John wrote:
I have been refused permission for any kind of outdoor Antenna due to the
area in which I live in the UK having "permitted development rights
removed"
I think that this may be a conservation area. Having recently passed the
foundation course I am getting impatient - and dissapointed to say the
least.
I am now faced with only one or two alternatives - an Indoor or Loft
Antenna. I realise that this may restrict me to 2m only but at least it
will be better than nothing - or to operate mobile only.
Has anyone on the group got any suggestions ? I have a fair sized loft with
approx. 2.5m headroom, which runs the whole width of the house -almost
30ft. - is there anything I use in the loft like a loop Antenna for instance
? Or a fixed Station Antenna ?

Lots of good advice elsewhere in the thread. You certainly can operate
HF from a loft that size... though RF interference may be a problem.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves - it's too soon to give up on
outside antennas yet.

No matter where you are, the planners don't have the authority to issue
a blanket refusal. Even in a conservation area, there are still plenty
of legitimate options involving 'stealth' antennas, night-time operation
etc.

Here in town, there's an amateur who lives in a Listed building that is
right opposite the District Council offices - the planning officer's
desk is by the window, literally overlooking the rear of his house! It's
hard to imagine a worse situation than that, yet he *can* put up outside
antennas, and he gets out fine on 80m and VHF.

So don't ever accept a flat "No" for an answer. Push back at
officialdom. Find out if you really are in a conservation area, and by
what right they are restricting you. Ask them for chapter-and-verse on
that. On the technical side, think up some solutions for outdoor
antennas that they cannot reasonably refuse. Keep pushing - politely,
but also relentlessly. When they eventually realise that you're not
going to give up, they *will* say "Yes" to something.

Talk to the RSGB Planning Panel (details at www.rsgb.org) and I'm sure
they can help you.


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

The local neighborhood hysterical society was giving my dad some heat for
his installation.
He lived in a 100 yr old house on the edge, but not IN the hystreical
district.

I told them that if they gave him any problems, I'd help him put up a
"period" wireless station.
Big clothesline antenna, spark-gap transmitter... Or would they prefer he
stay on 2 meters and HF at moderate power?

John wrote:

I am now faced with only one or two alternatives - an Indoor or Loft
Antenna.

I live in a no antenna HOA area. I ended up laying a #22 wire around the outer
edge of my roof and hooked it up as a loop. It is a random length of over 200'
and varies in height from 7' to 20'. I chose the wire color to match the red
tile roof so that you can't see it. I use it on 160 through 10 and have had
decent results, nothing spectacular, but generally good solid contacts. (I
usually run 50 watts, although sometimes less.) Just another idea for you to
consider...

IA few years ago, I had to use an indoor antenna on 80 and 160 metres due to
covenant restrictions (I put up a small vertical outside for 40-10 metres. No
one noticed it so no one cared.) The indoor antenna started at the floor of a
bedroom closet, ran up into th attic to the dizzying height of 15 feet, and
went horizontal for about 30 feet ending in a huge capacity hat that I
constructed at the gable end of the attic. It resonanted at about 2.5 MHz and I
fed it with an L-network mounted on the floor of the closet, using, for a
ground plane, the heating ducts, copper plumbing and a few extra wires in the
basement. It worked as well as most folks' outside dipoles on 75-80, and on 160
, on several cold crisp winter nights, I was able to work into the UK and
France on CW. Yes, when I hit the key, the lights on the Christmas tree would
glow--even though the lights were't plugged in! Anyways, moral of the story is
don't limit yourself to 2 metres. Put something up. You'll be pleasantly
surprised by what you can work with an indoor antenna. 73. Harry MacLean,
VE3GRO, London, Ontario, Canada, e-mail .
Harry MacLean, VE3GRO
500 Riverside Drive, London, ON N6H 2R7
(519) 473-1668