Homebase Antenna Recommendations please

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for recommendations for a home base antenna that is under 2 metres long, as I have a clause in my mortgage that doesn't allow aerials over 2 metres. I live in a 3 storey town house so the aerial will be mounted on an aerial pole approximately 35ft up and a 2mtr aerial will bring it just over the top of my roof. I use FM AM and side band. so any reco

mmendations would be most welcome..... cheers guys....Mick.....

Hi Mick. A 1/4 wave antenna (such as a "tank whip") will have a physical length of about 2.7 metres so the only vertical antenna under 2 metres you could use would be a base, centre or top-loaded mobile-type. Would it be possible to use a large antenna in your back garden, out of sight of the road? Alternatively, you could use a 1/2 wave horizontal antenna in your loft....that's what I use as I live in a first-floor flat where no external antennas (except TV) are permitted. It works very well up to about 20-30 miles for local contacts (in some directions) and is excellent for "skip". They also pick up much less "noise" than a vertical antenna when used at home.

Hi Phil, a horizontal antenna sounds just the job, can I ask what you use, sounds a lot better than most vertical antennas I've been looking at. I cant put one in the garden, 2 reason and the first is the misses wouldn't have it lol, and second its not it being seen from the road isn't the problem, its my neighbours who seem to think they are the estate police. One even reported me to the estate management because my small NV200 van had decals on the side and Commercial vehicles are not allowed to be parked on the estate lol. so you see a horizontal antenna would be hidden and perfect.... cheers for that

Mickyboy wrote:

Hi Phil, a horizontal antenna sounds just the job, can I ask what you use, sounds a lot better than most vertical antennas I've been looking at. I cant put one in the garden, 2 reason and the first is the misses wouldn't have it lol, and second its not it being seen from the road isn't the problem, its my neighbours who seem to think they are the estate police. One even reported me to the estate management because my small NV200 van had decals on the side and Commercial vehicles are not allowed to be parked on the estate lol.  so you see a horizontal antenna would be hidden and perfect.... cheers for that

Hi again Mick....I use a "double bazooka" 1/2 wave antenna which I bought from this place (link below).....I've bought a few items from here and I can highly recommend him:

https://wireantennas.co.uk/double_bazooka.html

Its about the same size as a standard dipole and comes pre-tuned for mid-band but its much more "broadbanded" than a dipole so it has a low SWR all the way from low-band to the top of the UK "muppets" band. I've had mine for about two years and I've never had to adjust the SWR even once. Because its horizontal it picks up much less noise than a vertical antenna (most noise from household electronics is vertically polarised) so its ideal for homebase use....mine only has a noise level of between S3 - S4, even though I live in a flat, but when I used to have a 1/4 wave antenna in the loft I had about S7 - S9 of noise !! You can use these as a straight horizontal antenna if you have the room, an inverted "V" or in a horizontal "V" configuration (which I use) if you don't have the room to stretch it straight out. Just make sure to keep it away from any large metal objects (such as a water tank if you put it in the loft) and it will be fine. I have mine in the spare bedroom.....however your wife may object if you do that (I'm divorced so I don't have that problem) so a loft or unused upstairs room will be perfect, the higher the better. Photo of mine below....hope this is helpful.

Hi Phil, thanks mate I done a little research and that sounds quite impressive and I have now ordered one so hopefully will update soon on how I get on.
This guy also sells a triple as well as the double so would be interesting to see how that performs compared with the double, but from what I saw on the specs its has more Db gain and can take a lot more power, so might try that at a later date.

Once again thanks Phil...…!


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CB-Base-Station-TRIPLE-BAZOOKA-antenna-for-27-MHz-DXer-3/193047215513?hash=item2cf282bd99:g:9AoAAOSwinZbClCR



Hi again Mick....I use a "double bazooka" 1/2 wave antenna which I bought from this place (link below).....I've bought a few items from here and I can highly recommend him:

https://wireantennas.co.uk/double_bazooka.html

Yes, the triple bazooka is slightly better for local contacts....I've got one but haven't used it for a long time. Signals are usually about 1 S-point higher than with my horizontal double bazooka but the noise level is also slightly higher (its a case of "swings & roundabouts). Good luck with yours Mick....it usually takes about 5-7 days to arrive from the guy in Salisbury. Lets hope we get some more "skip" soon.

Hi Guy's,
Interesting thread. I too have similar restrictions at my QTH and i'm currently using old school methods to get out. I.E. i first had a magmount whip on a metal storage cabinet shelf, then migrated this set up to the loft. SWR is terrible without the use / inclusion of an Antenna Matcher constantly inline, which drwas about 8-10 watts of power away from the final TX. There is a big long RSJ (like the old Pearling) running from end to end, and because it's all metal was causing the SWR issues.
I have now temporarily moved the mag mount and whip (a 4ft Firestik to actually sit on the RSJ.
TR/RX has improved by about 30% but i still have the high SWR problem.

