Operating in the shadows

This page is intended to highlight thoughts on operating in an environment with very limited to no space and where nobody knows you are an amateur radio operator (unless they stumble on this page).  My situation is of my own making because I did not do my homework before downsizing.  So just maybe, if another ham is considering moving to a smaller space and reads this page, they may better study their situation.

This page is broken into four sections: basic goals, antennas, shack and operating.

Basic Goals

I had two very basic goals for my new downsized operations.  First, to operate at the highest possible output power level while keeping two things in mind.  To be safe with my antennas in close proximity to humans and to operate without causing RFI.  (I operate without causing any interference to any of our in-house electronics.)  I settled on an output power of 25 watts or one S unit below the common transceiver output power of 100 watts.  Second, to operate as effectively as possible on the 40, 30 and 20 meter bands.

Antennas
It is all about antennas.  There is very little property around our house and no trees (they would not fit) for a quality outside antenna. Some hams measure their property in acres and others in square feet.  Ours can only be measure in square inches.  Also, any outside structure will be very visible to both the neighbors and the HOA. (Did I mention stay away from an HOA!) So as a result, my antennas have to be on (not visible) or in the house.  I cannot shed much light on this subject as after six years I am still struggling in this area.  I have used end-fed wires attached to the low trim of the house to bravely mounted hamsticks on the back deck.  My current antenna can be seen on my Station Setup page.

Shack (operating position)

For over six years after downsizing the shack shared space in the laundry room.  The area assigned to the radio was small and confining, but worked out just fine.  The point was to keep all daily activity on one level.  As part of a redo of the second floor home office (now called the Study) the shack was moved into the redone space.  That turned out to be a great move.  So, I would say make the operating area as best you cand in the space available.  Unfortunately, a better operating position does not improve the antenna situation.

Operating

The majority of my operating is on CW. On rare occasions I operate FT8 and to a lesser extent PSK31 and SSB. Therefore, most if not all of my comments are based on CW operations.

To reduce frustration, it is best to tailor your operating to your situation and band conditions at any given time. Do not expect when running 25 watts with an attic antenna to pull a rare one out of the mud under poor band conditions and beat the competition on 20 meter CW. If you can not accept a number of such failures, take up knitting. Do not get me wrong, if I hear a rear entity or an all time new one I will call until the band goes totally dead. However, adapting to your situation is necessary (I am still trying to convince myself of this). There is a lot to be said about operating with a varied focus. With a main objective still in mind (in my case DX) one can enjoy other less lofty ventures such as those listed in the following table: