newbee question on Antennas and possible problems

[nicksort]

Hello everyone, yes I am new to this site but I have been reading the forums here for a while.
I have always been fascinated with amateur radio since the 1950's and I have never been able to move forward with getting a shack up and running due to other responsibilities until recently.
My younger brother passed away on Christmas eve and I decided then that life is too short and if I keep putting this off I may never have the opportunity to do it so I decided to move forward.

I have many questions that are unanswered by reading the various forum categories so I hope I do not make a nuisance of myself here.
I do not have a license at this time but I plan to take the tech first then the general shortly later.

I have decided that I need to get an understanding of how everything works in unison before I take my test so I decided to purchase equipment first and get things up and running to get my baseline of understanding how and why.
So bear with me on my questions and if you have any suggestions please let me know!

1. I have read about magnetic ground on where you live and I do not understand it! I live in AZ in a development at the base of the Copper Mines. I have a copper mine located 1/4 mile away, is this good or bad? What does this mean to me, does it sway me in a direction I need to be aware about?

2. From what I can tell I am looking into the 2m, 70cm, 6m 10-40m channels and nothing higher or lower. I have purchased some used equipment, FT-450, FT-7800 and I am still not sure about a mobile unit, I would like to get a FT-8900 or FT-857.

3. I live in a strict HOA development so I am trying to understand the differences in antennas and choosing one or two has been difficult. I am pretty sure that I can get away with a Ventenna stealth antenna for the 2m-70cm or even a J-pole.

My home is a flat roof for 70% and the area that has a peak is a 4 sided peak that is approx 4-5ft high, (I hope that makes sense). If you were to climb up onto the roof you would see that there is a 18" edge wall around the perimeter of the roof that is higher than the actual roof. The home is Stucco with Chicken wire, and I am sure this doesn't help. The flat portion is aprox 13ft height and the shallow peak is about 17ft height.
There is no attic.
I live in the southern part of AZ in a very desert area which means there are No large trees, the only 2 trees I have in the back yard are about 10 ft tall and I would rather call them a bush.
The ground is as hard as concrete, there is about 2-4ft of Caliche, this is as bad as it gets.
Caliche: Many southern Arizona soils have layers of caliche either on or under the surface. Caliche is a layer of soil in which the soil particles have been cemented together by lime (calcium carbonate, CaCO3).
What are your opinions on antenna? Towers are out of the question and because of the HOA I may need to go with a stealth system. I have been tossing the Idea of a G5RV Jr but I would need to run it along the top of the 18" wall around the roof but I am very concerned about laying wire against the stucco and chicken wire. I was also thinking of a MJF-1796 and laying it horizontally on the roof but that too would be within the 18" wall boundaries.
I thought about a vertical hidden in a Birdhouse but putting radials into the ground would be to hard because of the caliche.

Sorry for the length of this post and thank you to any that reply.

 

[Beetle]

1. The copper mine will have no effect on your installation that would be detectable without a lot of expensive lab equipment, and probably not even then.

2. The equipment will have to be YOUR call, depending on what band/bands you decide will be doable. I wouldn't worry about 40 meters until you've found something that will work for VHF/UHF. And just as a quick reminder, ham radio doesn't have "channels" except on 60M.

3. Many of us here know about caliche. I was born/raised in Vegas, and there's caliche there as well, but not as much as in Arizona. BUT, radials do not have to go underground at all. They can sit on the surface, secured with lawn staples or just U-shaped pieces of heavy wire pushed into the ground. (Think wire coathangers).

 

[nicksort]

1. The copper mine will have no effect on your installation that would be detectable without a lot of expensive lab equipment, and probably not even then.

2. The equipment will have to be YOUR call, depending on what band/bands you decide will be doable. I wouldn't worry about 40 meters until you've found something that will work for VHF/UHF. And just as a quick reminder, ham radio doesn't have "channels" except on 60M.

3. Many of us here know about caliche. I was born/raised in Vegas, and there's caliche there as well, but not as much as in Arizona. BUT, radials do not have to go underground at all. They can sit on the surface, secured with lawn staples or just U-shaped pieces of heavy wire pushed into the ground. (Think wire coathangers).

Thank you, I have alot to learn. I just ordered the ARRL antenna book and also study manuals to help me get my tech license.
thank you for your time, Nick

 

[Moleculo]

A J Pole is an inexpensive antenna to get you on 2m/440 and may be a good choice because the HOA might not even notice it. Paint it grey or the same color as your roof and it won't glisten in the sun.

I don't think the G5rv is going to work well in the way you're describing how you will have to run it. If you can't get wires in the air because of the HOA, a hidden antenna in a flagpole or birdhouse is a pretty good idea. You could also use some type of mobile screwdriver antenna attached to the roof inconspicuously, but you have the same counterpoise issue. One way to solve that is to use the chicken wire in the stucco.

Worry about getting your tech ticket first and getting your VHF/UHF station running. You will have plenty of time to figure out an HF antenna while you're studying for the General license

 

[nicksort]

A J Pole is an inexpensive antenna to get you on 2m/440 and may be a good choice because the HOA might not even notice it. Paint it grey or the same color as your roof and it won't glisten in the sun.

I don't think the G5rv is going to work well in the way you're describing how you will have to run it. If you can't get wires in the air because of the HOA, a hidden antenna in a flagpole or birdhouse is a pretty good idea. You could also use some type of mobile screwdriver antenna attached to the roof inconspicuously, but you have the same counterpoise issue. One way to solve that is to use the chicken wire in the stucco.

Worry about getting your tech ticket first and getting your VHF/UHF station running. You will have plenty of time to figure out an HF antenna while you're studying for the General license

Thank you for the advice too, having a 70% flat roof does have some advantages, I should be able to hide a J-pole.
Also I have begun studing and I hope to pass the tech test shortly.