And in other news...

[Black_Shire]

Not to interrrupt this discussion, but on a different note; the FCC denied the Hams for Action petition which would permit Hams as 'Emergency Communications Operators' to erect antennas in HOAs, thereby overriding HOA bylaws that don't allow such antennas.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-898A1.txt

Too bad, I was hoping that would pass. Well, carry on.

db

That's a difficult legal nut to crack. The FCC Part 97 rules contain limited pre-emption of local zoning ordinances in a "Memorandum and Order in PRB-1" (incorporated into the Part 97 rules in 1989), but it only applies to local government ordinances. The CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and [Deed] Restrictions) that ban Ham radio antennas (and other antennas) are unfortunately out of reach of this FCC protection. So until that changes, RF-loaded rain gutters and hidden magnet wire antennas will reign supreme in the new housing developments. :-(

It would be poetic justice for a Ham Operator living in one of these neighborhoods to be approached by the Home Owners' Association president after a natural disaster cut off all contact with the outside world, and to reply: "Gee, I'd love to help you contact your family, but I can't set up the antenna because it's illegal per the CC&R rules."


-- Black Shire

 

[dbdigital]

Not to interrrupt this discussion, but on a different note; the FCC denied the Hams for Action petition which would permit Hams as 'Emergency Communications Operators' to erect antennas in HOAs, thereby overriding HOA bylaws that don't allow such antennas.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-898A1.txt

Too bad, I was hoping that would pass. Well, carry on.

db

That's a difficult legal nut to crack. The FCC Part 97 rules contain limited pre-emption of local zoning ordinances in a "Memorandum and Order in PRB-1" (incorporated into the Part 97 rules in 1989), but it only applies to local government ordinances. The CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and [Deed] Restrictions) that ban Ham radio antennas (and other antennas) are unfortunately out of reach of this FCC protection. So until that changes, RF-loaded rain gutters and hidden magnet wire antennas will reign supreme in the new housing developments. :-(

It would be poetic justice for a Ham Operator living in one of these neighborhoods to be approached by the Home Owners' Association president after a natural disaster cut off all contact with the outside world, and to reply: "Gee, I'd love to help you contact your family, but I can't set up the antenna because it's illegal per the CC&R rules."


-- Black Shire

Yes, I suppose it could open a legal can of worms. I was thinking that for part 15 operators in this housing situation, it would be worth it for them to get their amateur license, erect a dual-use mast and maintain a small ham rig for emergency purposes.

Hams certainly proved their worth during Hurricane Katrina.

db

 

[Neil E.]

Regarding the CCRs and the FCC, etc. I have seen it from all points of view. I was the Assistant EC for Engineering for the Hamilton County (Oh) ARPSC, have participated in emergency operations in disasters, lost child searches, chemical spills, plane crashes, the Beverley Hills Ky. Nightclub fire, etc. and certainly know the value of amateur radio contributions. I have also been on our neighborhood design review board and just found out that I am Vice President Elect and chairman of this committee for our HOA.

Amateurs prepared for emergency service know how to quickly erect effective antennas (bows and arrows into trees, etc.), have available emergency power, antenna tuners, and usually more than enough equipment and trained volunteers to serve in these situations.

There is no need for a 5 band beam antenna on top of a 70 foot tower to provide disaster communications (though that would be nice).

Now, as Chairman of the HOA review board, there is a responsibility I have to my neighborhood to interpret and enforce the deed restrictions in a reasonable manner. Like it or not, unlike zoning restrictions imposed by government, the conditions of the CCRs are agreed to by the buyer when the deed is transfered.

I, personally and as Chairman, would have no problem if someone wanted to erect a 3 meter copper pipe in their back yard here, but what to you suggest I do if a neighbor complains. If intelligent discussion fails, I will have to enforce the CCRs prohibiting unauthorized structures on the property, or, I could authorize it.

The PRB-1 in my view has nothing to do with CCRs.

Neil

 

[Black_Shire]

Neil, I see this as a problem of perception among the general public. Mention the term "Ham Radio antenna" to the average person, and s/he will most likely visualize a big tower with beam antennas on top and beefy guying cables coming down off its sides. With this image in their minds, it's no wonder that HOA presidents (and many neighborhood residents) want to prohibit ham radio antennas.

If the ARRL (or even individual Hams such as yourself who are in positions of authority within HOAs) educated homeowners about how inconspicuous (and even invisible) Ham Radio antennas can be, it could help prevent new developments from adopting "all outdoor antennas are banned" restrictions. It could also open the door to amending existing CC&Rs to permit any outdoor antennas (Ham, Part 15 AM, FM, SWL, etc.) that are inconspicuous or invisible.

