Ham Radio Attic Antenna Safety

Falling through the roof is a much more likely scenario.

Ham radio attic antenna safety.

You would have to do something stupid to set the attic on fire with a ham radio antenna. Consult any arrl handbook for faqs about antennas. It is theoretically possible to create a fire in the attic from your ham radio antenna but the conditions required for that to work require purpose and luck making this not a realistic concern for the typical attic farmer. I ve read some of the hf 10m homebrew constructions and they seem do able for me but.

Remote rf switch control box in the shack chooses which antenna is operational in the attic. Have 2 story home with ample attic above for antenna or can put antenna against house and not extending above roof. Safety of indoor antennas. The only concern with attic mounted antennas is the space available to you for mounting.

Attic antennas can work better than you might think some of mine work as well as their outside counterparts no i m not comparing to a 150ft tower big yagis. To tune this antenna to resonance i would climb up in the attic short out turns of the slinky. If the top of the antenna touches the walls or roof the performance may be affected slightly. Before i take the leap particularly into hf i need to learn more about antennas in the house.

Consult any ham radio operator about h f. You will need a peak in your attic that is tall enough for the antenna to fit. Other pertinate information and articles from using diodes and resistors to control current and useable information about antennas are listed there. First is safety with less than 100 watts what do i need to know about health and fire hazard.

Once all the yagis were bolted in place on the mast i used my antenna analyzer to adjust their driven elements to provide the best match in the weak signal portions of each band. Years ago back in high school i had a slinky dipole in my parents attic. Also the height of attic antennas is usually lower than. The rf losses are fairly low in wood and most roofing at hf vhf most of problem comes from interaction with electrical wiring and ductwork.

Slinkys are made from spring steel very far from being a good antenna material. Other than the safety rfi issues discussed here the other important point to remember is that an attic antenna particularly for hf is not in the clear like an outside antenna. The kb9vbr 2 meter j pole antenna is 69 inches tall overall. Although amateur radio is basically a safe activity in recent years there has been considerable discussion and concern about the possible hazards of electromagnetic radiation emr including both rf energy and power frequency 50 60 hz electromagnetic fields.