Your indoor antenna brought a funny memory from times long gone to me. During my studies I had two HAMs living in neighboring rooms. One of them had a Geloso SW receiver, but at that point nobody had a transmitter. In fact, they were building one for the student body radio club. I have never been a HAM myself, but I did help them. One thing we realized we needed a grid-dip meter for later testing and so we built a Heathkit Grid-dip meter. One evening, when the meter was finished, we wanted to verify it against the Geloso. Seemed bo O.K. Then the Geloso owner got an idea. He hooked the Heathkit grid-dip meter with a loose coupling to his desk lamp and a key to the grid-dip meter. Then he started checking the band (I forget which) for any possible CW contact. And there comes the funny part -- he got a QSO connection to somebody maybe 3 or 4 miles away. So, the report listed the gear as the grid-dip meter with a few milliwatts and the antenna as a desk lamp. Everybody got a big laugh about it.
Outstanding chat. Loved it. I moved into my home that was built in 1956 about 7 years ago and not realizing that the roof decking was radiant barrier decking and installed an antenna inside the attic and was wondering why I couldn't hear anything even local. It wasn't until a few days later I noticed the decking was radiant barrier decking and it attenuated even local AM broadcast. Love the spy stories.
Thank you Peter. Love your content. You make it really easy to understand complicated concepts. Also you are getting better weaving stories into your content. Keep up the great work Peter. 73, VK3TWC
Thanks for Sharing a bit of Spy Radio History !! This Always makes sense , when it comes to having Fun with wire Antennas and Loops !! I enjoy your videos because you make it come Alive!! Thanks Again for Bringing the radio World to the World of Learning and understanding history all in one!!
I've used indoor antennas in my attic and had good luck with them. I had a dipole bent into a loop fed with RS TV 300ohm twinlead and was able to work the world with it. Thanks for the great video.
I've learned a lot in this vid you have sent me down a rabbit hole this vid is the first I've heard of shortwave and how useful it is thank you for the info subbed
Thank you. Great story telling. Glad the channel was suggested. A Merry Christmas to you (and Happy Boxing Day) from Florida, USA. Nice radio collection too ...
The spies in Ruislip was a fantastic thing and of course emphasises that a reliable transmitting station can be very stealthy. When I was first licenced I was living “in digs” and obviously wanted to use HF bands. I remember looking around the room and spotting that there was a tv socket, the tv aerial was itself mounted right at the top of one of the chimneys. Initially I drove the braid from my t-match ATU with a. few quarter wave counterpoises under the edge of the carpet. It was effective for what it was, probably worked more DX with that than I ever have since. I later refined the arrangement with a few binocular cores in a plastic project box so I could watch tv while transmitting. A lot of us probably have disused tv aerials on our houses, they can make a very stealth vertical by just driving the braid.
@@lmaoroflcopter good luck, it worked well for me, being an old Victorian house the chimney was relatively tall. Obviously you have to be sure that there is no distribution amplifier etc in the cable.
You're a great story-teller and easy to listen to sir. I love your video's and always learn something new. Please keep them coming. I live way out in the country (good for antenna's), but bad for connecting with others since it is an area we have just recently moved to and covid 19 has limited meetings and club activity. I have to learn from people like you on u tube. You are at the top of my list. Thank you.
Thanks Peter for the informative video. I have been experimenting with attic antennas and have recently built a doublet as you suggested. I use a SG-237 coupler at the feed point and have 90uH loading coils about 3m from each end. I have found it will load up on all bands from 80 to 6m. So far results on 20 and 40 using WSPR have been encouraging comparing well with an external end fed half wave at a similar effective height. It does radiate on 80 but not very efficiently as you suggested in the video. BTW I also have been involved with a local drama group who put on "Pack of Lies". Merry Christmas, Philip M0HZE
Merry Christmas Olde Man { ham jargon }... This video brought back some old memories. Back in the 80s I made an inside antennae for a cb radio. I tore apart an old ignition coil. And used 60 foot of the wire, and placed it on the walls of a room in a loop. Next the the celling , and on the walls.. it went around the room. I had a match box that was used to connect the cb to the cars am radio antennae. I had to modify it by increasing the windings on the coil. I was able to talk 20 miles, on 5 watts... Thanks for sharing you videos,, and keep up the good work,,, QTH Minnesota
Over the years I have tried variations of all of your suggestions - and they all worked to some extent! I think my best was indeed the doublet in the attic - I bent each leg into large vertical triangular loops (in a 3 or 4 loop spiral fashion) between the rafters and the inside of the roof overhead - tuned everything 40M and up, even 6 meters. My next best was a homemade 5' diameter loop I could put out on a balcony (for 40M anyway) - worked Japan from Colorado on that one, QRP. All can be pretty easily homebrewed by any apartment dweller. Peter, thanks for posting a fun, interesting video. Your advice is sound and always very practical. Merry Christmas from Colorado!
Interresting talk. If I may add to it: solar panels are never the problem, the rectifiers and/or converters are a problem in some cases. We've had solar panels on both our previous house and current house. I was a HAM before we got solar panels and did not notice any interference from the panels or the system as a whole. But we made sure that we had done our homework and got a good converter. In our current house the panels and system were already installed but even here I don't have an issue with them. So in short make sure you've got either a statement in your contract stating that they have to resolve any and all interference or make sure that you get a good system that has already been tested by other hams :)
Excellent presentation. Note that in the US Constitution: Amendment III : "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, except as proscribed by Law" Those poor neighbors were compensated I trust?
