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View Full Version : is it ok to spray paint a base antenna for stealth?



alpha78
01-19-2016, 11:34 PM
you know the story - hoa, nosy neighbors. I'd like to camo it up behind the house or near some trees.

used to have a horizontal homemade dipole but had to hang it under metal gutters to hide it and that created all kinds of tuning problems. had to cut both sides so much to meter down but it did work. otherwise I'll have to hide one up in the attic next time. :blabla:

JesseJamesDallas
01-19-2016, 11:54 PM
You can paint them hot pink if you want...paint's no different than having plastic shrink wrap on it like the mobile fiberglass antenna's have. I know guys who even have their mobile antenna's powder coated to match their truck...A base antenna would be no different. I've seen a guy who had a A99 he painted sky-blue so it wouldn't be as visible in the air.

Only down side to painting, is after time the paint is going to start fading.

222FL
01-20-2016, 06:51 AM
I used some good heat shrink on my old A99. Made it very nice to handle!! Added a bit of weight but not enough to bother anything, and it actually stiffened the top whip. Looked good all black!! And was heat shrink used is UV rated. Looks good all blacked out except the joints. I left those exposed and used no-ox on them all. Came out nice. But was soon replaced with a sirio vector 4K. At any rate, black spray paint works well. Flat black. It actually blended in pretty good with this color. Just my experience with them.

alpha78
01-20-2016, 08:12 AM
thanks all! this is going to be good :)
next question is will I screw propagation up if I did run a vertical antenna hidden inside a tree? like next to the trunk? I can clear some branches no problem but really trying to make it invisible if possible. maybe that should be a vertical dipole instead. will need to run 50' coax to the house in the least.

alpha78
01-20-2016, 08:26 AM
suck part is my house abuts a hill so the continental US is blocked behind me. I face due west with southern exposure so get much japanese or used to. would be ok if I could speaky it! but don't. otherwise got lots of australia but that was in the jeep up on top of the hill. couldn't reach them but heard them real good. got mexico too but they were way in the mud. then skip died. if I could have a beam that would rock cuz then I could just point it over the ocean. would cover the whole west side of the island too that's line of sight for me no need for a rotor. I don't think the attic is big enough though most certainly not tall enough. need options. a compact yagi?

JesseJamesDallas
01-20-2016, 09:38 AM
If space is limited for a beam, check out the "Lightning L2 quad"...

I have the Lightning L4 quad on a 40' tower and can talk to everyone I hear with no problem... The Lightning quads are light weight, and the L2 can be used with a cheap TV antenna rotor.

Google "Lightning quad antennas"...and while your on the site, check out the pictures in "quad Testmonials"...I have pictures of mine there about half way down the page.

JesseJamesDallas
01-20-2016, 09:40 AM
.double posted

BOOTY MONSTER
01-24-2016, 03:20 PM
if you paint it be sure to not use paint with metallic particles in it .
i wouldn't attach a vertical antenna to a tree trunk unless at least 3/4 of it cleared the trunks top AND it's one without ground radials like a 99,2k etc. . a better option would be to attach 10 ft of pipe/mast to the antenna and mount that to the tree so the antenna clears it .

you can also "hide" horizontal wire dipoles easily between trees just keep them at least 20 ft high , the higher the better . put 2 of them up 90 degrees off from each other with a antenna switch and you can switch between north/south and east/west directionality , dipoles won't be like jessie's beam though !

JesseJamesDallas
01-24-2016, 04:46 PM
if you paint it be sure to not use paint with metallic particles in it .
i wouldn't attach a vertical antenna to a tree trunk unless at least 3/4 of it cleared the trunks top AND it's one without ground radials like a 99,2k etc. . a better option would be to attach 10 ft of pipe/mast to the antenna and mount that to the tree so the antenna clears it .

you can also "hide" horizontal wire dipoles easily between trees just keep them at least 20 ft high , the higher the better . put 2 of them up 90 degrees off from each other with a antenna switch and you can switch between north/south and east/west directionality , dipoles won't be like jessie's beam though !
Damn there go's the neighborhood! Where you been hiding Booty?

