Mobile home stealth antenna

[Avix]

I haven't gotten my license yet, but my beofeng UV 5r should be here tomorrow. I live in a 65 by 14 aluminum mobile homes with berms north and south and a hill to the west. East is open and if I understand things right, I have a clean line of site to a repeater on a local mountain. My problem is a stealth antenna. I have a flag pole in my front yard, but the trees behind me are off limits. I was thinking maybe a dipole on the roof. But I don't really know what I'm doing. Does anyone have any advice?
Avix

 

[Blackswan73]

Ed Fong has a nice 2m/440 antenna that you put into a length of pvc pipe. The pipe can be painted to match the rest of your mobile home or it can also be disguised as a vent. I have one. I never have used it on 440, but it works well for 2m

B.S.

 

[mmckenna]

Does anyone have any advice?

Don't make it harder than you need to.
You have a big metal box with a flat-ish roof. That makes for a perfect ground plane. Just get a dual band VHF/UHF mobile antenna and mount it on the roof. If you have an overhang where you can easily get to the underside and the roof is thin, just drill a hole and install an NMO mount like you would on a vehicle.

If that's not an option, glue down a piece of galvanized sheet metal big enough to stick a magnet mount on. Route the coax to your radio.

A basic dual band antenna will be 19 inches tall and will be very thin. No nosey neighbors will even know it is there.

 

[Blackswan73]

I don’t know how old his mobile home is but most mobile homes built in the last 25 years or so have either shingles on the roof or a rubberized roof. Also they usually have vinyl siding. Even with aluminum siding, the roof isn’t metal anymore. If it is an older mobile home it might work ok. But most are not so much a metal box anymore. An antenna that doesn’t need a ground plane might be a better choice. Also a thin metal rod sticking up from the roof will reflect sunlight and look very much like an antenna. A piece of pvc pipe, not so much

B.S.

 

[mmckenna]

There's metal under the membrane roof. You can also get black antennas. Add your own black heat shrink. Spray paint flat black. Honestly, years of running 1/4 wave whips on vehicles, they just don't show up unless one is actively looking for it.

Or if you really get stuck:

 

[Avix]

The age is 1980. We have a very slight peak in the middle with a rubberized aftermarket coating. I'll check for ferrous and see. We own free and clear, so I'm not worried about holes and things. I wouldn't mind putting a sheet (or sheets) of metal down to create a ground plane (Don't know what those do yet) and painting everything to match. Would it have to be flat, or could it be on that slight angle we have from the middle out? Would it make a difference if I put it to the north end about 100 yards to the northern berm with trees on it or at the back right up against the trees?
Avix

 

[mmckenna]

The age is 1980. We have a very slight peak in the middle with a rubberized aftermarket coating. I'll check for ferrous and see. We own free and clear, so I'm not worried about holes and things. I wouldn't mind putting a sheet (or sheets) of metal down to create a ground plane (Don't know what those do yet)

"other half of the antenna". Essentially the mobile antennas are designed to be sitting on a vehicle roof.

You could always do the base antenna on a pole if it won't upset anyone.

and painting everything to match. Would it have to be flat, or could it be on that slight angle we have from the middle out?

Ideally you want it flat/horizontal.

Would it make a difference if I put it to the north end about 100 yards to the northern berm with trees on it or at the back right up against the trees?
Avix

Well, not sure what you mean. 100 yards of coax cable is going to result in almost no signal getting to/from the antenna. Figure in the cost of coax, but usually you want the antenna close to the radio to reduce costs and signal losses.

 

[Avix]

I have an email into park management about what I can and can't get away with. That will affect how high I can go. I suppose with a wooden frame, I can get a steel sheet flat. Just a regular 1 x 3x3 or 5 x 4x4 steel sheet. Is bigger better? Sorry, I should have been more clear. My home runs north-south. The north end is the one with the berm about 100 feet away and the south end it right up against the trees and berm behind us. Would it better to put it on the north end of the mobile or the south end? Please see graphic. Where the tree lines start is where the berms start.

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Avix

 

[K6GBW]

Can you mount a small mast alongside the home? If so, I'd just do that and put a regular dual band base antenna on it. Maybe something small like a Comet GP-1 or GP-3. They work well and are light and inconspicuos. Failing the mast, maybe a non-penatrating roof mount would work for you. Those are basically small frames that hold a mast. You put cinder blocks into them to hold them down, but they cause no damage to roofs.

 

[Avix]

I'm still waiting to hear back from Park management on what I can do, but I am seeing a trend towards higher is better. Please remember. I'm still learning, and I'm not ready for my technician yet, and anything antenna is a major learning problem for me yet. I'm in favor of a small frame that would hold something. I'm not planning on getting into HF for a while at least, so really tall towers are out.
Avix.

 

[mmckenna]

I have an email into park management about what I can and can't get away with. That will affect how high I can go. I suppose with a wooden frame, I can get a steel sheet flat. Just a regular 1 x 3x3 or 5 x 4x4 steel sheet. Is bigger better?

You'd want 1/4 wavelength on your lowest operating frequency radiating out away from the antenna base.

So, for VHF, you'd essentially want a piece 36" in diameter under the antenna base. Or, you can just do 3 radials 18" long under the antenna. Can be any conductive material.

