Stealth Satellite Station?
I currently live in a rental house and an outside antenna is out of the question. I asked about putting up a satellite TV dish at my own expense last year and received and flat out "NO". So, my current options are as follows:
1. Going out to my car and working the FM birds with my Icom 2720H and 19" whip. 2. Working the FM birds from the back/front yard or possibly inside the house with my Icom W32A and Elk LP antenna. 3. Setting up my 2720 in the house with some sort of stealth antenna and give a try at satellite APRS.
Obviously options 1 and 3 still allow for option 2.
Has anyone tried any form of stealth antenna for Satellites. I am really interested in the idea of combining the satellites and aprs together.
Are you able to put up a "temporary" mast of modest height? I've used a 2 foot section of fence pipe in a bucket of quickcrete as a base and then use a smaller diameter of fence pipe to slide into the piece that is held in the bucket of cement. I've gone as high as 30' with this kind of set-up by putting it next to a pillar, strapping it to the pillar with a truck load strap and then guying it with rope (this is how I put up my 6M summertime set-up...worked great).
You certainly don't need to go 30'...12 or 15' might be just fine. If the landlord could see that it's not being bolted to his property and is basically a portable set-up, he might be a lot more open to it. In fact, I wouldn't even ask him. If you're not attaching it to his house and there are no restrictions to an antenna in the back-yard, go for it.
-----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Kent Frazier Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 6:03 PM To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Stealth Satellite Station?
I currently live in a rental house and an outside antenna is out of the question. I asked about putting up a satellite TV dish at my own expense last year and received and flat out "NO". So, my current options are as follows:
1. Going out to my car and working the FM birds with my Icom 2720H and 19" whip. 2. Working the FM birds from the back/front yard or possibly inside the house with my Icom W32A and Elk LP antenna. 3. Setting up my 2720 in the house with some sort of stealth antenna and give a try at satellite APRS.
Obviously options 1 and 3 still allow for option 2.
Has anyone tried any form of stealth antenna for Satellites. I am really interested in the idea of combining the satellites and aprs together.
Yes, height is NOT important.
I would only go as high as needed to clear the ground when the antenna is elevated.
My first antenna for the birds ( Old birds Oscar 7 etc. ) was a 3 element 2 meter quad.
Small compact and it sat inside my house right next to me on a camera tripod. and just twisted it by arm.
Worked GREAT!
The next day I even worked someone in Arkansas from here in Wisconsin.
Joe WB9SBD ------ Idle-Tyme The Original Rolling Ball Clock http://www.idle-tyme.com
David Wing wrote:
Are you able to put up a "temporary" mast of modest height? I've used a 2 foot section of fence pipe in a bucket of quickcrete as a base and then use a smaller diameter of fence pipe to slide into the piece that is held in the bucket of cement. I've gone as high as 30' with this kind of set-up by putting it next to a pillar, strapping it to the pillar with a truck load strap and then guying it with rope (this is how I put up my 6M summertime set-up...worked great).
You certainly don't need to go 30'...12 or 15' might be just fine. If the landlord could see that it's not being bolted to his property and is basically a portable set-up, he might be a lot more open to it. In fact, I wouldn't even ask him. If you're not attaching it to his house and there are no restrictions to an antenna in the back-yard, go for it.
-----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Kent Frazier Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 6:03 PM To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Stealth Satellite Station?
I currently live in a rental house and an outside antenna is out of the question. I asked about putting up a satellite TV dish at my own expense last year and received and flat out "NO". So, my current options are as follows:
- Going out to my car and working the FM birds with my Icom 2720H and 19"
whip. 2. Working the FM birds from the back/front yard or possibly inside the house with my Icom W32A and Elk LP antenna. 3. Setting up my 2720 in the house with some sort of stealth antenna and give a try at satellite APRS.
Obviously options 1 and 3 still allow for option 2.
Has anyone tried any form of stealth antenna for Satellites. I am really interested in the idea of combining the satellites and aprs together.
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Hello
I've been playing around with the QFH antenna that was in a recent issue of QST...and it strikes me just looking at the dims of the one sitting outside the hamshack window here in Santa Fe that one could make that a pretty stealth antenna...
The key would be to use the "PVC" pipe as both a mast and a slide into one of the vents of the house...then if you wanted to cover the outside so nothing "antenna" was obvious figure out a way to give it a sort of radome. I've seen the little 70cm QFH's with a radome anyway...so it would only be a matter of scale.
If the folks would let you put up an FM antenna (ie a yagi) then one could easily take a radio shack version convert it to 2 meters and add 440 to it...it would look like a regular antenna except for the short time you were elevating it for use.
Whatever you come up with...well be sure and take some pictures and share it.
Robert WB5MZO
From: k5knt.kent@gmail.com Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:03:03 -0500 To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Stealth Satellite Station?
I currently live in a rental house and an outside antenna is out of the question. I asked about putting up a satellite TV dish at my own expense last year and received and flat out "NO". So, my current options are as follows:
- Going out to my car and working the FM birds with my Icom 2720H and 19"
whip. 2. Working the FM birds from the back/front yard or possibly inside the house with my Icom W32A and Elk LP antenna. 3. Setting up my 2720 in the house with some sort of stealth antenna and give a try at satellite APRS.
Obviously options 1 and 3 still allow for option 2.
Has anyone tried any form of stealth antenna for Satellites. I am really interested in the idea of combining the satellites and aprs together.
-- Kent R Frazier, K5KNT AMSAT #36765, ARRL, San Angelo Amateur Radio Club, Tom Green County - ARES
Sent from San Angelo, TX, United States _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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participants (4)
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David Wing -
Idle-Tyme -
Kent Frazier -
Rocky Jones