I know that effective emergency portable Ham antennas needn't be "beams on crank-up towers." An end-fed 1/2 wavelength wire antenna slung into or over a tree is quite efficient. Even a 1/4 wavelength wire antenna isn't a shabby performer if you use one or two 1/4 wavelength counterpoise wires laid out along the ground. The University of Hawaii Ham Radio Club has what may be the best emergency antenna plan of all: after a storm, they sling 1/2 wavelength wire antennas over the tops of palm trees and ground their ATUs to fire hydrants or gardening water spigots (both of which are frequently near palm trees on campus). Even short random-length wire antennas work pretty well using these ready-made RF grounds.


-- Black Shire

 

[Neil E.]

BlackShire,

Your comments are well received here. (again sorry db but this is fun).

It is virtually impossible to amend CCRs. We amended only one in the last 20 years and it became more restrictive. You might have been proud of me when it was proposed to select only allowable paint chip colors to be used in the CCRs regarding homeowners choices of paint colors and I argued and won when I said this was nonsense. It is now the ubiquitous "earth tones". I really think some people are beyond sanity in trying to codify and define everything regarding human preferences and behaviour.

Your idea of "invisible" antennas is workable. I have had a dipole antenna in my woods behind my home for 20 years and nobody except my wife and the occasional deer which gets tangled in and breaks the feedline knows it is there (except perhaps thousands who read this). I did get an OK from the HOA at the time but it is long forgotten.

Neil

 

[Black_Shire]

Neil and dbdigital,

I've found two interesting possible ways around CC&Rs for both Ham and Part 15 AM antennas, which I've reproduced from the book "Stealth Amateur Radio: Operate From Anywhere" by Kirk A. Kleinschmidt NT0Z.

(Neil, that wasn't Coral Gables, Florida that had the "paint chip fetish," was it? They come out and measure the height of people's lawns there, and while it's a beautiful place that beauty comes at a price.)


"The Mobile Tower and Beam Trick" (from page 5 - 29 of "Stealth Amateur Radio")

"I don't know if anyone has actually tried this, but the idea really intrigues me. I heard about this antenna idea while tuning the bands one day. A Ham who was experiencing a lot of grief from regulation-toting neighbors and members of the Neighborhood Association was fielding advice about putting up a decent antenna from other Hams on frequency. Because the Ham's deed restrictions allowed no yard or house-mounted antennas of any kind, one insightful roundtable member suggested that the inquiring Ham buy an old pickup truck, park it in the driveway and mount a 30-foot fold-over, crank-up tower and beam in the box. As long as the truck is licensed, insured and able to drive away under its own power (with antennas retracted), it would likely satisfy the antenna rules to the letter. Imagine how satisfying that would be! I hope somebody gets away with this someday."


While this would probably work, it could also make the Ham's life a living nightmare. Fortunately, there is another trick that would be less "in your face" to the HOA. As Kirk Kleinschmidt described on pages 5 - 28 and 5 - 29 of the book:


"Mobile Whips Mounted on the Car"

"If your mobile antenna works well when in motion, it'll work well when sitting in your driveway! More than a few Hams who are hampered by antenna restrictions simply string a temporary run of coax from their house-mounted shacks to their driveway-mounted mobile antennas. Be sure to disconnect the "base station" coax before driving off!"


(For operation on the lower bands, it might be worthwhile to lay out or bury ground radial wires where the vehicle would be parked, then connect a jumper wire from the radial system hub to the ground side of the mobile antenna's base.)


-- Black Shire

 

[dbdigital]

Neil and dbdigital,

I've found two interesting possible ways around CC&Rs for both Ham and Part 15 AM antennas, which I've reproduced from the book "Stealth Amateur Radio: Operate From Anywhere" by Kirk A. Kleinschmidt NT0Z.

(Neil, that wasn't Coral Gables, Florida that had the "paint chip fetish," was it? They come out and measure the height of people's lawns there, and while it's a beautiful place that beauty comes at a price.)


"The Mobile Tower and Beam Trick" (from page 5 - 29 of "Stealth Amateur Radio")

"I don't know if anyone has actually tried this, but the idea really intrigues me. I heard about this antenna idea while tuning the bands one day. A Ham who was experiencing a lot of grief from regulation-toting neighbors and members of the Neighborhood Association was fielding advice about putting up a decent antenna from other Hams on frequency. Because the Ham's deed restrictions allowed no yard or house-mounted antennas of any kind, one insightful roundtable member suggested that the inquiring Ham buy an old pickup truck, park it in the driveway and mount a 30-foot fold-over, crank-up tower and beam in the box. As long as the truck is licensed, insured and able to drive away under its own power (with antennas retracted), it would likely satisfy the antenna rules to the letter. Imagine how satisfying that would be! I hope somebody gets away with this someday."


While this would probably work, it could also make the Ham's life a living nightmare. Fortunately, there is another trick that would be less "in your face" to the HOA. As Kirk Kleinschmidt described on pages 5 - 28 and 5 - 29 of the book:


"Mobile Whips Mounted on the Car"

"If your mobile antenna works well when in motion, it'll work well when sitting in your driveway! More than a few Hams who are hampered by antenna restrictions simply string a temporary run of coax from their house-mounted shacks to their driveway-mounted mobile antennas. Be sure to disconnect the "base station" coax before driving off!"


