Getting your antenna in the air can sometimes be challenging. Not all of us have unlimited real estate and 120 foot towers at our disposal to hang any radiator on that we please. We all have to work within the confines of our situation, meaning limited space, property restrictions, access, or even budget. Thinking about those situations, here’s some creative ideas for mounting your antenna that work well in limited spaces or modest budgets.

Portable bases

A portable base can run the range of a spike or peg that you pound into the ground to a wooden frame that’s moveable. One such user built a heavy base out of 4×4 lumber for his Slim Jim Antenna. This type of base would look nice in the corner of your apartment or sitting out on your exterior patio or deck. Giving the base a nice coat of stain and lacquering the antenna would certainly turn the entire piece into a decorative art project.

A simpler approach to the wooden base is one built out of PVC tubing. You can build a lightweight base for your antenna out of 1 inch Schedule 40 PVC and a few t-connectors. Total cost: about $5.00. A dab of PVC cement in the connectors will keep the base from falling over due to the weight of the antenna.

Speaking of decorative art projects, many apartments don’t allow antennas or similar devices on balconies. But you can put out flowers and plants. Why not ‘plant’ your antenna in a large flower pot filled with landscape stone and disguise the antenna with some plastic plants or vine. As long as the plastic flowers don’t have metal wire in them, their presence shouldn’t affect the SWR of your antenna. Plus getting your antenna outside will increase its performance greatly than if it was sitting inside your apartment.