Indoor Antennas were common in my work... Homes, Hotels, Office Buildings, Vehicles and Boats you name it, we used either Indoor or Low Profile Antennas.. This was a good video. Love to see the older methods of getting RF propagation idoors. Thank You
Yet another great presentation of valuable and practical info. Thank you Sir. BTW: You 'Tickle the Keys' quite nicely. Merry Christmas, Good Health and Regards from New Hampshire..... Russ
Very Entertaining video‼️ Absolutely loved playing with antennas when I was much younger and could still climb letters, PS I used to tickle the keys 🎹 every now and then 👍GOOD VIDEO
I can totally relate to this. My attic is full of antennas: Copper pipe dipoles, wire dipoles, split coax inverted 'V's. Homebrew Magloop...etc. I love the challenge of working QRP from an attic.
Great stuff Peter.. I had a doublet back in the 1980's in the loft.. I didn't have much luck on SSB, but I worked the USA and further afield regularly on CW and RTTY using 10 & 15 M with unpredictable band conditions at the time. Oddly, when I did erect an 40M dipole in the garden , someone asked if I was a Soviet spy, ha-ha.. Have a great Christmas, (despite the restrictions ! ) .. 73 G4RYO (Pete)
Hi Janieson. Great to hear from you. It does highlights the fact that CW is a great moode to operates with and worth the effort to learn. Latest news suggests we will be spending more time on the air than with the relatives and friends. Happy Christmas. 73 Peter
I have antenna restrictions and have experimented a lot with indoor antennas but like a lot of homes in the UK there is not a whole lot of space for antennas to radiate. I had a lot of RF feedback and other issues and no matter what I did it just wasn't going to work. My attic is very small and very noisy even on 10 meters. I had a halfwave shortened dipole antenna made from two CB mobile whips which otherwise works ok for 10 meters but when its in the attic its a full scale signal of noise on the band. I now have a Mag loop for the lower HF bands but if I want to work 10 meters the dipole antenna has to be in the living room or out the window on a pole. VHF/UHF I also had issues with RF feedback and range was lousy only just about good enough for working local repeaters. I eventually got fed up and put up a small x30 antenna for 2/70 not that high up and its much better for the radio, the signal did not improve a great deal due to tall trees blocking out a lot of my signal but I'm able to work a bit of simplex now and my radio don't get as hot as it did with using an indoor antenna.
All excellent advice as usual Peter and enjoyed watching. Especially liked your thoughts about 5W VHF handheld vs. 5W HF "mag loop" operation. Thinking about the doublet and your trick of adding a couple of matched inductors to improve matching, one other trick is just to add an extra few feet of balanced feeder at the antenna end or at the transciever end.
great story ! - I agree with the doublet antenna.... with a good auto-match like an AH4 or SGC has made my life easier . never had an indoor antenna that didn't cause RF troubles (I.E. Carbon Monoxide alarms blasting alarms at 0200 hrs. ) a good endfed with a 9:1 unun ( and a good coax choke) seemed to work well for me as well.
I'll use a G5RV under the top of the roof witch have a lenght of 10m inside , the rest going down on both sides via the slope , and there also a dipole for 80m, the G5RV is fed with a 450ohm line laying down on the floor of the smal attic (only 1m high above the rooms) the dipole is fed with a balun and RG58 coax, I worked Japan & Australia with 100W when good conditions on 20m, when there are not yet big canons with 1kW or more and big beams, WW contest is a good moment too, to make qso's over hughe distances becorse this contest-stations needs your points and at the end of the contest they listen also to weak stations ... Merry Christmas to all of you, thanks for your upload,
When I was ten years old in 1965 in Cleveland Ohio....my neighbor moved out...an old couple who had been there since before the war....They realtors discovered a radio room with a German flag and maps of Great Lakes shipping and other industrial items..There was a large radio system that had been apparently abandoned....it was a large suburban home in Shaker Heights about ten miles from the port ....i always wondered about that couple
Great video. It's odd that antenna tuners have suddenly become so frightening and exotic, when until quite recently they were standard kit in any shack. I still use the one I always have, an MFJ 949 I bought used for an attractive price decades ago. For the young folk out there, they're ridiculously easy to use, and will get you on the air with almost anything. I've almost always run some type of longwire to my ATU and artificial ground (an ATU for your counterpoise; also an MFJ product), and have had a ball. If you're having problems getting on the air, this combination will nearly always accomplish it.
Very informative and amusing at the start ! I must give this a go. I wonder if I could tune down to top band though with my 7300’s internal atu ? What type of wire for the element or doesn’t it really matter ?
I've been looking into 2m/70cm antennas and I have come across ladder antennas which you can roll up for when your traveling for instance. Another guy made an antenna out of the copper strip that is used in gardens for slug repellent. This guy stuck it to his car's sun roof and suggested it could be stuck to windows. And another guy was making directional antenna out of tape measures that roll up.
