Quesion for hams: what is my neighbor up to?

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I know virtually nothing about radio, although I was thinking of getting a BaoFeng UV-5R so I could listen in in a SHTF situation. This house is only a few blocks from me. The big antenna certainly isn't like something I remember seeing in many places. Is it actually unusual, or have I been oblivious? What are these guys into?

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IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

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Re: Quesion for hams: what is my neighbor up to?

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That is a hexbeam antenna. It’s for HF (aka “shortwave”) bands, usually any or all the daytime bands: 10, 12, 15, 17, and 20 meters, although some brands have a 6 meter add on kit. It’s ideal for small lots, with a smaller footprint than a yagi. Works better than a dipole, not as well as a yagi.

Easy to homebrew with wires and fiberglass rods, but some major makers are Spiderbeam, G3TXQ, and SP7IDX. Lighter and more wind resistant than other antennas, so a less robust rotator is ok. Not for 2 meters, get something else for the Baofeng: any good vertical properly placed on the roof will do.

Your neighbor has verticals for FM VHF, looks like full wave or 5/8 wave for 2 meters/440, 220 meters, and 6 meters.
The dish on the tower is for a meshnet in the 2.4 GHz range (I think), for data link rather than voice. You got a fairly serious ham for a neighbor. In case of SHTF I’d just go to his house to get news from the outside: he’ll be able to listen and communicate both locally and globally. Go introduce yourself. Hams love to get others started in the hobby.
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Re: Quesion for hams: what is my neighbor up to?

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Awesome answer. Thanks!
HuckleberryFun wrote: In case of SHTF I’d just go to his house to get news from the outside: he’ll be able to listen and communicate in both locally and globally. Go introduce yourself.
Let's hope he has a generator and plenty of fuel for it. Although you can barely see in the photos a small solar system on the deck railing, which I suppose would be likely to feed an auxiliary battery for the radios. I think I saw just two little panels of maybe 2 or 3 square feet, which won't put out much in the Seattle gloom, so I guess he's planning to be cold but informed! A lot of people around us are putting fairly large arrays on their roofs, but our roof is small and weirdly shaped, so I'm not sure we could do much better.
Hams love to get others started in the hobby.
Oh, man, the LAST thing I need is another hobby. I'm already trying to keep far too many balls in the air (figuratively: I'm much too clumsy for juggling).
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

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