I just finished setting up some radio equipment in a mountain cabin with antennas for HF, 2m/220/440 amateur, Scanner, CB/10m and a 440 amateur repeater on site. All antennas had to be camouflaged for low visibility and larger antennas like the tri-band 2m/220/440, CB/10m and HF had to be quick setup and take down when the cabin is not occupied.
The 440 repeater antenna is a DB Products DB-404 and fairly small so it sits on the back of the cabin out of view from any approaching vehicles. Similar with the Discone, Comet CX-333 and Shakespeare Big Stick and all are painted to match the tree bark, especially good in winter when tree leaves fall off. HF antenna is a 40-10M EFHW with the transformer near the 2nd story building cable entry and the far end in a pine tree about 25ft up. The Discone top whip was replaced with a longer whip tuned for 42MHz CHP.
For the quick deploy antennas I made two 20ft pushup masts from EMT conduit and fence top rail with an actual Rohn push up mast clamp. Masts sit on 1ft square concrete stepping stones with a pressure treated wooden fixture to hold the bottom of each mast. The quick deploy antennas are clamped to a short length of tubing that simply slides over the top of the pushup with no tools required to put up or take down antennas and coax coils under the eaves and hangs on hooks when not in use.
Most of the coax enters the building about 3ft above the operating desk in an upstairs loft closet. For the cable entry I made a small 1/4" thick aluminum plate with four type N weather proof N male to male adapters and the inside cables are 6ft of LMR240 with crimp N connectors on each end. The repeater antenna is fed with 30ft of 1/2" Superflex Heliax to a Yaesu DR-2X repeater.
Here are a few pictures and radios in the pictures are an Icom 7300 for HF, Triband Anytone (I forget the model) for 2m/220/440, an Anytone AT5555N II for 10m and a Harris XG-100M for scanning public service, GMRS, etc. Since the picture was taken the Icom 7300 was replaced with an Icom IC-705 with Elecraft 100w amp and the Anytone Triband FM radio was replaced with an Anytone Triband AT-D578 III DMR. I can also operate the Icom IC-705 remote from an iPad.
440 Repeater antenna:
Discone and cable entry, zoom in for camouflage Discone. HF transformer mounts just below the Discone and not shown:
Cable entry plate before installation, inside view:
One of two Push up masts painted to blend in with building and roof:
Closet radio room before radio upgrades:
The 440 repeater antenna is a DB Products DB-404 and fairly small so it sits on the back of the cabin out of view from any approaching vehicles. Similar with the Discone, Comet CX-333 and Shakespeare Big Stick and all are painted to match the tree bark, especially good in winter when tree leaves fall off. HF antenna is a 40-10M EFHW with the transformer near the 2nd story building cable entry and the far end in a pine tree about 25ft up. The Discone top whip was replaced with a longer whip tuned for 42MHz CHP.
For the quick deploy antennas I made two 20ft pushup masts from EMT conduit and fence top rail with an actual Rohn push up mast clamp. Masts sit on 1ft square concrete stepping stones with a pressure treated wooden fixture to hold the bottom of each mast. The quick deploy antennas are clamped to a short length of tubing that simply slides over the top of the pushup with no tools required to put up or take down antennas and coax coils under the eaves and hangs on hooks when not in use.
Most of the coax enters the building about 3ft above the operating desk in an upstairs loft closet. For the cable entry I made a small 1/4" thick aluminum plate with four type N weather proof N male to male adapters and the inside cables are 6ft of LMR240 with crimp N connectors on each end. The repeater antenna is fed with 30ft of 1/2" Superflex Heliax to a Yaesu DR-2X repeater.
Here are a few pictures and radios in the pictures are an Icom 7300 for HF, Triband Anytone (I forget the model) for 2m/220/440, an Anytone AT5555N II for 10m and a Harris XG-100M for scanning public service, GMRS, etc. Since the picture was taken the Icom 7300 was replaced with an Icom IC-705 with Elecraft 100w amp and the Anytone Triband FM radio was replaced with an Anytone Triband AT-D578 III DMR. I can also operate the Icom IC-705 remote from an iPad.
440 Repeater antenna:
Discone and cable entry, zoom in for camouflage Discone. HF transformer mounts just below the Discone and not shown:
Cable entry plate before installation, inside view:
One of two Push up masts painted to blend in with building and roof:
Closet radio room before radio upgrades:
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