Techniques for Stealthy Operation

By Robert Tuttle, N8YXR

rtuttle@svsu.edu

April 28, 2006

You don't have to be a James Bond to operate from an apartment -- just a little knowledge and permission from your landlord.

There has been an enormous amount of discussion on techniques for apartment dwellers and restricted location operating. Amateurs are now facing fewer and fewer good locations to operate from. Apartment hams have been looking for solutions to their location and space restrictions since the dawn of Amateur Radio. I have found another solution to the ongoing problems apartment and restricted space hams have.

When I moved to a new apartment, it was a major goal to find a way to operate. Fortunately, the new landlord was very friendly toward Amateur Radio operators. With the landlord's permission, I started thinking what antennas could be used with my operating habits. The station needed to have an all-band HF antenna and a 2 meter antenna for local communication. The primary goal of the new station was to just get on the air.

At first, I was simply going to place the station in the back room of my second story, two-bedroom apartment. The antennas could be attached to the back porch and concealed from public view by the building. The metal roof of the balcony would allow an HF mobile antenna to be used for HF operation. There was one major problem, however, with setting up the shack in the back -- my wife had already designated it as our bedroom, since it received less light in the morning. (One must always keep the wife happy, especially one who is also a licensed ham.) The shack and 2 meter antenna were placed in the front of the building, with a short vertical HF antenna installed on the balcony in the back of the apartment building.

Bearing in mind that my neighbors and the other landlords in the area may not be as ham-friendly as my landlord was, I decided that a limited space stealth antenna installation would still be required. To satisfy my operating preferences, a 2 meter J-pole, which I already had, and a short vertical HF antenna, which I made, were selected for operation.

Several QST articles have presented the use of pass-through panels in windows. I decided to make a wood panel that could be placed in the front window of the room that would pass-through the feed lines and wire antenna. A mounting bracket attached to the outside of the panel would provide the necessary support to mount the J-pole antenna.

The only problem with the setup was that it might not be visually appealing. Some way to conceal the antennas was necessary. Realizing that concealment was the name of the game, I decided to camouflage the antennas. By painting the panel, bracket and antennas to match the outside of the building, neighbors and passersby would not see the antennas with only a slight glance at my apartment.

Construction

Measuring the window area allowed me to determine dimensions for the pass-through board and brackets. The pass-through board was cut to fit under the window, and holes were drilled to allow the coax through. Flat aluminum stock 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches wide was used to form the J-pole bracket and the interior brackets. I decided to add some brackets on the inside of the window to provide additional support for the pass-through panel. The aluminum was cut to length and bent using a vise and hammer. Holes were drilled for mounting the brackets and antenna support.

Once the parts were manufactured, it came time for painting them to match the building's exterior. Every part was sanded and primed with two coats of primer. Exterior enamel paint was used on the wood pass-through panel. A rust-preventing spray paint was used on the metal parts, and the interior brackets were simply painted black as shown the photo. To match the exterior trim, I painted the pass-through panel white. The J-pole bracket was partially painted white to match the pass-through panel and partially painted primer gray to match the building. Gray primer was used on the J-pole so it would blend in with the building's exterior. Two coats of clear-coat paint were painted over the J-pole and the J-pole bracket to help prevent corrosion from occurring.

Several apartments in the area use digital satellite television. Often, a coax cable is simply run over the apartment building's roof to the room where the renter has their TV. This allowed me to simply string the coax for my HF antenna over the apartment building to the balcony where the homebrew vertical antenna was located (see photo). My neighbors simply believe my wife and I have a digital satellite television. They don't realize I'm talking around the country through that coax line.

Installation

Once the paint dried, the whole setup was installed at the apartment. The pass-through board was placed in the window and the brackets screwed to the board. Rubber coated clamps from a local hardware store were used to hold up the J-pole. The photo shows the apartment exterior from a distance.

Station

The station consists of an Elecraft K2 with the SSB module installed. With a maximum of 10 W output, the radio reduces the chance of interfering with my neighbors. A MFJ Deluxe Versa Tuner II enables me to tune in several bands.

Conclusion

Signals from all over the world can be heard with this station, even during the current downward solar activity. Stations from Iraq, Russia, Ireland and Poland can be heard on 20 meters. While I have not been able to make any DX contacts, I have talked to hams in Florida, Maine, Arizona, Missouri, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Ohio and Virginia with this setup. I have successfully worked NN3SI, the Smithsonian Institution's radio station on PSK31. Using PSK31, I came close to making a contact with a Honduran station. Since I am a relatively new General, I do not mind only being able to make US contacts. The vertical antenna has been tunable on the 10, 15, 12, 17 and 20 meter bands. The station setup has achieved my goal of getting on the air so I can enjoy ham radio. Several fellow hams have complimented me on my station.

When new hams come to my house, they ask me where my antennas are. They are often amazed that they didn't notice the antennas when they want into my apartment. Many of my fellow hams forget that my antenna and coax are in front of my apartment because the antennas are not immediately obvious. From my experience, painting the station's exterior components can provide the apartment dwelling or restricted ham with the ability to operate without being noticed by the neighbors.

Editor's Note: The ARRL advises anyone in a rental property to secure their landlord's permission in writing before attempting any project that will physically alter the property.

Robert Tuttle, N8YXR, has been licensed and an active ham since 1993; he currently holds an Amateur Extra class license. A PhD student in metallurgical engineering at the University of Missouri at Rolla, he enjoys DXing, contesting, homebrewing equipment and spreading the joys of Amateur Radio to other hams and potential hams.