Hi Peter I've recently made a dctl loop made from 300 ohm ladder line for the 20m band. It's very small, about the size of a child's hoola hoop. It works surprisingly well hung up on a curtain pole in the bedroom using 5w from a yaesu ft 818. Great channel by the way.👍
Peter, Merry Christmas to you your Family & all your staff, thank you for all your company's help through out this difficult year, looking forward to dealing with you 2021 73 for now Paul de M0BSW
Spent time in the US ARMY. AND ON THE MOVE AT LARGE. AND MY HOME IN OHIO. WAS A SMALL LOT. So loops were the thing. Picture frames, and dresser mirrors. Made do. If a bit of wire was out side. It was on gator clips that never were left out of my sight. It's the cold war. (Early 70s) And you see a old neighbor. Kept a watch on me. At the time i was a SWL. . NOW KV4LI. HE TOOK HIS ALUMINIUM CANE AND A LADDER TO GET TO MY ANTENNA. I WAS IN SIDE WITH MY RADIO. the blighter was on the lader when I started my CW run. It ko ed him at 300 volt. so that was reason not to leave my stuff out. Loops are the thing . Good show. Cheers and 73 de kv4li
Nice Muggle story, used to entertain them on top of the higher hills with a carpark, TX/RX in10cms self-builds, always the little one asked, whereas the parents wouldn't. (No we are not spies, we are Radio Amateur's Self-learning, TXing to another self-build group on another hill near Portsmouth (from near Watership Down :- ) ) Saw our own Gov. fast-burst modules for sale at Guildford R.A. kit sale.
DE 3B8BAP interesting video, I knew about the history of the spies in Ruislip. I was once living quite close to that residential area at Ruislip Gardens and went to peak at the house from the street but that was back in the late sixties. I understand that they used quite a sophisticated (for its time) bursts transmissions over HF.
Wonder what the output power on their transmitter. I know I had problems sending old FeldHell transmissions at my old home, my neighbors had a lousy TV and would complain that my Hellschriber transmission ( very low output power no more than 10 PEP) would knock out their satellite feed! I also wonder if the neighbor's of the spies had front end wipeout on the TV or radio from their data bursts.
Great video, I live on top floor of 4 floor high flats, I built a horizontal loop antenna with 73 ft of wire, it has 8 sides as a 4 sided version would of been bigger and not as close to full wave for 20m. It is fed with 450 ohm ladder line from MFJ 948 tuner. It tunes up 20-10 no problem and works well, even tunes up on 40 with a small bandwidth and had Russia. I would like to put a loading coil in the loop so I could tune 80-10 but concerned it would act as a trap on higher frequencies. Anyway it is one of the best antenna I have had and enjoy using my homemade antenna. 2e0deq. Maybe if I split the loop and removed a meter if wire it would be like a folded doublet for 40m and possibly work 80-10 efficiently but what would it be Omni directional?
In terms of changing the apparent length of feeders and in connection with your adding a small inductor in series with each leg, I have achieved much the same effect using ferrite sleeves. Ensure that it's the right material, you have enough room to move them about AND that they can handle your power level. They can get a bit 'ot! I have also gone the other way with variable capacitors in each leg but again, consider power and capacitor vane spacing!
I wish you lived next door to me. I really enjoyed the video. Kind of a blank background. You should have shot this in the shack. But what a story! You're really a good story teller. And musician. How pleasant..a musical interlude. I'm suspecting you're quite accomplished. If you come across more stories..I'd love to hear them. All the best de WØQR.
-Many thanks Dennis. I actually studied violin at a London music college but in recent times an eye problem has pushed me into jazz drumming and keyboard where I dont have to read mmusic! 73 Peter
I have a concrete Spanish tile style roof, and have wondered if It would kill transmission from the attic. Any thoughts? More importantly, please consider, as you have done, a short keyboard intro and closing. I really enjoyed your playing! Healthy and Happy New Year!
Interesting content! I believe solar panels are not as RF noisy as inverters and switching power supplies can be. I don’t have personal experience testing solar for RFI, but would like to do so sometime. I plan on obtaining solar panels in the future for my shack, but hope not to use a noisy inverter. Again, great story and the application to us common folk! 73!
Very interesting story. I have worked much of the world on 11m with loft antennas. Currently using a wire inverted V for this year's sporadic E season and it is doing very well. Thinking of taking my foundation exam in near future. Once obtained I would look at 10m and 12m operations first as I have a transceiver for these. Question: Do you have experience of cage antennas? A company which no longer exists called "DX Blaster" used to sell a cage dipole that they advertised as covering 10m to 12m called the Eliminator 10/12. I can see nowhere that sells anything like this now and see very little info about them on the net. Not a problem, it shouldn't be too hard to make. But would it really have a 5MHz usable bandwidth!? If not then will use a fan dipole.. but I do fancy using a piece of Russian woodpecker up in my loft.
Experiment with that old crystal tuned radio: Test the frequency of the crystal to see if its still close to it expected frequency or see how far its drifted since its use in WW2.
i've stuck a Diamond wd330s T2FD in a inverted v configuration in my attic 26 FT long from corner to corner and it just fits in. Can hear stations in America, Europe, Russia although it probably helps having plastic roof slates. Checked the SWR and it's between 1.1-2 from 80- 12 meters.
I stayed in a Scottish cottage many years ago. The walls were so thick that very little could be received on any frequency unless the aerial was in a window!
Good video. Toward the front of the video you had mentioned the value in loop antennas. Once in the attic, that conversation ended. Is there a reason that using an active loop antenna in the attic is not a good idea? Thanks from Arkansas, USA
Antennas / radio pre 1980's were not subject to the high impulse digital noise we have now. The additional issue with this noise is its largely more concentrated in the same areas that have small flats with antenna restrictions. You can't get the same results we could then simply because the noise floor is so much higher. additionally modern homes especially flats are build differently to the detriment good RF practices. Case in point, my flat has a 100-150 meter null effect as you walk to it RF is wiped out or nullified by interference with even my local repeater on 2M is near impossible to access or hear even though it's line of sight 1 mile away, and no obstruction. I wouldn't buy a modern home again.
The combination of feed in tariff and very low energy usage makes keeping my solar panels essential. Essentially free power and heating for the year. So no garden and no roof aerial. Yet again life gets in the way of my amateur radio hobby. Never mind.
Very nice video! Last night I was testing a simple loop antenna on my apartment terrace, and I managed to pick up a few Russian stations on 80m. The receiver is Belka DX which does resemble a spy radio. However, it was quite chilly so I had to come in from the cold :)
W9FPJ here. Enjoyed your video and I may try the antenna in the attic using 'rotor 5 strand wire' cut to bands length for QRP work. I live in a valley in Kokomo, Indiana and my sea level is approx 800 ft. My lot is small 55' by 80' and I use a vertical antenna, Butternut HF9V 9-Band Vertical with acceptable results. But I love the wire use wire when camping. Thanks again, and by the way what happened to the spys?
Fun story. Solar panels are RF quiet, it is the control electronics that may be noisy. Research carefully before choosing the equipment, and maintain a way to shut it off to check noise and control it if needed. Ferrites can help. de w6akb
"I'm not a spy..."
Exactly what a spy would say. 🤔
Glad to hear it. 73 Peter
Your indoor antenna brought a funny memory from times long gone to me.
During my studies I had two HAMs living in neighboring rooms. One of them had a Geloso SW receiver, but at that point nobody had a transmitter. In fact, they were building one for the student body radio club. I have never been a HAM myself, but I did help them. One thing we realized we needed a grid-dip meter for later testing and so we built a Heathkit Grid-dip meter. One evening, when the meter was finished, we wanted to verify it against the Geloso. Seemed bo O.K. Then the Geloso owner got an idea. He hooked the Heathkit grid-dip meter with a loose coupling to his desk lamp and a key to the grid-dip meter. Then he started checking the band (I forget which) for any possible CW contact. And there comes the funny part -- he got a QSO connection to somebody maybe 3 or 4 miles away. So, the report listed the gear as the grid-dip meter with a few milliwatts and the antenna as a desk lamp. Everybody got a big laugh about it.
A great story. I had one of those GDOs as well. 73 Peter.
Love your “give a try” advice on the various ideas for indoor antennas. Nice video, thank you.
Glad it was helpful! 73 Peter
Outstanding chat. Loved it. I moved into my home that was built in 1956 about 7 years ago and not realizing that the roof decking was radiant barrier decking and installed an antenna inside the attic and was wondering why I couldn't hear anything even local. It wasn't until a few days later I noticed the decking was radiant barrier decking and it attenuated even local AM broadcast. Love the spy stories.
Ah well at least the insulation is doing its job. Happy Christmas. Peter
Merry Christmas from Nova Scotia and just wanted to say i really enjoy your videos.. 73!
hi Ray great to hear from you. Very happy Christmas to you. Peter
Thank you Peter. Love your content. You make it really easy to understand complicated concepts. Also you are getting better weaving stories into your content. Keep up the great work Peter. 73, VK3TWC
Great to hear! Happy Christmas. 73 Peter
Excellent video! I appreciated your calm, collected, illustrated and informed perspectives!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for Sharing a bit of Spy Radio History !! This Always makes sense , when it comes to having Fun with wire Antennas and Loops !! I enjoy your videos because you make it come Alive!! Thanks Again for Bringing the radio World to the World of Learning and understanding history all in one!!
. Many thanks Happy C hristmas Peter
Fascinating story, thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed it 73 Peter
I've used indoor antennas in my attic and had good luck with them. I had a dipole bent into a loop fed with RS TV 300ohm twinlead and was able to work the world with it. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks for sharing 73 Peter
I've learned a lot in this vid you have sent me down a rabbit hole this vid is the first I've heard of shortwave and how useful it is thank you for the info subbed
Glad it was helpful! Take care. Peter
Thanks Peter, enjoyed the video and you have started me thinking! Merry Christmas
. . Thanks, you too!Happy Christmas. Peter
Thank you. Really enjoyed your spy radio videos. Great sweater too! Happy holidays
Happy holidays!
Hi Peter, really enjoy your videos. Love the presenting style. Lots of useful info.
Glad you like them!
As always interesting and some great tips to think about. There is always a way to get on the air.
So true! 73 Peter
Thank you. Great story telling. Glad the channel was suggested. A Merry Christmas to you (and Happy Boxing Day) from Florida, USA. Nice radio collection too ...
The discussions on antennas are useful.
