After moving in to my house in April 2001, I was not on air at all until July when I put up the Butternut HF6V and the Carolina 160S Windom, just in time for the 2001 IARU and IOTA contests !   I consulted both immediate neighbours about the "washing line" and "fishing pole" I was about to erect, and to let me know if they had any new problems occur with TV reception.

My first case of TVI was actually reported with 250 mW of 145 MHz FM which was a little drastic - I thought I would never post a contest score again !  However, a few High Pass Filters and Braid Breakers later I was able to overcome the wideband preamplifer and distribution units that 3 neighbours had installed.

My end goal was for something with a little gain and directivity, so I did some research about what sort of mast and yagi I could fit in.   The garden is 28 feet wide, and about 140 feet long, which gave me enough room for an LF dipole and a small rotating HF yagi.

I was quite dubious of the performance of extremely small minibeams, which are a good compromise solution if nothing else is possible, but a little research showed I could fit in a C3SS beam from Force 12.   This yagi (for it's size) had some good gain figures and a decent SWR bandwidth so I soon made an inquiry to Ron GW3YDX at Vine Antennas.

But first I would need to secure planning permission.   Follow the below links for more information.

Click here for planning proposal

Click here for response from Bromsgrove Council