Thank you for your comments, Dave. And I really enjoyed listening to Bob Heil on the Zoom call tonight.
I’m just getting settled in Bryan, TX, and I’m also struggling with HOA restrictions on external antennas. One thing I did not know (coming from Northern Virginia) about Texas is the aluminum foil that lines my attic roof sheeting (“heat barrier”), which turned a huge, functional open space into an RF “vault.” We do have a six foot, wooden fence around the property line, so I could install a longwire/dipole along the top of the fence but suffer from a minimal height, or I could install metal gutters and tune them, or a “flag pole” vertical is a possible third option… There are no trees on our 1/4 acre lot. Oh, and I’m not sure if I should drill and penetrate the house’s exterior, stone wall… or use some sort of antenna-coax “pass-through” connectors in a window opening. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 73’s, Kevin / N4RMF Bryan From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David F. Reed via BVARC Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2022 7:11 PM To: CTDXCC <[email protected]>; [email protected]; BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]> Cc: David F. Reed <[email protected]> Subject: [BVARC] Ham Radio in an HOA Greetings all; I just thought I would give a quick report on my operating within an HOA with restrictions… As you might guess, my antennas are severely compromised (mostly using a terminated folded dipole in the attic while trying to get permission for an external Carolina Windom)… My serious DXing is by remote base, but I have re-discovered digital modes (primarily FT8); barefoot (expecting amplifier back from repair at the mother ship next week), I have managed to work some 40 countries in the last few months. Just thought it might be worth sharing; I encourage other frustrated DXers in HOAs to give FT8 a try - definitely not for ragchewrs though… 73 de W5SV - Dave
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