On Sep 5, 3:28 pm, Harry7 wrote:
I might ask how much room do you have - indoors,attic, outdoors,
rooftop, etc.? Don't assume you need an acre for a decent antenna.

Let us know how much area you have to work with & we can make
suggestions.

Terry
W8EJO



I've been a SWLer for years and am considering getting a ham license.
However, I live in an urban area (Brooklyn) and wonder just how
effectively I can transmit from here. Big outdoor antennas and ground
radials are out of the question.

Obviously I'd be starting out on VHF and UHF frequencies, perhaps with
only a modest handheld transceiver. Handhelds look pretty puny, but is
this appearance deceptive? Would one allow me to talk to lots of
people and learn from them?

Any insights you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Steve- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I live in the top story of an old Victorian house. So, I'm relatively
high up, and there's a big, sturdy fire escape at the rear of the
house. There's also a modest backyard that I have access to, but with
the exception of a small, receive-only loop antenna, I've had bad luck
putting antennas back there. Eventually I might be able to arrange an
antenna on the roof of the house, so long as it's not too big and
noticeable. However, I think any antenna I use though will require a
balanced design because my grounding options are severly limited.
Maybe a small transmitting loop would be a good choice?

Steve wrote:

On Sep 5, 3:28 pm, Harry7 wrote:

I might ask how much room do you have - indoors,attic, outdoors,
rooftop, etc.? Don't assume you need an acre for a decent antenna.

Let us know how much area you have to work with & we can make
suggestions.

Terry
W8EJO




I've been a SWLer for years and am considering getting a ham license.
However, I live in an urban area (Brooklyn) and wonder just how
effectively I can transmit from here. Big outdoor antennas and ground
radials are out of the question.

Obviously I'd be starting out on VHF and UHF frequencies, perhaps with
only a modest handheld transceiver. Handhelds look pretty puny, but is
this appearance deceptive? Would one allow me to talk to lots of
people and learn from them?

Any insights you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Steve- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I live in the top story of an old Victorian house. So, I'm relatively
high up, and there's a big, sturdy fire escape at the rear of the
house. There's also a modest backyard that I have access to, but with
the exception of a small, receive-only loop antenna, I've had bad luck
putting antennas back there. Eventually I might be able to arrange an
antenna on the roof of the house, so long as it's not too big and
noticeable. However, I think any antenna I use though will require a
balanced design because my grounding options are severly limited.
Maybe a small transmitting loop would be a good choice?

You might want to try a magnetic loop -- it's 3 ft in diameter and
thousands of apartment dwelling hams are on the air with them and
having fun.

Irv VE6BP

Steve wrote:


I live in the top story of an old Victorian house. So, I'm relatively
high up, and there's a big, sturdy fire escape at the rear of the
house. There's also a modest backyard that I have access to, but with
the exception of a small, receive-only loop antenna, I've had bad luck
putting antennas back there. Eventually I might be able to arrange an
antenna on the roof of the house, so long as it's not too big and
noticeable. However, I think any antenna I use though will require a
balanced design because my grounding options are severly limited.
Maybe a small transmitting loop would be a good choice?


Steve,

You are right on the balanced antenna, there is no way you can have
an RF earth from your height. I live in a first floor apartment and
have a fan dipole (80m to 6m) in the attic fed via a balun and then
co-ax to the rig. There are details on my website.


Charlie.

--
M0WYM
www.radiowymsey.org

On Sep 6, 8:36 pm, Steve wrote:
On Sep 5, 3:28 pm, Harry7 wrote:





I might ask how much room do you have - indoors,attic, outdoors,
rooftop, etc.? Don't assume you need an acre for a decent antenna.

Let us know how much area you have to work with & we can make
suggestions.

Terry
W8EJO

I've been a SWLer for years and am considering getting a ham license.
However, I live in an urban area (Brooklyn) and wonder just how
effectively I can transmit from here. Big outdoor antennas and ground
radials are out of the question.

Obviously I'd be starting out on VHF and UHF frequencies, perhaps with
only a modest handheld transceiver. Handhelds look pretty puny, but is
this appearance deceptive? Would one allow me to talk to lots of
people and learn from them?

Any insights you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Steve- Hide quoted text -
You might try a horizontal loop around the perimeter of the top floor
of your building. feed it anywhere along the circumferencewith open
wire & a tuner & youll have a decent all band antenna (also relatively
quiet).





- Show quoted text -

I live in the top story of an old Victorian house. So, I'm relatively
high up, and there's a big, sturdy fire escape at the rear of the
house. There's also a modest backyard that I have access to, but with
the exception of a small, receive-only loop antenna, I've had bad luck
putting antennas back there. Eventually I might be able to arrange an
antenna on the roof of the house, so long as it's not too big and
noticeable. However, I think any antenna I use though will require a
balanced design because my grounding options are severly limited.
Maybe a small transmitting loop would be a good choice?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -