Below is the newsletter for May 26, 2025. I would love to include your original content. If you have written, or would like to write an article, it would be great to include it in the EARS newsletter.
Steven Christy, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
Ham Corner – HF Antennas in an HOA
Three and a half years ago my family moved from southwest Edmond to Logan County. We had a very small property where antenna space was limited. I did have a dual band vertical on my roof and a dipole supported by trees running directly over my house. HF was extremely noisy (S5-S7) all the time but I was able to manage some contacts. Our new property is 3/4 of an acre but unfortunately there is an HOA. That is the bad part. The good part is that my noise floor is very close S0.
I know many of you are likely against the idea of an HOA but they have been becoming more prevalent over the last 30+ years. Let’s face it, the majority of modern planned neighborhoods have an HOA so it can be difficult to find a good property for a family that does not have one. Even with an HOA, I have been able set up antennas and operate successfully. Hopefully my experience will give you some ideas.
In this view of my house from the street, I have two HF antennas installed. During the winter when the trees are bare, you can slightly see one of them if you look closely at exactly the right time. Most of the time, people don’t even know they are there.
I have installed two HF antennas: an end-fed half wave 80m dipole and a Hustler 4BTV 4-band vertical. The dipole anchors to a pipe on the right side of the photo on the other side of the chain link fence and the center is supported by the tall tree in the middle of the frame. It is very close to the top at around 40 feet. The vertical is installed among the trees towards the left side of the photo. This is along a dry creek bed with lots of trees. They kept as many mature trees as possible when building our house so we have tons of nice trees which double as antenna supports!
Above are a few photos of my dipole. I drove a piece of pipe into the ground for an anchor point. This particular dipole was designed to be installed with the matching transformer installed close to the ground. This setup also works well for feeding it in my setup. I ran the coax through a piece of PVC pipe to allow for mowing and weed eating without hitting the coax.
The photos above show more details of the vertical installation. The antenna is mounted on a piece of pipe that was driven into the ground. A few months ago I added the radial plate to make it easier to install and connect the radials. Radials are required for most HF verticals as the vertical element is only half of the antenna. It needs a ground plane, that the radials provide, to radiate effectively. The radial plate has a single connection to the ground portion of the antenna. This also allows me to use landscaping clips to anchor the radials to the ground. I used to have them just running along the ground and I did hit them with the mower a couple of times. Here, too, I have the coax running through a short piece of PVC to protect it when I mow this area.
I also had to deal with a path to run my coax. As you can see from all the photos, the antennas are a good distance from the back of the house and I didn’t want the coax just running across the yard. I actually did that the first summer and it was a pain to move it every time I mowed. My solution was to dig a trench and install a PVC conduit.
I installed a plastic pull box just on the creek bed side of the chain link fence. The coax runs from the house to this pull box so that I can make changes without having to dig up my yard. The coax is directly buried from this pull box to each antenna. Since I have not worked on the grass in this area it is not a huge deal if I have to dig it up to replace it at some point. Note: The third coax you see is for my DMR repeater which is not discussed in this article.
The conduit comes out of the ground right next to the house. I do still need to install a plastic box on the brick for the terminations. The coax then runs into the soffit, through the attic and down the wall in to my office on the front side of the house. The coax from here to the antenna is LMR400 and from the office to here is RG-8X. I know there is some cable loss with this setup but at HF frequencies it has worked well without any issues.
Having the antennas in the trees has worked well. Since they are a good distance behind the house, they don’t pick up RF noise from the house. Our power lines are also underground which I am sure helps. They also help hide the antennas. The dipole is hard enough for me to see and I know to look for it. The vertical is a little more visible but it has not been a problem so far. It helps that our neighborhood is out of town and nearly everyone is pretty laid back.
While these are both of my HF antennas, I do have a couple of VHF/UHF antennas. They are installed in my attic. The coax run would be pretty long for those frequencies plus I have not found it necessary yet to do anything differently.
I know everyone’s options are different but hopefully this will give someone an idea. Even in an HOA there are antenna options. Just remember that most people’s idea of an antenna is one of those old beam TV antennas.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Steven, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
Edmond Tower Update
The foundation was poured this week. It took 220 cubic yards of concrete. With the steel, rebar, and concrete the foundation weighs just under a million pounds. They will start packing earth in on top of the foundation this week. Stacking the tower segments should begin first week of June.
Ben, KJ5IEB
Field Day 2025
Field Day 2025 is coming up on the weekend of June 28-29. Be sure to mark this weekend down on your calendar.
Last Tuesday evening we had a field day planning meeting. We had a good number of you in attendance so thank you to those who attended. It was a very productive time and we were able to get a lot accomplished. There is still more work to be done but many of the basics are in place. Unfortunately we are still working on a location. We have one possibility that is still in the works.
I will try to work on a field day update email to send out in the next few days. Please also remember that there is a form on the Field Day page where you can let us know how you are able to help.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you want to participate.
Thank you very much,
Rick, KE5UFW
fieldday@k5eok.org
June Siren Test
The next Edmond Siren Test is Saturday, June 7th. Please let Clay know if you have an assigned siren and you are unavailable to help this month. I could use a few people to adopt a siren so please also let me know if you are able to do so. If you would like to be added to the list to help, or if you have any questions, please send an email to Clay, WA6LBU, at sirens@k5eok.org.
June VE Test Session
The next EARS VE Test Session is Saturday, June 7th at 9am. If you or someone you know is planning to attend, please visit the License Testing page and complete the sign-up form. This allows the VE team to prepare to accommodate all of the testers.
If you have any questions, please contact Ralph Turner, N5AMR at Raltur47@gmail.com or you can contact him by phone at 573-999-4748.