But, I think you should wait until you hear back from the park management about what is allowed. There are many ways to achieve this depending on what they'll permit, what your budget is, what your skill level is. If they will let you put up a base antenna on a pole next to the trailer, that will work well. If they don't, then you need to keep it low profile.

There are solutions, just depends….

Sorry, I should have been more clear. My home runs north-south. The north end is the one with the berm about 100 feet away and the south end it right up against the trees and berm behind us. Would it better to put it on the north end of the mobile or the south end? Please see graphic. Where the tree lines start is where the berms start.

It's not likely going to make a difference. VHF/UHF/700/800MHz stuff that you might want to listen to is mostly line of sight, so lots of dirt between you and the transmitter is going to be a problem. The only way around(over) that is to get your antenna above it. There may be some line of sight improvements depending on exactly where the local transmitters are, and you'd need to figure that out.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Park management on what I can do, but I am seeing a trend towards higher is better. Please remember. I'm still learning, and I'm not ready for my technician yet, and anything antenna is a major learning problem for me yet. I'm in favor of a small frame that would hold something. I'm not planning on getting into HF for a while at least, so really tall towers are out.
Avix.

I get it. Like I said, line of sight is your friend.
But do remember this is a hobby, so we do the best we can with the limitations and budget we have. The park management people will be the ones you have to abide with, so figuring that out will be your challenge.

 

[Avix]

Still waiting to hear back from management. I don't think I can deal with the berms unless I run coax up the berm and put an antenna at the top, and I am 98.8372% sure they won't go for that. Otherwise, it's a great bloody tall tower. I doubt they would go for that either. We won't even talk about cost. The east side is downhill and clear, and I am pretty sure there is a repeater on that line of sight on a local mountain.

 

[mmckenna]

Still waiting to hear back from management. I don't think I can deal with the berms unless I run coax up the berm and put an antenna at the top, and I am 98.8372% sure they won't go for that. Otherwise, it's a great bloody tall tower. I doubt they would go for that either. We won't even talk about cost. The east side is downhill and clear, and I am pretty sure there is a repeater on that line of sight on a local mountain.

Getting to the top of that berm is going to take a lot of coax. A lot of coax will have a LOT of loss, so you'll need to use some very high end coax (measured in cubic dollars per foot), or a preamplifier, which will require power. Figure in the cost of all that conduit….

It's a hobby, put up a basic antenna and enjoy what you can.

 

[Avix]

Yeah. Top of the berm was never a real option. Currently, it's a case of can I get any half decent signals where I am. If I can't so be it. If I can, then I can play with better antennas. I have a flag pole about 15 feet from my front door and maybe 30 feet to my recliner, lol.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah. Top of the berm was never a real option. Currently, it's a case of can I get any half decent signals where I am. If I can't so be it. If I can, then I can play with better antennas. I have a flag pole about 15 feet from my front door and maybe 30 feet to my recliner, lol.

If you have a scanner, go up on the roof, or up on a ladder at roof level, and see how it works.

 

[Avix]

As soon as I can borrow a longer ladder, mine is about 2 feet too short. I will. And a mag mount antenna and a length of decent coax. I have a friend in the wiring business, so he can get me whatever I need and help me put it in for that end. At the moment, it's not about tuning to get the best signal. It's trying to get a signal at all. My hand scanner does a pretty good job of keeping me up to date with EMS within a half decent range, but that is inside with the rubber duck antenna. A couple of weeks ago in the next town to the west in another state. About 11 miles from here and up on a moderate hill, I got a county Sheriff for my county in a town 14 miles or so east of home. That was with the car antenna. All I can do is wait and see what management says and go from there. I have a flag pole in my front yard. Maybe 20 feet tall and clear to the east. I've given a bit of thought to getting something decent down the line and mounting it on top.
Avix

 

[mmckenna]

If it's working that well inside your home with the stock antenna, then I think you're going to be surprised how well the outdoor antenna is going to do. Your local agencies would need to address coverage issues if the berm near your home was an issue.

And while we often say that these frequencies are "line of sight", they do bend/reflect to a certain extent. Unlikely you'll be in a radio black hole.

 

[madrabbitt]

This brand and specific product isnt what i'd use but this is the cheap and easy solution:

Nagoya GPK-01 (21" Radials) NMO Mount Ground Plane Kit for Base or Field Use, S | eBay

100 MPH (48 m/sec) wind load. Compatible with UHF, HF, and VHF NMO Antennas (0 - 520MHz). The GPK-01 is a Premium Ground Plane Kit for an easy solution to provide ground mount for a base or field mounted antenna.

www.ebay.com

+ a simple NMO antenna which covers the frequencies you need


I have a roof mount setup for my home office ham radio, running a similar antenna base clamped to a pipe on my roof, plus a larsen NMO2/70B antenna.

 

[Avix]

I'm still waiting for word from management. I can't really do anything until then. For all I know, she kicked it up to the owners, and they are saying, "what's an antenna?" I'll put up the tallest pipe I can.
Avix.

 

[mmckenna]

I have a flag pole in my front yard. Maybe 20 feet tall and clear to the east. I've given a bit of thought to getting something decent down the line and mounting it on top.

It's been done before. I had a coworker that lived in a trailer park. He was an avid amateur radio operator. He bought a Harbor Freight flag pole and installed it next to his trailer. Hoisted the colors, and no one complained.

Of course that was HF radio, and he had to fabricate some parts to make it work the way he wanted, but it's possible.