my favor with 100 watts.”

• “A Diamond X50A in the attic and a Chameleon EMCOMM II between two trees in the yard.”

• “I live in one room at an assisted living center. I have an ATAS-25 tripod antenna standing just inside my window. I do CW every day with another old guy still living in the outside world.”

• “I use a homemade 20M inverted-V center-fed dipole in my attic that tunes 10, 15, 17, and 40M with the IC-7300 internal tuner. Does well in the U.S. and DX.”

Also, read these OnAllBands articles about dealing with HOA amateur radio limitations:

• “Antennas for HOA Restricted Residences”
• “Ham Radio Operating Accommodations for Seniors Part 2: Retirement Communities”
• Act Now! Tell Your Lawmakers to Support the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act.”

The post What Amateur Radio Antenna Do You Use in Your HOA or When Space is Limited? appeared first on OnAllBands.

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