best mag mount antenna

[bottomsup]

here is what im stuck with.... condo with restrictions on any antennas.
i have a dipole, but not happy with it.

i am however installing a storage shed in my yard. its made of steel. im thinking of putting a mag mount antenna on the top of the shed to use as my base set up.

i need an antenna thats not huge, and not to draw attention from the neighbors, especially on the floor above me. ( dont think the neighbors on the ground floor will notice it much)

i have a K30 mag mount that i use as a spare... perhaps this might work? any better suggestion?

just to paint a picture of the shed.... 8' wide X 3' deep X 6' tall all thin steel.

['Doc]

How would your landlord feel about a bird house on a pole next to that shed? That give you any ideas?
- 'Doc

[bottomsup]

How would your landlord feel about a bird house on a pole next to that shed? That give you any ideas?
- 'Doc

that one went thru my mind. maybe if i get any grief about an antenna on the shed, i can try the bird house idea out.

[Twink]

lol.... i put my imax in a 5gallon bucket (well, the mast), put 50 pounds of cement in it, and then filled the rest with dirt and planted flowers.... that was my sneaky disguise! lol

[bottomsup]

lol.... i put my imax in a 5gallon bucket (well, the mast), put 50 pounds of cement in it, and then filled the rest with dirt and planted flowers.... that was my sneaky disguise! lol

ha! classic

[DuckSoupe]

here is what im stuck with.... condo with restrictions on any antennas.
i have a dipole, but not happy with it.

i am however installing a storage shed in my yard. its made of steel. im thinking of putting a mag mount antenna on the top of the shed to use as my base set up.

i need an antenna thats not huge, and not to draw attention from the neighbors, especially on the floor above me. ( dont think the neighbors on the ground floor will notice it much)

i have a K30 mag mount that i use as a spare... perhaps this might work? any better suggestion?

just to paint a picture of the shed.... 8' wide X 3' deep X 6' tall all thin steel.

There are apartment antenna's, I don't know how good they are. I am looking into a small base antenna. I just need to get out a couple of miles

['Doc]

In general, those 'appartment' antennas are a coil matched antennas with some type of counterpoise hanging from them (typically, a 9 foot piece of wire). You extend the whip part as far as possible and then use that matching coil to get the best SWR. There's usually a shorting strap with an alligator clip on it to clip onto one turn of tht coil. They usually have some mounting method that allows the antenna to be placed in a window (remove any screen). DEang near everything about those types of antennas is 'variable' to some extent. The angle the thing sticks up and out, and so on. Nothing really all that critical about the whole thing.
They really aren't that difficult to make if you feel like it. Use a board to mount everything on and just stick the board out the window. Shut the window on the board so it can't fall out.
You have to understand that this kind of antenna isn't going to be the 'best' in the world, but it's certainly better than no antenna at all, right?
- 'Doc

[DuckSoupe]

In general, those 'appartment' antennas are a coil matched antennas with some type of counterpoise hanging from them (typically, a 9 foot piece of wire). You extend the whip part as far as possible and then use that matching coil to get the best SWR. There's usually a shorting strap with an alligator clip on it to clip onto one turn of tht coil. They usually have some mounting method that allows the antenna to be placed in a window (remove any screen). DEang near everything about those types of antennas is 'variable' to some extent. The angle the thing sticks up and out, and so on. Nothing really all that critical about the whole thing.
They really aren't that difficult to make if you feel like it. Use a board to mount everything on and just stick the board out the window. Shut the window on the board so it can't fall out.
You have to understand that this kind of antenna isn't going to be the 'best' in the world, but it's certainly better than no antenna at all, right?
- 'Doc

absolutly, I want as small as possible , I have seen a small outside antenna, like I say i only need it for a couple of miles

[49]

If the shed roof is steel any type of mag mount should work. I had good luck with a 6' aluminum step ladder with a 102" whip on it. Used a mount from the shack at the top with a quick disconnect. The ladder was the counterpoise. When dealing with being covert you will get "ok" performance at best.

[209 first class]

wilson 1000 seems the be a great mag mount, i know of people who used the on top of a refridgerator in apts. 209

[djrebel236]

ya could always put a flag on your antenna, i would like to see someone take that down, a friend of mine is using his imax as a mast for his flag and talks all over....Dj

[drdx]

Got any trees? or a large vertical gutter? For the performance you're after, you could probably get an antenna tuner, cheap, used, like an MFJ, and try to tune existing metal structures. Think about gutters, balcony rails, any large ungrounded metal.

I'm curious, the dipole is a good antenna. If it is horizontal, get it vertical. A well set up horizontal dipole will not perform well at all talking to locals on vertical antennas, as in mobiles especially. Having a flat antenna and trying to talk to others on verticals offers a 20db drop in signal, even if set up right.

-drdx

[DeereHunter]

Wilson 1000