TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATERUS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 12.45 DATE: November 4, 2012
SUBJECT: INSIDE ANTENNA
During severe weather do you have a way to communicate. There have been several bulletins about having back-up power or ways to get power for your radio, but what about an antenna.
During ice storms a lot of antennas are damaged or destroyed due to ice buildup. During high winds outside antennas will get damaged or destroyed by the wind itself or by debris or falling tree branches. During severe lightening, the antenna can be damaged, but most likely destroyed. Of course if the radio is connected to it, it too will be destroyed.
What you need to think about is having an inside antenna that is out of the elements of the weather. Since most local communications use repeaters, VHF and UHF antennas can be small enough, they can be placed in or near a window. VHF and UHF antennas can be made out of TV Lead-in wire and hung on a suction cup on the window glass.
HF or High Frequency antennas are a different story. Since the antenna is a lot larger, a different setup must be used. If you have access to your attic and can get around in it, there is the place to put your antenna. Most HF stations use an antenna such as a dipole or long wire, but there is another antenna that works just as well.
A loop antenna can be installed by using wire that runs along the inside of the roof. Just place some cheap glass or plastic insulators around the inside of the roof, and place wire in them. Just because the name says it's a loop, doesn't mean it needs to be a circle. A loop means that it starts at one location and returns again. The loop can be a circle, a square, or a rectangle.
The only thing you need to do is have some kind of matching device so the transceiver will see a 50 ohm load. If you already operate HF you will know how to match the antenna to the radio. A loop antenna inside won't be as good at one that is outside and high in the air, but it will allow you to operate during foul weather, and won't be destroyed by the environments, unless a tree falls on the house.
Another thing to remember, if you have one of the metal roofs that are beginning to be popular, most inside antennas won't work very well, if at all.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV