Stealth Antenna for 20m

During the recent warm, summer evenings, I've been busy fixing very minor storm damage from last February up on the roof of our old cottage.

For this, I have to use a 4.5m roof ladder (with ~1m added length from the roof hitch), which I recently bought for about £100.

Looking at its shiny aluminium-ness up on the roof, I wondered if this might not qualify as yet another stealth antenna that anyone, no matter how space or HOA restricted, might be able to deploy as an effective HF vertical.  At about 5m long, it's suited to a test on at least 14MHz.

I have no need for a stealth antenna, but I do like to experiment and, if I can, prompt others to look at ways of overcoming today's intolerant neighbours.

Using the usual short piece of coax from an ATU to a 4:1 balun, and then a run of 300 Ohm twin to the ladder, I simply clipped one side to the base of the ladder, and attached a single counterpoise loosely over the ground. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I think you would have to have completely insane neighbours, and an even more insane local authority, if they tried to claim this was something that broke planning rules.  I doubt anyone would in fact ever realise it was being used as an antenna.  Simply by unclipping the feedline, it goes back to being just a ladder!

In reality, there is no harm to amenity from a ladder that happens to be clipped to a feedline.  It is indistinguishable from a ladder not so connected.  So there is no realistic prospect of anyone being able to force you to take it down.  It should be possible to extend this idea to at least 30m, which takes only a ~7.5m ladder, but do make sure the ladder is secure for windy days!

Initial results on WSPR show that the ladder is putting out a very decent signal at 200mW, comparing favourably with full sized antennas used by others.  I'll post the DXPlorer ananlyses when enough spots are recovered.

Now, I think I had better get ready to lime wash that lovely red gable end again!