How effective are antennas in attics?

[WRQC301]

How effective are antennas in attics. Using 50w Wouxun 1000g. Antenna cable is approx. 30' long. At present it is reaching a repeater around 30 miles.(straight shot)condo restrictions require antenna to be hidden.

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, WRQC301 said:

How effective are antennas in attics. Using 50w Wouxun 1000g. Antenna cable is approx. 30' long. At present it is reaching a repeater around 30 miles.(straight shot)condo restrictions require antenna to be hidden.

It depends a lot on construction; metal frame, radiant barrier, proximity to ductwork. Wood frame and basic shingles are going to block less than steel frame and/or foil backed radiant barrier insulation. Repeater location (or it's antenna height) will play into it as well.

Mine are both indoors, and I can still get into repeaters up to 60 miles out, though they are on 3000 and 4000 foot elevation ridges around the valley.

[bd348]

Currently trying a base antenna near the window.  A few inches left or right seems to make a big difference.  Aluminum siding, and so I have signals bouncing all over inside this big house-sized box.  Maybe the attic will be better.  Some day.  But for now I found a good spot for the antenna with good reception over all channels.

[WRUE951]

5 hours ago, WRQC301 said:

How effective are antennas in attics. Using 50w Wouxun 1000g. Antenna cable is approx. 30' long. At present it is reaching a repeater around 30 miles.(straight shot)condo restrictions require antenna to be hidden.

I have a friend living in a retirement community. He took a 70CM base antenna, stashed it inside the top of his fiberglass flag mast and burried the coax about 10’ to his garage.  He has been running his repeater for over a year and works great. 
 

[SteveShannon]

8 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

I have a friend living in a retirement community. He took a 70CM base antenna, stashed it inside the top of his fiberglass flag mast and burried the coax about 10’ to his garage.  He has been running his repeater for over a year and works great. 
 

Some hams have had to get very creative. Dipoles or end fed half waves hide along fascia boards or are disguised as Christmas lights.  J-poles can be hidden behind hanging plants or in flagpoles. Tall trees can help hide many kinds of vertical wires. Fences help hide horizontal wires.

If you can make an antenna, you can make an antenna that looks like something else!

[PACNWComms]

I had great luck with attic mounted antennas, until I replaced the old roof with a metal one of course

Then metal foil faced insulation went into place. 

As for my VHF/UHF/7/800 MHz radio antennas, they all went to metal brackets on an 8 foot high fence. Even with lower height, but shorter coax runs (about 12 foot shorter on RG-58, and about 8 feet less height, I did not notice my range decrease to anything I spoke to via radio. In my case going from the attic to a fence was not a problem. 

What I miss though is the discretion. Nobody even knew I was into radio when everything was in the attic. I have only had one dog walking passerby ask about the antenna (I think he only saw one of them [Laird 1/4 style on NMO magnet mounts]), but it was better when nothing could be seen from outside the house. 

Being high on a hill I averaged about 17 miles LOS in VHF, 14-15 for UHF and roughly 12 7/800 MHz with attic mounted antennas. I seem to be getting the same now on the fence post.

[WRQC301]

THANK YOU !! I appreciate your answers. WRQC301

[WRUX266]

In an earlier life I hid a J-pole in a oddly tall PVC waste stack on the roof. Worked great.

[WRQC527]

41 minutes ago, WRUX266 said:

In an earlier life I hid a J-pole in a oddly tall PVC waste stack on the roof. Worked great.

There's a company called Ventenna that makes such a thing for evading the HOA secret police. I imagine your solution was much cheaper and just as effective.

[MichaelLAX]

2 hours ago, WRQC527 said:

There's a company called Ventenna that makes such a thing for evading the HOA secret police. I imagine your solution was much cheaper and just as effective.

On a somewhat unrelated note, in the movie "The China Syndrome" (1979), the fictitious nuclear power plant that almost melted down was named "Ventana"

[Blaise]

4 hours ago, WRQC527 said:

There's a company called Ventenna that makes such a thing for evading the HOA secret police. I imagine your solution was much cheaper and just as effective.

And they're apparently out of business, anyway...

[SteveShannon]

This might be something you would want to try.  It's similar to a Ventenna.

https://w6nbc.com/articles/2018-tbdQSTsmallwonder.pdf

 

[WRQC527]

1 hour ago, Blaise said:

And they're apparently out of business, anyway...

Dang it looks like he had to close down due to poor health.