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Antenna for Apartment

Neuro

Member
Jun 2, 2009
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Hey everyone!

I live in a two story apartment and I have access to a clear line of sight on my roof and I was planning to stick an antenna up that I hope no one will notice.

I am running a Texas Star 500V and Galaxy 959.

Any suggestions?
 

Yeah; they will notice. . .

The 959 will over-modulate if you set the mic gain too high.
That will give off TVI.

Send that over-modulation into an amp and it will just amplify the problem.
That combination will give off massive TVI.

Then; the choice of antenna may/nay not make it worse still.
A Sirio Gain Master is a low-key very low TVI antenna - OK to use - but will not cure the TVI issue.
However, an Imax 2000 will make the situation even worse!!!

Consider a low pass filter; not as a cure (because it won't) but as insurance.

I would hold off on the amp and just concentrate on getting the antenna and radio working w/o messing up your neighbors TV and other consumer electronics first.
JMHO. . .
 
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We do not have any non cable or satellite TV users around here but would it mess with these kinds of TV sources?

On the other hand I really like that antenna! Any ideas on some mounts that are sturdy and semi-portable in a sense that I wont have to drill into anything? My area is kind of well hidden so as long as it goes unnoticed I doubt anyone would spot it.

So I hope.... :(
 
We do not have any non cable or satellite TV users around here but would it mess with these kinds of TV sources?

On the other hand I really like that antenna! Any ideas on some mounts that are sturdy and semi-portable in a sense that I wont have to drill into anything? My area is kind of well hidden so as long as it goes unnoticed I doubt anyone would spot it.

So I hope.... :(

It can, absolutely. Some consumer electronics is more susceptible to RF overload than others. Meaning that a strong source of RF, not necessarily directly on any TV channel, can make the sound fuzzy, or make the picture go funny, or turn the TV on and off - the list goes on. The only solution for that is to reduce the strength of the signal that's creating the problem, and the only certain ways of doing that are either to decrease power or increase the distance from the radiator to the TV.

If you're in an apartment, it just makes things worse. Everybody is "next door", and it's a good bet that at least one will be experiencing some degree of interference. Forget the amplifier, at least for now.
 
I know the Intercetor I-10K is a Excellent antenna
( typically extremely low TVI issues)..
however your radio and amp still can indeed be an issue..

as mentioned.. try without your amy ( you may be surprised how it is usually not needed.. i have spoken all over the world on a simply 100-135 watts ).

You may also learn.. there are people nearby still using over the air reception or older cordless phones ( i had a slight issue with a neighbor..one because i was coming over his satellite and other over his exxtremely old cordless phone )
 
If you have roof access try using something with very slight visual footprint - an inverted V dipole. Use very good highly shielded feedline. You should get good results for both local and DX with it, and not be noticed visually. Another small antenna choice would be a 1/4 wave GP made from a 102" SS whip and four thin wires at an angle from the mounting bracket. In fact, a single 102" piece of EMT straight up with the four thin wires fanned out around the bottom will do. Half the height of the A99, and nearly 1/3 that of the Imax 2k, but a good performer.
I have even used a fiberglass, expandable crappy pole with a wire up the ho;;ow center to build a 1/4 wave Groundplane antenna. It worked wonderfully well.
 
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So I ended up getting the Gain-Master.

I will run strait radio for now as my DX 959 is a nice radio from customcbradios.com and I feel it should do well without the amp for now.

I will be putting the antenna up here on Tuesday using a Non Pen Penetrating Satellite TV Antenna Roof Mount with a 30 inch Mast. With this I should be able to simply mount it on the roof I have access to without any major issue.

I suppose if I get told to bring it down I will simply pull it out only at night. lol

Anyhow here are some pics and thank you all for the tips!

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for what it is worth i have made a dipole and in my apartment i have a 10-15 talk range. total cost was under 35 bucks too.
 
try to mount it on the highest peak of roof. this may help limit rfi. hopefully being the GM
has the rf choke it may wofk 4 ya. i know from experience a a99 wont ..lol. now for the
amp your antenna on am mode WILL NOT handle the power i think it handles 125 on am
and on ssb it handles 500 watts. i know its rated higher but those numbers are wrong.
let us know how it works
 

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