222FL
01-25-2016, 05:20 AM
Hello BOOTY MONSTER!! Been awhile. Like JJD said where you been hiding LOL!! This place has been dead as a door nail as of until late. Anyway, glad to see your still around and still giving out some great info!! 2 dipoles is what I run here along with the NV4K for a vert. Wish I could get an antenna like JJD's up in the backyard. I'd have to go pull a damn permit and shit!! And the neighbors wouldn't be too happy either I suppose! At any rate, again, glad to see you are still around, have a good one.
222 Daytona Bch., FL waving a hand!!

alpha78
02-01-2016, 05:06 AM
right on and thanks for more info. you guys are on it! I woulda' never have thought about metallic paint caveat. or the dual dipole arrangement. bad ass.

not much progress tonight. I must have bungled soldering the PL on the mobile tonight because the SWRs went deep into the red. what did I do. so I will desolder, pull it off and look see. maybe recut the end and try again with a new connector. got to pay my dues again I guess.

alpha78
02-01-2016, 05:26 AM
what's up with the guy from TN with the 8 element on the ground? does he use it like that or just an in progress construction pic.

222FL
02-01-2016, 05:43 AM
If it was on the ground then it was most likely a pic before he put it up or while building. Some only run their beams about 10ft off the ground as that is as high as they can go. You work with what you got I suppose. But if it was "on the ground", they yes, i would venture to say it was being worked on. Just my guess.

JesseJamesDallas
02-01-2016, 12:29 PM
what's up with the guy from TN with the 8 element on the ground? does he use it like that or just an in progress construction pic.
Yeah, he was still in the progress of putting it together... I'm just wondering how many times he had to bring it back down to get it tuned...Took me 3 or 4 times going up and down to tune because once in the air, SWR changed from where I had mine tuned while just 5 or 6' off the ground.

BOOTY MONSTER
02-02-2016, 12:34 PM
Damn there go's the neighborhood! Where you been hiding Booty?

still in the chesterfield area . THINGS ARE GOING GREAT ! had the gastric bypass last april and i'm down to 287 yesterday morning :) was 556 @ my highest and i was 474 last march . i still have the homebrewed vector but i haven't put it up in a while . been thinking about putting the old 148 and cowtown back on the mobile so i figured i'd scan the forums to see what's up .

is mike breedlove still selling puck mounts ? googled him but didn't find his site :(

BOOTY MONSTER
02-02-2016, 12:39 PM
Yeah, he was still in the progress of putting it together... I'm just wondering how many times he had to bring it back down to get it tuned...Took me 3 or 4 times going up and down to tune because once in the air, SWR changed from where I had mine tuned while just 5 or 6' off the ground.

did you try pointing the beam straight up to tune it ? i've never had or tuned a beam but i've read that's a good way to get pretty close , sometimes close enough .

JesseJamesDallas
02-02-2016, 03:16 PM
did you try pointing the beam straight up to tune it ? i've never had or tuned a beam but i've read that's a good way to get pretty close , sometimes close enough .
Idea never crossed my mind... It was suppose to be pre-set from the factory, but was way off once I got it together, so it ended up taking some guess work to get it in the ball park while on the ground.

Jerry Breedlove is still selling mounts yes. He changed his web address to "breedlovemounts.com"
https://breedlovemounts.com/

Glad to hear your still around, and congratulations on loosing the weight. I know that's tough to do, my daughter has a weight problem, and I suspect will eventually have to do the same thing you did.

BOOTY MONSTER
02-02-2016, 08:23 PM
it's not for everybody , but i've had great results so far !
thanks for the link , #127 looks like it will do nicely :)

ARCHBISHOP
02-06-2016, 06:36 PM
still in the chesterfield area . THINGS ARE GOING GREAT ! had the gastric bypass last april and i'm down to 287 yesterday morning :) was 556 @ my highest and i was 474 last march . i still have the homebrewed vector but i haven't put it up in a while . been thinking about putting the old 148 and cowtown back on the mobile so i figured i'd scan the forums to see what's up .

is mike breedlove still selling puck mounts ? googled him but didn't find his site :(
CONGRATS on the weight loss. Latter post some before and after photos.