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Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 17 Nov 2016, 19:53
by nay27uk
OK as the title says.

I live in a housing association property (A 1st floor flat) that was built in 2004 and I have lived here since it was built and completed in december of 2004.

No resident can put an antenna up, of any description outside of the property all our TV and Radio antenna is a communal one.

The couple upstairs got told they had to remove their sky dish that they had fitted (a digital sky dish hardly noticeable) They played hell and said they would remove it if the housing association put in a communal Satellite Dish because they are now paying for a full yearly sky Subscription to all channels on sky and that the Housing Association would have to refund them the "FULL SKY PACKAGE" yearly subscription fee as well as any early contract termination fees if they had to remove the sky dish.

The next week the TV antenna was renewed and now put outside instead of in an attic that none of us could find as well as a brand new 80CM Sky dish and an FM round radio antennae were all being installed.

Anyway this does not help me one bit, because a TV Antenna is no good for a 100kHz to 1300mHz SDR, or is an FM Radio Antenna, or a Satellite Dish for that matter.

So I have embarked on a project on how I can get, at least my Sandpiper Scanning antenna that is currently a mag mount type and covers 25 - 1300mHz, OUTSIDE without them noticing it.

I have come up with a wicked idea where it will basically be attached and Camouflaged into a white PVC drain pipe that is just outside my window, I am still working on fabricating my own fittings etc.

This thing needs to be at least 90% Camouflaged and I am about 70% done working out the fitting and how I am going to camouflage this into the Drain pipe.

As soon as the fittings to the drainpipe and to the antenna have been sorted I then need to spray the whole thing White to blend into the drainpipe as well as any run of coax being painted in sections to blend in with any brickwork.

I will post some photos of the finished product in this thread when done, some will be taken from my own window (where I will be leaning out to fit it) and the rest will be taken from several different angles from outside to see if it is camouflaged enough.

Watch this space.

I am also planing on driving a 4' Grounding rod into the ground just below the drainpipe and running my ground to it. I also then have a good ground for if I decide to add an HF SW antenna hidden outside. or to Earth any other antenna I have indoors.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 09:01
by paulears
If the building is that new, do you have any access to the roof space where the old TV aerial was fitted, if it's now outside. Many modern building use service ducts to get electricity, water, sewage and comms cables between floors - so could you do a bit of covert cable installing? I'm thinking about doing a good job, in a way that if say, somebody in the future goes up into the space, they see things that look properly done, not bodges, then ignore them, thinking somebody else put them in?

The cable drops down the duct and you bring it into your space? You could also perhaps install aerial on glass types - burglar alarm companies sell self-adhesive window tape, that has screw connections - they use it to set off alarms when windows get smashed. You can make dipoles with this stuff that just stick onto the glass and nobody can see them from ground level. Obviously the size of your window matters, but dipoles still function with right angle bends.

If the landlord is so against outside aerials, then I expect it's in the tendency agreement, so your Sky couple will get nowhere - if they knew they couldn;t have it, then any problem with Sky contracts is nothing to do with the owner. If you make holes in the outer cladding for your covert aerial and get caught - you could potentially get the blame for spoiling the buildings integrity if you punctured the wall membranes so be careful. Doesn;t matter while you are on good terms, but a house near hear had timber cladding and a local TV firm drilled through to install an aerial and it cost them two grand to get the sealing repaired when rain got in, ran down the cavity and made a patch on the ground floor wall. Other tricks you could possibly try would be getting permission for something like a burglar alarm outside sounder and fitting a dipole to a fake box - a ΒΌ wave cut to 150 or so is quite small and would cover many bands pretty well - better than an inside one. So something that says CHUBB, screwed to the wall with a vertical whip could be workable? Would you get permission to install that, and install the cable - which would be coax, not DC!

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 09:28
by nay27uk
Na don't even think they would allow that they won't even allow virgin to install cable

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 10:20
by prettypolly
if your windows are aluminium framed i used them for rx only via little tapping screw to the wire into the frame.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 11:03
by nay27uk
Ha ha upvc but a good idea that

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 18 Nov 2016, 11:59
by paulears
You can use it on windows with small panes too - so building up longer ones, with the little journey across the linking timber or PVC not doing any harm. Always worth a try before you get into hot water with the owners.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 08:29
by nay27uk
Think I will just carry on now with my plan as it is a properly made antenna for purpose and no one ever comes from the housing association anyway and if it is seen I will just play dumb and remove it. If it is camouflaged enough neighbours wont see it anyway. Besides I spent a bit of money on some bits I could not fabricate myself.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 09:29
by andymuza
Can you not stick some wire to the window frame which is the same colour?

A mate of mine had a similar issue. He bought a metal framed bed and connected coax to the bed frame. Worked a treat for SWLing and he even made a few contacts into Europe and Russia.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 10:19
by Admiral
A V/UHF antenna will work just as well sitting inside the window as outside.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 20:20
by nay27uk
Cheers all I'm going ahead I am almost done now with the mount the antenna is on it now on.my floor will post some pictures later of the mount. I have no problem with this on a radiator but just assumed outside would be best as I can also then get it up higher than the window

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 20:31
by nay27uk
Few pics

The mount
IMG_20161119_202515.jpg
IMG_20161119_202442.jpg
With antenna on
IMG_20161119_202357.jpg

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Nov 2016, 20:32
by nay27uk
IMG_20161119_202344.jpg
Just need to spray it all now got some white primer for that job

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 07 Mar 2017, 23:52
by nay27uk
I forgot about this post.
The antenatal has been up months now, in fact it went up 2 days after posting the above picture, so I will post some pics later in the week of it sprayed and mounted, some from my window and some from about 20 meters away.

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Mar 2017, 18:43
by nay27uk
OK night pictures but good enough, just put my unun box under it today for my longwire to the tree, pully going in the tree well after dark.

Right under it
IMG_20170315_000735.jpg
20m away
IMG_20170315_000709.jpg

Re: Curent Project is getting a magmount Scanner antenna outdoors when I am not allowed an antenna of any description

Posted: 19 Mar 2017, 18:49
by nay27uk
One from the window with new unun box installed with no nails box needs painting white.
IMG_20170319_184657.jpg
IMG_20170319_184639.jpg