Where's the wackiest place *indoors you've put an antenna?

[Sonwatcher]

I have made several homebrew antennas and have an antenna farm in my attic. But I would say the stupidest place I put one was right next to me. I didn't have a base antenna years ago and wanted to do some dxin' and local talk. So I got on the internet and found the plans for a "coax" antenna. Really simple. 102" of coax. Divide the inner core from the shield up to about 9" from the connector that was left on one end.Spread it out in the air and my first contact was a guy in Italy !. But it was stupid as I learned later when reading about stray RF to have it right next to me as I was talking.

 

[Sonwatcher]

I did do something funny one time. I was at work with a friend and had an amp hooked to my mobile. My antenna was one of the magnet mounts with the plastic body with the tuning rings, Valor I believe. We were sitting in the car and a guy from St. Louis was talking so I cranked her up and got back to him. We talked for quite awhile. When we got out of the car we looked up and the antenna had melted the plastic body and was bent over at a 90 degree angle. I felt stupid that day too ! LOL !

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Although i have a antenna farm on the roof of my building
for 222 mhz i use a mag mount mobile antenna that is sitting on top of the refrigerator

i have so many antennas top side but just never got around to putting a vertical for 222 mhz

it works really good though
easily doing all my local stuff
as well as hitting easily many repeaters (especially to the east)

i always laugh a bit when i grab a bite or a drink

 

[Marty]

I hooked up a carport antenna at my friends house and it performed pretty good, So I gave it a try but I used a 64'' whip instead and a better radio and I get out up to 14 miles It's good if you have a HOA/Deed restrictions neighborhood, but I had antennas on Popcorn tins, coffee cans and on the AC/ Heat unit in the attic and a A-99 in the attic also.
forum.worldwidedx.com/viewtopic.php?t=16703

 

[DTB Radio]

when i was a teen we moved and i couldnt wait till the next evening to hear what folks were saying so i literally stuck a coathanger in the center of the 239 just to listen . NEVER keyed up...just listened .

I did the exact same thing when I was about 15 or 16. Problem was, back then, I didn't know squat about RF behavior and SWR and the problems it could cause, and I DID key up. I toasted a nice old 23-ch Pace in the process.

 

[74IN]

At a gaurd shack where I made a pick up had a UHF antenna on a soda can in tha shack.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I have made several homebrew antennas and have an antenna farm in my attic. But I would say the stupidest place I put one was right next to me. I didn't have a base antenna years ago and wanted to do some dxin' and local talk. So I got on the internet and found the plans for a "coax" antenna. Really simple. 102" of coax. Divide the inner core from the shield up to about 9" from the connector that was left on one end.Spread it out in the air and my first contact was a guy in Italy !. But it was stupid as I learned later when reading about stray RF to have it right next to me as I was talking.

Speaking of stray RF:

When I was first married we had an apartment for about two years. It was part of a huge old Victorian era house that was remodeled into apartment units so it was at least all wood frame construction and we had the second floor. Besides the usual attic antennas I also put up a two element phased vertical array for 10m. The good part was that the apartment had nine foot high ceilings and the 1/4 wave 10m verticals were able to fit as they are about eight feet long +/- a bit and were spaced 1/4 wavelength apart.The bad part was that my operating desk was located in the middle of the two elements. The array was configured as a broadside array and I would have been sitting smack in the middle of the radiation field. :shock: I only ran 100 watts but I don't even want to think what the RF field was. Equipment wise I never had a problem with RF getting into anything.