Same to you! 73 Peter
another excellent video Peter - many thanks
Many thanks. 73 Peter
The spies in Ruislip was a fantastic thing and of course emphasises that a reliable transmitting station can be very stealthy. When I was first licenced I was living “in digs” and obviously wanted to use HF bands. I remember looking around the room and spotting that there was a tv socket, the tv aerial was itself mounted right at the top of one of the chimneys. Initially I drove the braid from my t-match ATU with a. few quarter wave counterpoises under the edge of the carpet. It was effective for what it was, probably worked more DX with that than I ever have since. I later refined the arrangement with a few binocular cores in a plastic project box so I could watch tv while transmitting. A lot of us probably have disused tv aerials on our houses, they can make a very stealth vertical by just driving the braid.
Thanks for watching. 73 Peter
This is genius. I have an ancient TV antenna, and wiring going through rooms. I think I need to have a bit of a tinker!!!
@@lmaoroflcopter good luck, it worked well for me, being an old Victorian house the chimney was relatively tall. Obviously you have to be sure that there is no distribution amplifier etc in the cable.
Thank you for a most informative talk and Merry Christmas from Texas, USA. 73!
Same to you! There is mire to come on this story. Keep safe. Peter
You're a great story-teller and easy to listen to sir. I love your video's and always learn something new. Please keep them coming. I live way out in the country (good for antenna's), but bad for connecting with others since it is an area we have just recently moved to and covid 19 has limited meetings and club activity. I have to learn from people like you on u tube. You are at the top of my list. Thank you.
Many thanks Bob. You have a Happy Christmas. Peter.
Thanks Peter for the informative video. I have been experimenting with attic antennas and have recently built a doublet as you suggested. I use a SG-237 coupler at the feed point and have 90uH loading coils about 3m from each end. I have found it will load up on all bands from 80 to 6m. So far results on 20 and 40 using WSPR have been encouraging comparing well with an external end fed half wave at a similar effective height. It does radiate on 80 but not very efficiently as you suggested in the video. BTW I also have been involved with a local drama group who put on "Pack of Lies". Merry Christmas, Philip M0HZE
Merry Christmas Olde Man { ham jargon }...
This video brought back some old memories.
Back in the 80s I made an inside antennae for a cb radio.
I tore apart an old ignition coil. And used 60 foot of the wire, and placed it on the walls of a room in a loop.
Next the the celling , and on the walls.. it went around the room.
I had a match box that was used to connect the cb to the cars am radio antennae.
I had to modify it by increasing the windings on the coil.
I was able to talk 20 miles, on 5 watts...
Thanks for sharing you videos,, and keep up the good work,,,
QTH Minnesota
Many thanks Willy. Happy New Year. Peter
Over the years I have tried variations of all of your suggestions - and they all worked to some extent! I think my best was indeed the doublet in the attic - I bent each leg into large vertical triangular loops (in a 3 or 4 loop spiral fashion) between the rafters and the inside of the roof overhead - tuned everything 40M and up, even 6 meters. My next best was a homemade 5' diameter loop I could put out on a balcony (for 40M anyway) - worked Japan from Colorado on that one, QRP. All can be pretty easily homebrewed by any apartment dweller. Peter, thanks for posting a fun, interesting video. Your advice is sound and always very practical. Merry Christmas from Colorado!
Great to hear from you. 73 Peter.
very enjoyable vids Peter. Cheers !
Many thanks!
Great information and great story, cheers.
2Glad you enjoyed it
Interresting talk. If I may add to it: solar panels are never the problem, the rectifiers and/or converters are a problem in some cases. We've had solar panels on both our previous house and current house. I was a HAM before we got solar panels and did not notice any interference from the panels or the system as a whole. But we made sure that we had done our homework and got a good converter. In our current house the panels and system were already installed but even here I don't have an issue with them.
So in short make sure you've got either a statement in your contract stating that they have to resolve any and all interference or make sure that you get a good system that has already been tested by other hams :)
Many thanks 73 Peter
Great story!! Thank you.
Thanks Dan
Great story really enjoyed! I love building wire antennas. I find they work better than some commercially built ones. Merry Christmas, 73 de VE3RKP
And to you. 73 Peter
Very interesting Peter... with excellent information.. 100% accurate as well. Have a good Xmas, keep safe to you and your family.
Many thanks. You also have a goid Christmas. 73 Peter
Right or wrong - it's my country! Never ever consider anything else! Great composure!
Excellent presentation. Note that in the US Constitution:
Amendment III : "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, except as proscribed by Law"
Those poor neighbors were compensated I trust?
Indoor Antennas were common in my work... Homes, Hotels, Office Buildings, Vehicles and Boats you name it, we used either Indoor or Low Profile Antennas.. This was a good video. Love to see the older methods of getting RF propagation idoors. Thank You
Interesting! 73 Peter
Great story Peter merry Christmas to you and your family and not forgetting everyone at the shop and a prosperous new year
Thanks, you too! Happy Christmas Peter -
Yet another great presentation of valuable and practical info. Thank you Sir.
BTW: You 'Tickle the Keys' quite nicely.
Merry Christmas, Good Health and Regards from New Hampshire.....
Russ
Happy Christmas to you in New Hampshire. 73 Peter.
Love the piano intro.
