Description
You do not need acres of land to get on the air, but you do need a realistic antenna plan. Backyard Antennas for Tight Spaces is a practical field guide for licensed amateur radio operators working with small yards, townhomes, rentals, patios, urban lots, and HOA-controlled neighborhoods.
Instead of selling miracle antennas or pretending that physics can be ignored, Duarte Lickfold shows how to make better choices within real limits: available span, support height, safety clearance, feed-line routes, return paths, visibility, local noise, and band priorities. The book explains why low SWR is not the same as good radiation, why tuners cannot erase every loss, and why compact antennas work best when treated as complete systems.
Inside, you will learn how to measure your site before buying hardware, compare compact HF wire options, plan verticals and radials, use low-visibility and temporary installations responsibly, and choose matching devices, baluns, ununs, chokes, and feed lines with a clearer understanding of their limits. Separate chapters cover weatherproofing, entry panels, grounding concepts, RFI, receive noise, and neighbor-friendly operating.
The book also includes band-by-band strategy for small properties, three complete tight-space antenna system templates, and a measurement-first troubleshooting method for SWR problems, RF in the shack, weak receive performance, and weather-related failures.
If your antenna choices are constrained by fences, patios, short spans, nearby houses, or permission issues, this guide helps you stop guessing and start building a safer, more usable station.
What You Will Learn
- How to survey a tight property and turn measurements into an antenna plan
- Why shortened, low, or hidden antennas involve tradeoffs in efficiency, bandwidth, pattern, and matching
- How to compare compact dipoles, inverted V antennas, bent wires, EFHWs, random wires, OCF wires, loops, and verticals
- How radials, counterpoises, and return-current paths affect verticals, end-feds, and random-wire systems
- How to use tuners, baluns, ununs, transformers, and common-mode chokes more intelligently
- How to choose and route coax for HF, VHF, and UHF while reducing avoidable loss
- How to plan entry panels, drip loops, strain relief, connector weatherproofing, and grounding concepts
- How to diagnose receive noise, RFI, RF in the shack, and poor small-lot antenna performance
- Which bands are most practical for small spaces and how to prioritize a first-year station plan
- How to build from three complete tight-space antenna system templates and improve them over time
Who This Book Is For
- Licensed amateur radio operators with small backyards, townhouse lots, patios, balconies, or rental properties
- HF operators who want realistic compact wire, vertical, end-fed, or temporary antenna options
- VHF/UHF operators planning small-space verticals, feed-line routes, and height improvements
- Hams in HOA-controlled or visually sensitive neighborhoods who need lawful low-visibility ideas
- Urban operators dealing with local noise, RFI, common-mode current, and neighbor-friendly station practices
- Newer operators who want a practical antenna decision process before buying more hardware
Inside the Book
- The Small-Lot Antenna Problem: What You Can and Cannot Beat
- Measure First: Turning a Backyard Into an Antenna Plan
- The Compact HF Toolbox: Wire Antennas That Fit
- Verticals, Ground Planes, and Radials in Small Yards
- Low-Visibility and HOA-Conscious Installations
- Matching, Tuners, Baluns, and Common-Mode Control
- Feed Lines, Entry Panels, Grounding, and Weatherproofing
- Noise, RFI, and Neighbor-Friendly Operating
- Band-by-Band Backyard Antenna Strategies
- Build Plans: Three Complete Tight-Space Antenna Systems
- Testing, Troubleshooting, and Improving Over Time
Format: EPUB eBook. Author: Duarte Lickfold. Publisher: Lickfold Digital Publishers.
