Attic Wire Antenna

An ameritron 5 port remote rf antenna switch i had on hand was put into service.

Attic wire antenna.

Don t worry if you lack the room to run the dipole in a straight line. It s a long way from the rabbit ear designs you might think of when picturing indoor antennas and much cooler looking than the metal contraptions often found outdoors. For example you can install a wire dipole in almost any attic space. Bend the wires as much as necessary to make the dipole fit into the available space.

On vhf a beam antenna can work well in the attic even a rotator can be used. This antenna has all the reception power of an outdoor antenna but features a curved metal frame of reflectors that are designed for fitting easily into smaller attic spaces. The ge 33692 attic mount hd antenna is a notable example of an antenna specially designed for placement in the attic. It did need a separate small gauge multi wire control cable to be run to the attic.

The first problem to solve. Attics are great locations for indoor antennas. Poor insulation of the attic shortwave antenna wire. Again stay away from metal and wires to maintain your pattern.

This is the most important aspect to improve. Bare copper antenna wire stapled directly on wood rafters causes loss of rf signal energy. Although the switch isn t rated for 70cm operation the manual says it will work on that band with a bit of acceptable loss.