Very Entertaining video‼️ Absolutely loved playing with antennas when I was much younger and could still climb letters, PS I used to tickle the keys 🎹 every now and then 👍GOOD VIDEO
Glad you enjoyed it! 73 Peter
Very interesting discussion especially with a fascinating storyline. Together with some radio examples. Many thanks, Nick G3YQG
Glad you enjoyed it! 73 Peter
Thank you for sharing this, it was really interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can totally relate to this. My attic is full of antennas: Copper pipe dipoles, wire dipoles, split coax inverted 'V's. Homebrew Magloop...etc. I love the challenge of working QRP from an attic.
Thanks for sharing 73 Peter
Very interesting and informative Peter. Merry Xmas :-)
Happy Christmas 0 J imbo
Glad I found this guy...
Many thanks. 73 Peter.
Great stuff Peter.. I had a doublet back in the 1980's in the loft.. I didn't have much luck on SSB, but I worked the USA and further afield regularly on CW and RTTY using 10 & 15 M with unpredictable band conditions at the time. Oddly, when I did erect an 40M dipole in the garden , someone asked if I was a Soviet spy, ha-ha.. Have a great Christmas, (despite the restrictions ! ) .. 73 G4RYO (Pete)
Hi Janieson. Great to hear from you. It does highlights the fact that CW is a great moode to operates with and worth the effort to learn. Latest news suggests we will be spending more time on the air than with the relatives and friends. Happy Christmas. 73 Peter
I have antenna restrictions and have experimented a lot with indoor antennas but like a lot of homes in the UK there is not a whole lot of space for antennas to radiate. I had a lot of RF feedback and other issues and no matter what I did it just wasn't going to work. My attic is very small and very noisy even on 10 meters. I had a halfwave shortened dipole antenna made from two CB mobile whips which otherwise works ok for 10 meters but when its in the attic its a full scale signal of noise on the band. I now have a Mag loop for the lower HF bands but if I want to work 10 meters the dipole antenna has to be in the living room or out the window on a pole. VHF/UHF I also had issues with RF feedback and range was lousy only just about good enough for working local repeaters. I eventually got fed up and put up a small x30 antenna for 2/70 not that high up and its much better for the radio, the signal did not improve a great deal due to tall trees blocking out a lot of my signal but I'm able to work a bit of simplex now and my radio don't get as hot as it did with using an indoor antenna.
All excellent advice as usual Peter and enjoyed watching. Especially liked your thoughts about 5W VHF handheld vs. 5W HF "mag loop" operation. Thinking about the doublet and your trick of adding a couple of matched inductors to improve matching, one other trick is just to add an extra few feet of balanced feeder at the antenna end or at the transciever end.
Add it at transceiver end. All the best. Peter
great story ! - I agree with the doublet antenna.... with a good auto-match like an AH4 or SGC has made my life easier . never had an indoor antenna that didn't cause RF troubles (I.E. Carbon Monoxide alarms blasting alarms at 0200 hrs. ) a good endfed with a 9:1 unun ( and a good coax choke) seemed to work well for me as well.
Many thanks. 73 Peter
Thank you for another very interesting video, Peter. Seasons greetings to you and your family and all at W&S.
Same to you! 73 Peter
Merry Christmas to you from Canada. Stay safe.
And also to you. 73 Peter
Enjoyable vid.. very clear and consise
Glad you liked it!
thanks for these videos.
Glad you like them!
I'll use a G5RV under the top of the roof witch have a lenght of 10m inside , the rest going down on both sides via the slope , and there also a dipole for 80m, the G5RV is fed with a 450ohm line laying down on the floor of the smal attic (only 1m high above the rooms) the dipole is fed with a balun and RG58 coax, I worked Japan & Australia with 100W when good conditions on 20m, when there are not yet big canons with 1kW or more and big beams, WW contest is a good moment too, to make qso's over hughe
distances becorse this contest-stations needs your points and at the end of the contest they listen also to weak stations ...
Merry Christmas to all of you, thanks for your upload,
Merry Christmas to you sir from wellington Somerset
Same to you!73 Peter
Thank you Peter...This was a great video and very informative...73...K9FS
Glad you enjoyed it
When I was ten years old in 1965 in Cleveland Ohio....my neighbor moved out...an old couple who had been there since before the war....They realtors discovered a radio room with a German flag and maps of Great Lakes shipping and other industrial items..There was a large radio system that had been apparently abandoned....it was a large suburban home in Shaker Heights about ten miles from the port ....i always wondered about that couple
Sounds like they were up to something other than listening to the local radio station. Happy New Year. 73 Peter.
Thanks for your knowledge sir. Joe across the puddle.
Glad to help
Great video. It's odd that antenna tuners have suddenly become so frightening and exotic, when until quite recently they were standard kit in any shack. I still use the one I always have, an MFJ 949 I bought used for an attractive price decades ago. For the young folk out there, they're ridiculously easy to use, and will get you on the air with almost anything. I've almost always run some type of longwire to my ATU and artificial ground (an ATU for your counterpoise; also an MFJ product), and have had a ball. If you're having problems getting on the air, this combination will nearly always accomplish it.
Many thanks for sharing. 73 Peter
73s from elvisland thanks for all u do for a hobby
Thanks to you. 73 Peter
Lovely story you always have alot to say about ham radio.
73 and have wonderful holiday.
Thanks, you too! 73 Peter
Very informative and amusing at the start ! I must give this a go. I wonder if I could tune down to top band though with my 7300’s internal atu ? What type of wire for the element or doesn’t it really matter ?
