Fred Johnson, K6FRD, is an amateur radio operator in Riverside, California. Like many hams, he lives in an HOA-controlled neighborhood. For Johnson, finding practical, low-visibility, antenna solutions has become part of the fun over the years.
“For years I struggled to enjoy HF because, like many amateurs in an HOA, towers and conventional outdoor antennas simply aren’t an option,” said Johnson. “I tried several radios over the years, but without an effective antenna I rarely heard much activity and had very limited success making contacts. A few weeks ago, I decided to stop chasing radios and instead focus on building the best stealth antenna I could.”
Johnson said that after returning to HF last year, he enjoyed experimenting with antennas, portable operating, FT8, and station design to see what’s possible from a suburban backyard.
“The result is a simple 145-foot horizontal loop made from 14 AWG THHN wire, mounted on stainless cup hooks around the top of my backyard fences about six feet above the ground. The wire is insulated from the hooks with short pieces of clear vinyl tubing and is fed with a 4:1 current balun and approximately 25 feet of RG-8X coax. I also added ferrite chokes at both the antenna and radio ends of the feed line to help minimize common-mode current and noise.”
“The results have honestly exceeded my expectations,” he said. “My noise floor is typically only S1 to S2, allowing me to hear stations I would have completely missed before.”
ARRL Field Day 2026 gave Johnson a chance to operate entirely on battery power using his IC-7300 and his new antenna, making contacts on 10, 15, and 20 meters. Since installing the loop, he has worked 39 states, 24 countries, and stations throughout Japan, Hawaii, Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, South America, and across North America—all from his HOA backyard!
Johnson went on to say he hopes that sharing his successes, and the occasional lessons learned along the way, encourages other operators, especially those with HOA restrictions, to get on the air and enjoy this amazing hobby.
Johnson has created a Google photo album with all of the photos of his antenna design: photos.app.goo.gl/qeF1eToA4q7cAj5PA
Editor’s note: Thanks to Fred Johnson, K6FRD, for sharing his story, his HOA-proof antenna, and his effort to return to amateur radio and Field Day!