June Mentoring Session
EARS has started holding a training and Elmer session prior to the monthly board meeting. Regardless of whether you are a newer or a more seasoned ham, we will have a short monthly topic that should help provide you with some good information. Following the brief presentation, there will be time to ask questions to help further your journey in amateur radio.
The next session will take place Tuesday, June 10th at 6pm at Edmond Fire Station 5. The address is 5300 E Covell Rd. We will have a brief presentation on contesting by Ross, K5SRT. Following his presentation, we will go outside in the parking lot to get a live demo and have some contesting practice time. If possible, please bring an HT with the frequencies of 146.52 MHz and 446.00 MHz, both FM simplex, programmed.
We look forward to seeing you there!
John, N5RET
help@k5eok.org
June Board Meeting
EARS holds a monthly board meeting on the second Tuesday of each month. The next board meeting is Tuesday, June 10th at 7pm. The meeting is at Edmond Fire Station 5 in the training building down the hill by the tower. The blue pin on the map below shows the meeting location.
Fire Station 5 is located at 5300 E Covell Rd which is just East of I-35. If you need any help finding the meeting location, please give us a call on the repeater and we can help you out.
LibertyFest
LibertyFest has been named one of the Top 10 July 4th Festivals in the United States by CNN and USA Today and it happens every summer right here in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Edmond Amateur Radio Society (EARS) is a key volunteer organization for this event and we rely on a dedicated group of licensed radio operators (and others not yet licensed) to help support it over multiple days. In short — we need you!
The 2025 LibertyFest events requiring volunteer support, with the time commitment, included:
Rodeo (Carl Benne Arena – 300 N. Kelly)
Friday & Saturday, June 27th & 28th 4:00pm to 11:00pm
Car Show and Park Fest (E.C. Hafer Park – 1034 S. Bryant)
Saturday June 28th 6:30am to 12:30pm
Parade (Downtown Edmond)
Friday, July 4th 6:00am to 12:00pm
Fireworks (E.C. Hafer Park – 1034 S. Bryant)
Friday, July 4th 5:00pm to 11:00pm
For more information or questions, please contact Brandy K5GBN at parades@k5eok.org. To learn more about LibertyFest 2025, visit the celebration’s web page at www.libertyfest.org.
Please visit the LibertyFest page on the EARS website for the sign-up form!
Frankie, KE5KQL
Ham Holiday
Ham Holiday is our local Oklahoma City hamfest. If you are not familiar with a hamfest, a definition from the ham holiday website is below.
“A hamfest is a meeting of people interested in Amateur Radio. Hamfests offer exhibits, forums, amateur radio testing, and fleamarkets for Amateur Radio operators or ‘hams.'”
Ham Holiday takes place on July 25-26, 2025 at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May, Oklahoma City. All of the details can be found on the Ham Holiday website.
Please make plans to attend!
Steven, N5ZQ
Space Weather
Space (Solar) Weather is important is impacts our radio communication. While the greatest impact is usually on HF frequencies, it can also impact VHF, UHF and even higher frequencies. The video below comes from a YouTube page that is updated about every 2 weeks with new space weather reports. I encourage you to watch her channel for updates when you can as it is very educational.
Contests
Below are a few upcoming HF contests. The ARRL has a more complete list in their Contest Corral from QST which is available as a downloadable PDF file. You can also find a list of upcoming contests along with contest details at contestcalendar.com.
| Atlantic Canada QSO Party | 1200Z, Jun 7 to 0200Z, Jun 8 |
| Kentucky QSO Party | 1300Z, June 7 to 0100Z, Jun 8 |
| ARRL Inter. Digital Contest | 1800Z, Jun 7 to 2400Z, Jun 8 |
| ARRL June VHF Contest | 1800Z, Jun 14 to 0259Z, Jun 16 |
| West Virginia QSO Party | 1600Z, Jun 21 to 0400Z, Jun 22 |
| ARRL Kids Day | 1800Z-2359Z, Jun 21 |
| Field Day | Jun 28 to Jun 29 |
Web Links
Here are a few links to other websites that may be of interest.
- ARRL (American Radio Relay League) – https://arrl.org
- CORA (Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs) – https://coraok.org
- Ham Holiday (OKC Hamfest) – https://hamholiday.com
- ARRL Oklahoma Section – https://ok.arrl.org
- South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS)
- DMR Info – https://w5nor.org/okdmr/
- They have lots of other good info on their website such as modes of operation, weather/emergency info etc.
- ARES
- ARRL ARES – https://www.arrl.org/ares
- OK ARES – https://aresok.org
- Winlink – https://winlink.org
- AREDN – arednmesh.org
- POTA (Parks on the Air) – https://pota.app
Upcoming Events
- EARS Information Net – Every Monday at 8pm
- Route 66 10m Net on 28.390 – Every Monday Following the Information Net
- EARS Breakfast – Every Saturday at approximately 6:30am at Around The Corner, 11 S. Broadway, Edmond
- EARS Breakfast Net – Every Saturday at 7am on 147.135 and 443.425
- EARS Licensing Testing – Saturday, June 7th – Sign Up on License Testing page
- Edmond Siren Test – Saturday, June 7th at 11:30am – Send email to sirens@k5eok.org
- June Mentoring Session and Training – Tuesday, June 10th at 6pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Lovell
- June Board Meeting – Tuesday, June 10th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- ARRL Field Day – June 28-29, 2025 – Details coming soon!
- Edmond LibertyFest Events – June 27th, 28th, July 4th – Details and Signup at https://k5eok.org/libertyfest/
- Ham Holiday – July 25th and 26th – Details at hamholiday.com