(For operation on the lower bands, it might be worthwhile to lay out or bury ground radial wires where the vehicle would be parked, then connect a jumper wire from the radial system hub to the ground side of the mobile antenna's base.)


-- Black Shire

It's a great idea except I have no driveway. I live in a single-story home surrounded by trees with a two-car garage. I figure I'll have to develop either an attic-style antenna (the house has a crawl space above the ceiling) or a bird-feeder type.

My antenna problem can be summed up this way: lack of height, surrounding trees and, of course, nosey neighbors.

db

 

[Black_Shire]

<It's a great idea except I have no driveway. I live in a single-story home surrounded by trees with a two-car garage. I figure I'll have to develop either an attic-style antenna (the house has a crawl space above the ceiling) or a bird-feeder type.

My antenna problem can be summed up this way: lack of height, surrounding trees and, of course, nosey neighbors.>

Does your covenant allow a flag pole? The interior of a 10' PVC flag pole atop the garage (with lights to illuminate the flag at night as per the flag etiquette rules) would be a perfect hiding place for the Part 15 AM antenna. A lot of Hams use this trick to hide vertical HF antennas in plain sight.


-- Black Shire

 

[dbdigital]

<It's a great idea except I have no driveway. I live in a single-story home surrounded by trees with a two-car garage. I figure I'll have to develop either an attic-style antenna (the house has a crawl space above the ceiling) or a bird-feeder type.

My antenna problem can be summed up this way: lack of height, surrounding trees and, of course, nosey neighbors.>

Does your covenant allow a flag pole? The interior of a 10' PVC flag pole atop the garage (with lights to illuminate the flag at night as per the flag etiquette rules) would be a perfect hiding place for the Part 15 AM antenna. A lot of Hams use this trick to hide vertical HF antennas in plain sight.


-- Black Shire

Good point. I'll have to check our association rules on flag poles. I know that each dwelling has a flag holder so perhaps that can be used in some way.

Thanks.

db

 

[Black_Shire]

<It's a great idea except I have no driveway. I live in a single-story home surrounded by trees with a two-car garage. I figure I'll have to develop either an attic-style antenna (the house has a crawl space above the ceiling) or a bird-feeder type.

My antenna problem can be summed up this way: lack of height, surrounding trees and, of course, nosey neighbors.>

Does your covenant allow a flag pole? The interior of a 10' PVC flag pole atop the garage (with lights to illuminate the flag at night as per the flag etiquette rules) would be a perfect hiding place for the Part 15 AM antenna. A lot of Hams use this trick to hide vertical HF antennas in plain sight.


-- Black Shire

Good point. I'll have to check our association rules on flag poles. I know that each dwelling has a flag holder so perhaps that can be used in some way.

Thanks.

db

Bingo! In his book "Urban Antennas: Volume 1," Igor Grigorov RK3ZK describes and illustrates this very technique for installing "hide in plain sight" 11 meter (CB) and 10 meter HF antennas. At a 45 degree angle to the building wall, these antennas still perform pretty well. For the counterpoise, he strings two 1/4 wavelength magnet wire radials along the wall. We can't do that (string counterpoise wires) with Part 15 AM installations, but just getting the 3 meter antenna outside the building will help.


-- Black Shire

 

[dbdigital]

<It's a great idea except I have no driveway. I live in a single-story home surrounded by trees with a two-car garage. I figure I'll have to develop either an attic-style antenna (the house has a crawl space above the ceiling) or a bird-feeder type.

My antenna problem can be summed up this way: lack of height, surrounding trees and, of course, nosey neighbors.>

Does your covenant allow a flag pole? The interior of a 10' PVC flag pole atop the garage (with lights to illuminate the flag at night as per the flag etiquette rules) would be a perfect hiding place for the Part 15 AM antenna. A lot of Hams use this trick to hide vertical HF antennas in plain sight.


-- Black Shire

Good point. I'll have to check our association rules on flag poles. I know that each dwelling has a flag holder so perhaps that can be used in some way.

Thanks.

db

Bingo! In his book "Urban Antennas: Volume 1," Igor Grigorov RK3ZK describes and illustrates this very technique for installing "hide in plain sight" 11 meter (CB) and 10 meter HF antennas. At a 45 degree angle to the building wall, these antennas still perform pretty well. For the counterpoise, he strings two 1/4 wavelength magnet wire radials along the wall. We can't do that (string counterpoise wires) with Part 15 AM installations, but just getting the 3 meter antenna outside the building will help.


-- Black Shire

I printed out your last post. That's a great idea! I'll pursue that. The nice part about it is that my flag holder is actually hidden behind a wall so no will really see the antenna.

Thanks again.

db