Any electrical wire ' will do 73 Peter
I've been looking into 2m/70cm antennas and I have come across ladder antennas which you can roll up for when your traveling for instance. Another guy made an antenna out of the copper strip that is used in gardens for slug repellent. This guy stuck it to his car's sun roof and suggested it could be stuck to windows. And another guy was making directional antenna out of tape measures that roll up.
Hi Peter
I've recently made a dctl loop made from 300 ohm ladder line for the 20m band. It's very small, about the size of a child's hoola hoop. It works surprisingly well hung up on a curtain pole in the bedroom using 5w from a yaesu ft 818.
Great channel by the way.👍
Sounds Interesting - Peter
Peter, Merry Christmas to you your Family & all your staff, thank you for all your company's help through out this difficult year, looking forward to dealing with you 2021 73 for now Paul de M0BSW
Many thanks Paul. Really appreciated. 73 Peter
Very interesting story.
Glad you think so!
Thanks.
Spent time in the US ARMY. AND ON THE MOVE AT LARGE. AND MY HOME IN OHIO. WAS A SMALL LOT. So loops were the thing. Picture frames, and dresser mirrors. Made do. If a bit of wire was out side. It was on gator clips that never were left out of my sight. It's the cold war. (Early 70s) And you see a old neighbor. Kept a watch on me. At the time i was a SWL. . NOW KV4LI. HE TOOK HIS ALUMINIUM CANE AND A LADDER TO GET TO MY ANTENNA. I WAS IN SIDE WITH MY RADIO. the blighter was on the lader when I started my CW run. It ko ed him at 300 volt. so that was reason not to leave my stuff out. Loops are the thing . Good show. Cheers and 73 de kv4li
Hi Stephen, nice to hear your story. I have visited Dayton Ohio many times for the ham Show. 73 Oeter
Nice Muggle story, used to entertain them on top of the higher hills with a carpark, TX/RX in10cms self-builds, always the little one asked, whereas the parents wouldn't. (No we are not spies, we are Radio Amateur's Self-learning, TXing to another self-build group on another hill near Portsmouth (from near Watership Down :- ) ) Saw our own Gov. fast-burst modules for sale at Guildford R.A. kit sale.
DE 3B8BAP interesting video, I knew about the history of the spies in Ruislip. I was once living quite close to that residential area at Ruislip Gardens and went to peak at the house from the street but that was back in the late sixties. I understand that they used quite a sophisticated (for its time) bursts transmissions over HF.
Wonder what the output power on their transmitter. I know I had problems sending old FeldHell transmissions at my old home, my neighbors had a lousy TV and would complain that my Hellschriber transmission ( very low output power no more than 10 PEP) would knock out their satellite feed! I also wonder if the neighbor's of the spies had front end wipeout on the TV or radio from their data bursts.
Thanks - interesting talk. I hope Santa brought you something interesting this year
Thanks for viewing. 73 Peter
So glad we have the 3rd ammendment in the constitution of the USA which forbids the government from posting soldiers or agents in your house.
Great video, I live on top floor of 4 floor high flats, I built a horizontal loop antenna with 73 ft of wire, it has 8 sides as a 4 sided version would of been bigger and not as close to full wave for 20m. It is fed with 450 ohm ladder line from MFJ 948 tuner. It tunes up 20-10 no problem and works well, even tunes up on 40 with a small bandwidth and had Russia. I would like to put a loading coil in the loop so I could tune 80-10 but concerned it would act as a trap on higher frequencies. Anyway it is one of the best antenna I have had and enjoy using my homemade antenna. 2e0deq. Maybe if I split the loop and removed a meter if wire it would be like a folded doublet for 40m and possibly work 80-10 efficiently but what would it be Omni directional?
Well, it shows they read my comments.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I'll take it as a compliment.
Thanks. 73 Peter
Excellent!
Many thanks!
You can use copper tape to make an antenna anywhere in your house. Works pretty good on a window.
Many thanks. 73 Peter.
GREAT INFO
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for your information
Any thing is happening in the world
In terms of changing the apparent length of feeders and in connection with your adding a small inductor
in series with each leg, I have achieved much the same effect using ferrite sleeves. Ensure that it's the right material, you have enough room to move them about AND that they can handle your power level.
They can get a bit 'ot!
I have also gone the other way with variable capacitors in each leg but again, consider power and capacitor vane spacing!
Yes great idea. Just check the tempersture of the ferrite! It can get very hot! 73 Peter
Hidden antennas (that work, mind you) in vehicles is another intriguing topic
Many thanks. Peter
I wish you lived next door to me. I really enjoyed the video. Kind of a blank background. You should have shot this in the shack. But what a story! You're really a good story teller. And musician. How pleasant..a musical interlude. I'm suspecting you're quite accomplished.
If you come across more stories..I'd love to hear them. All the best de WØQR.
-Many thanks Dennis. I actually studied violin at a London music college but in recent times an eye problem has pushed me into jazz drumming and keyboard where I dont have to read mmusic! 73 Peter
The Soviet agents didn't have VDSL or plasma tv's to contend with which block most of 1.7 - 21mhz to be useful!
