Ham Attic Antenna Safety

Have 2 story home with ample attic above for antenna or can put antenna against house and not extending above roof.

Ham attic antenna safety.

The fact is most guys who talk about attic antenna limitations are not serious to operate. Many of these same hams would have other excuses if it were not for the antenna it would be something else. The lack of an external antenna is really an excuse for not taking action. But even if you can t put up an outdoor antenna you can still operate with antennas installed in an accessible attic space.

You will need a peak in your attic that is tall enough for the antenna to fit. If the top of the antenna touches the walls or roof the performance may be affected slightly. The kb9vbr 2 meter j pole antenna is 69 inches tall overall. The attic shortwave antenna wire this is the most importantaspect to improve.

Before i take the leap particularly into hf i need to learn more about antennas in the house. First is safety with less than 100 watts what do i need to know about health and fire hazard. The world is divided into operators and observers. Again stay away from metal and wires to maintain your pattern.

I ve read some of the hf 10m homebrew constructions and they seem do able for me but. The only concern with attic mounted antennas is the space available to you for mounting. On hf wire beams can be run on the roof supports or the rafters these usually are good for one direction only but can be switched electrically for different coverage. With time bare copper oxidizes the wood where the wire is tightly stapled to absorbs some of this oxidization and forms a loose yet lossy bond with the wire.

Yes in the attic. Lots of amateurs in these situations are doing so successfully especially on hf.