Antenna installation question

[BlueMoon2]

Question for the hidden in plain sight crowd: how do you install an antenna outside of a house that has vinyl siding all around the house, should not be very visible, and the landlord won’t let you drill any holes into?

I’m already thinking of getting an mfj window mount coax box. The landlord really likes that idea but does not want any holes into the vinyl siding. Is there something strong enough that can attach to the vinyl siding high enough to hold the weight of the antenna too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[popnokick]

Lots of questions, the answers to which will help you get better answers to your post:
- What is the antenna for? Since you posted in the Amateur Radio Antennas forum, we're assuming ham radio. But what bands / modes? And we're assuming you'll be transmitting (?).
- Is the roof accessible? Much better place for an antenna than on the side of a building.
- How are satellite dishes installed? Can you install a dish? If so, there are antennas for ham frequencies that can be disguised as dishes.
- Have you seen the Ventenna? Look here: Ventenna Untitled

 

[BlueMoon2]

Yes I have one diamond x50na antenna for 2m/440, one ed fong 220 antenna and a homemade 403-470 MHz antenna for gmrs and dmr. The roof is a possibility, I just don’t have enough coax to get all the way from the roof to the ground floor where the radios will be


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[lou9155]

this might or might not be relevant to your situation. i have an antenna nervous wife didnt want it attached anywear on the home so i used a 10foot piece of 1 1/4 conduit in a weighted umbrella stand . i disconnect when storms are near and reception is pretty good . im still workin on the wife

 

[cmjonesinc]

I used to have a portable setup with a folding tripod and 20ft of mast I used for a vhf jpole. The tripod came from RadioShack but I'm sure other places carry one. I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood I screwed the tripod to and layed sandbags on. Worked great. If I was only using 10ft of mast I would just stake and bag the tripod directly in the ground. Not exactly ideal but keeps antennas off the house and still pretty effective. Especially with 20ft of mast.

 

[KC4RAF]

You're going to use the antenna for HF? If so, check out the flag pole HF antenna at:

4BTV "Flag Pole" Antenna by KX9DK - A Restricted HF Antenna Solution

it has pretty good reviews from what I've seen.

 

[AI7PM]

Have you considered keeping the antennas inside? Is there access to the attic area?

 

[spongella]

That MFJ window-mount (the panel with connectors on either side) works great, I had one once. Just put some kind of wood block at the top of the window to keep out intruders who could lift up the window from the outside.

I once lived in an apartment with a landlord who was willing to let me put my vertical on the roof for an extra monthly fee to defray the costs of any damage I might do; it worked out well on both sides. I even got to put up some radials.

One other way would be to route your coax through a soffit vent or roof vent; pass the coax between the fins. As for the type of antenna, like other posters have mentioned, what type of antenna are you mounting? You could go with MFJ's apartment antenna.

Does the house already have a satellite dish? Perhaps use that to mount a small antenna on? You could route your coax next to the satellite coax.

You could check out the Ventenna too.

If all fails, see if the landlord might be more amenable if you offer some kind of financial remuneration in exchange for a hole in the vinyl. When you leave all that has to be done is some caulking of the hole that matches the vinyl.

Good luck, hope you find the answer to your problem.

 

[Golay]

Fence

Is clamping mast to a fence post close to the house an option?

 

[TheSpaceMann]

I have had great success operating from the inside of hotels when I travel, just using a small ELK vhf/uhf portable beam! www.ElkAntennas.com For stealth HF antenna installations, check the following website under "resources": K4VRC - Villages Amateur Radio Club