So, after reading this thread about the Double Bazooka, I'm going to get one and give it a go.
A couple of questions Pagan, if i may:-
I'll obviously get it ABOVE the RSJ BY about a good 3ft
Would you suggest slightly infront or behind it ? or directly above ?
Or any other reccomendation, i could for example run it below the RSJ.
I'm limited by the steep angle of the roof / apex ect.

How long is it (the Double Bazooka)
So dependent on it's length will determine whether it goes straight horizontal or inverted V
It will be used for 27Mhz with DXing on the triple nickel(27.555 USB)

Anyway sorry for the long post, i hope you can advise and look forward to your thoughts.
So thanks in advance.

And Mick, how are you getting on with your's ? How are you finding it ? is it working to your expectation ? any Pro's and Con's ?

Cheers both, 73's
Dale.

Hi Dale. My antenna is 17 feet / 5.18 metres long (not including the insulators, each of which is about 6 inches long) which is the "out of the box" length but if you need to adjust it for SWR there are about 6 inches / 15.24 cm of adjustment at each end available. I've never needed to adjust the length of mine but its very simple to do....just loosen the nut & bolt and pull the coax through to lengthen or shorten it as required.
The RSJ could cause problems if its too near so I would suggest placing the antenna as far away as possible whether above, below or to the side, whichever is furthest. These antennas don't need to be straight....you can use them horizontally if you have enough room or in an inverted "V" configuration or even in a "dog's leg" shape. Mine actually has the lowest SWR when one half of the antenna is horizontal and the other half is sloping downwards at an angle of about 45 degrees but it blocked a doorway when I had it like that so I now have it set up as a horizontal wide "V". If you have (or can borrow) an antenna analyser you can just move each half of the antenna around independently (once its in place) while its attached to the analyser until you get the lowest SWR reading possible and then leave it in that position. It shouldn't need any more adjustment then unless you decide to operate on higher or lower bands. I hope this is helpful (and makes sense)....73s, Phil.

Hi Phil,
Thanks for your comprehensive and speedy reply, I understand it perfectly.
I'm going to order one ASAP and get it above the RSJ, but i'll experiment depending on the SWR readings. If i can get it below say 2, then the matcher will do the rest.
I'll keep you posted of my experiments and results on here.
Thanks again.

73's
Dale.

Hi dale, my bazooka is installed in my loft horizontally,, the guy who makes and sells them in the link in the thread recommended that it is installed horizontally as I asked him if the "V" configuration would work better and he said no. However I agree with pagan your rsj may deflect signal. and the bazooka has to be installed with approximately 10" clearance from roof beams etc. Your bazooka will come tuned for 11metres and should as mine did a 1.1 swr. With no adjustment required but always play safe and check . As for transmitting I am getting alot further on minimum power 4w and also hearing alot more stations albeit local , around 10 miles . USB really depends on conditions but I do hear alot but havent so far made contact. Hope this helps

Hi Micky,
Thanks for the reply.
I'm looking forward to getting one and giving it a go, it's always satisfying when you can get around problems, i'll just have to experiment, it's all part of the hobby for me.

73's

Dale.

Hi,
Just a thought but you could always go for a yagi beam if height is a problem, they can site horizontal or vertical, think TV aerial, this is a beam antenna.

Beams have greater gain than vertical omni by focusing the TX/RX and opposed to sending in all directions.

This would solve the issue of height if you wanted an outdoor configuration.

@ TheHobbit , thats ok as far as it goes but gain figures on their own are pretty meaningless and the actual pattern produced by an antenna ( gain at take off angle ) is much more important. A horizontal antenna close to the ground is not going to match a vertical antenna close to the ground for low take of angles ( local or real DX ) and if my memory is correct (?) a two element horizontal yagi would need to be 6m agl to match a 5/8th vertical at 3m agl for low take off angles , for short skip with higher take off angles the low horizontal antenna has better gain over the vertical but as short skip Es are pretty intense anyway the gain may not be that much of an advantage anyway.That does not mean to say DX can not be worked by a low horizontal antenna particulary with multi hop sporadic E propagation , Ive managed the odd bit of DX  on the 10m band with a three element yagi at 3m over the last couple of years but generally speaking the higher the better for a horizontal antenna as this increases the ground gain, as it goes up so the pattern starts getting nulls and given certain take of angles the lowly vertical can out perform a high horizontal beam. Bit off topic from the OP but there you go

Thanks Bean, agreed.

There are pro's and con's to each setup, however I would rather have a horizontal beam or small quad only 2m above the house than be on an indoor antenna.
But that's my preference, just trying to offer some options for the OP to consider.

But good points to bear in mind.

Ah , 2m above the house isn't what I was thinking as LOW , lol.