HF Antennas in a Limited Space

I have been a ham for 50 years during this entire time I have never had enough space for all my HF antennas that I would like have. The best locations I have had are small suburban house lots. While living in the Dallas suburbs I was able to have a tower with a 3 element yagi for the higher bands (20 - 10 meters). However, the small lot size and lack of trees made low band antennas very challenging.

While I lived in Exton, PA my home was in a townhouse community with very restrictive covenants on owner changes to the exterior of the properties. We had a very active group of self-styled community watch dogs that regularly inspect the neighborhood. Infractions would quickly get you a formal letter of violation. External antennas of any form (except direct broadcast satellite TV, of course) are forbidden. My townhouse was an interior unit in a building of 5 units. It had both a finished basement and finished 3rd floor loft. My shack was located in the basement.

Once I moved to my current location in Aiken, SC I was again faced with restrictive covenants on outdoor antennas. Thanks to friendly neighbors and lack of enforcement I have been able to enjoy the benefits of a hex beam antenna for the higher bands. My lot also has several large pine trees that have provide support for low band dipoles. At this location, the challenge has been an effective 160 meter antenna.

The pages in this section of my web site document the experiences addressing these antenna challenges. I am always interested in the experiences of other hams in overcoming antenna challenges or helping solve similar problems. I am neither a lawyer nor marriage counselor so please stick with the technical issues. You can e-mail me at dave@kjellquist.com