K7RPM's Ham Radio Blog

While browsing in Ham Radio Outlet a few days ago, I saw an ARRL book Antenna Modeling For Beginners. I bought it and decided to use my raingutter antenna as a learning example.

I am continually amazed at the technological advances in ham radio in my 10 year absence.  My TS-590S is an absolute miracle radio compared to the old HW-100 that I started out with.  My MFB-269 antenna analyzer: Had such a thing existed 20 years ago (thou if it had I was too poor to afford one) it would have saved me SO MUCH time and energy.

And now I’ve discovered that simple-to-use antenna modeling software is actually available free. Of course, I’m not sure how much relationship to reality there will be in the outputs. If EZNEC can model the fact that my raingutter is mounted on a stucco house and to it sits at the top if a big vertical rectangle (the wall) that is stucco over chicken wire, then I am not yet aware of it. Anyway, here’s what I get:

40M 1/4 Wave Dipole as a reference (North is at the top):

Raingutter at 20M (North is at the top):

Raingutter at 40M (North at the top):

Raingutter at 80M (North at the top):

Raingutter at 160M (North at the top):

>Diamond X-50 mounted in the mesquite tree in my front yard.. Can you see it?

How about now?  Safely hidden from the ‘HOA police’.

I live in an antenna-restricted neighborhood.  Furthermore, the HOA police drive through every week looking for violations. (I’ve been known to have fun with them by planting pink flamingoes in my front yard but that’s another story).

Not long ago, I was standing outside looking at my house wondering how best to disguise an antenna when it hit me: Rain Gutter!

It cost about $500 to have 40 feet of seamless rain gutter and two 20ft downspouts installed on the east side of my house.  I found enough money in the budget to by an SG-230 Remote Tuner, which I plan to mount on the garage wall.

I need a ground system or counterpoise.  Good luck getting an earth ground here in Phoenix, AZ.  When the landscapers built a retaining wall in my backyard they ended up digging the footing with a jackhammer.

I can reasonably bury about four counterpoise wires, each about 50 feet long. Thats less than optimal, I know, but that’s about the best that can be done on my itty bitty residential lot. I buried the first one today along the east side of the house, directly below the rain gutter. I simply moved the landscaping gravel aside, laid the 14-guage wire down and then covered it back up.