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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