I've been off the air for awhile, but hope to get back up and running soon. A couple of months back I was encouraged by an east coast report while running my ugly mag loop antenna at just 40 watts. I decided to make something a little better, but was still stymied by HOA rules that forbid any sort of visible antennas. While I know that mag loops can have decent performance on the ground, I also knew I could improve things if I could just get it up in the air just a bit. But I needed it to be stealth enough that nosy nellies wouldn't ask too many questions. Enter my version of the "stealth" mag loop:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1Sx8UoqolwlOVJwaVd3MWZVS00Just under 4' diameter, constructed of 3/4" copper pipe. Haven't tried it on the air yet but my antenna analyzer likes it just fine. It's enclosed in a plywood box that will be painted the same color as my house. I figure I'll mount it 4-5' up on the side of the house (if my wife will let me). If not, I'll mount it out on a large trellis in the backyard. In either case it should blend in and not draw too much attention. If anyone asks what it is I'll just say, "It's a wood box. You've never seen one?"
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I was up very early and playing around and didn't figure anyone would hear me.