' Thanks Jame.HappyChristm-as. Peter
Very interesting Peter. Thankyou. Your video's are always interesting & informative. 73 de Pete GI0FZT.
I have a concrete Spanish tile style roof, and have wondered if It would kill transmission from the attic. Any thoughts? More importantly, please consider, as you have done, a short keyboard intro and closing. I really enjoyed your playing! Healthy and Happy New Year!
Hi Phil. Generally tiles are OK in themselves but you woukd need to know whar tget are attached to. All the best. Peter
Thank you Peter. Very helpful and informative. By the way, up until the last shot, you had some specks of dirt on the lens!
Ok will check that out. 73 Peter
Interesting video.
Glad you enjoyed it 73 Peter
Interesting content! I believe solar panels are not as RF noisy as inverters and switching power supplies can be. I don’t have personal experience testing solar for RFI, but would like to do so sometime. I plan on obtaining solar panels in the future for my shack, but hope not to use a noisy inverter. Again, great story and the application to us common folk! 73!
I am sure you are right. 73 Peter
Maaaaaaahhhhhveellllous great vid
Thanks
Very interesting story. I have worked much of the world on 11m with loft antennas. Currently using a wire inverted V for this year's sporadic E season and it is doing very well. Thinking of taking my foundation exam in near future. Once obtained I would look at 10m and 12m operations first as I have a transceiver for these. Question: Do you have experience of cage antennas? A company which no longer exists called "DX Blaster" used to sell a cage dipole that they advertised as covering 10m to 12m called the Eliminator 10/12. I can see nowhere that sells anything like this now and see very little info about them on the net. Not a problem, it shouldn't be too hard to make. But would it really have a 5MHz usable bandwidth!? If not then will use a fan dipole.. but I do fancy using a piece of Russian woodpecker up in my loft.
Experiment with that old crystal tuned radio: Test the frequency of the crystal to see if its still close to it expected frequency or see how far its drifted since its use in WW2.
i've stuck a Diamond wd330s T2FD in a inverted v configuration in my attic 26 FT long from corner to corner and it just fits in. Can hear stations in America, Europe, Russia although it probably helps having plastic roof slates. Checked the SWR and it's between 1.1-2 from 80- 12 meters.
Sounds good. Enjoy the challenge. 73 Peter
Was that squash transmitter they were using?
thanks for information ,! 73!!
You are welcome!
MFJ offers a fine symmetrical tuner, with the balun on the trx side, where it should be: the 974HB.
I stayed in a Scottish cottage many years ago. The walls were so thick that very little could be received on any frequency unless the aerial was in a window!
Low noise and no signals! I have done quite a bit of operation in Scotland. 73 Peter.
Good video. Toward the front of the video you had mentioned the value in loop antennas. Once in the attic, that conversation ended. Is there a reason that using an active loop antenna in the attic is not a good idea? Thanks from Arkansas, USA
A loop in thr attic is fine providing you can remotely tune it. 73 Peter
Antennas / radio pre 1980's were not subject to the high impulse digital noise we have now. The additional issue with this noise is its largely more concentrated in the same areas that have small flats with antenna restrictions. You can't get the same results we could then simply because the noise floor is so much higher. additionally modern homes especially flats are build differently to the detriment good RF practices. Case in point, my flat has a 100-150 meter null effect as you walk to it RF is wiped out or nullified by interference with even my local repeater on 2M is near impossible to access or hear even though it's line of sight 1 mile away, and no obstruction. I wouldn't buy a modern home again.
Hi Dennis. Sounds a difficult location. I know hams in similar situations have to operate portable to enjoy the hobby. 73 Peter.
Thank you very much. I am curious on the song you are playing in the video, what is it called please
Hi there, it was just a keyboard riff I made up - sorry, not a song! 73 Peter
What a delightful video! The next pint is on me! Sincere wishes for a Very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
de Pat KC2EEB
. Thanks again! Have a Happy Christmas. Peter
The combination of feed in tariff and very low energy usage makes keeping my solar panels essential. Essentially free power and heating for the year. So no garden and no roof aerial. Yet again life gets in the way of my amateur radio hobby. Never mind.
Why not a roof mounted vertical?
Merry Christmas.
And to you. 73 Peter.
Very nice video! Last night I was testing a simple loop antenna on my apartment terrace, and I managed to pick up a few Russian stations on 80m. The receiver is Belka DX which does resemble a spy radio. However, it was quite chilly so I had to come in from the cold :)
Nice one! 73 Peter
W9FPJ here. Enjoyed your video and I may try the antenna in the attic using 'rotor 5 strand wire' cut to bands length for QRP work. I live in a valley in Kokomo, Indiana and my sea level is approx 800 ft. My lot is small 55' by 80' and I use a vertical antenna, Butternut HF9V 9-Band Vertical with acceptable results. But I love the wire use wire when camping. Thanks again, and by the way what happened to the spys?
Thanks for the info! Great to hear from you. I posted another video that will answer your question about the spies. 73 Peter
Fun story. Solar panels are RF quiet, it is the control electronics that may be noisy. Research carefully before choosing the equipment, and maintain a way to shut it off to check noise and control it if needed. Ferrites can help. de w6akb
Are those terminal connectors you showed designed for ladder line specifically? What's their impedance? How does one source them? Thx 73
Standard electrical connectirs from hardware shop. 73 Peter