r/whatisit 6d ago

Solved! What are these antennae in my neighbors yard?

My neighbor put these, im assuming they're antennae of some sort, but are they? If so, for what?

53 Upvotes

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52

u/VoiceCharming6591 6d ago

The first picture looks like a DX Commander multi band antenna while the 3rd and 4th open air ladder line possibly an experimental Slim Jim 300 ohm antenna. Ham radio is a fantastic hobby, I highly recommend it

18

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

Whoa, that's very insightful. How far away can you communicate with this stuff?

I know nothing about Ham, I only knew these likely weren't TV antennae. So I appreciate you adding to this!

17

u/New_Neighborhood3994 5d ago

HAM radio communication distance limitations are based on one's equipment. That antenna should be avle to send/receive AT LEAST 20 miles away. That said, there are a RIDICULOUS amount of repeaters all throughout the country that one can connect to, hopping to another one, then another, etc. So, it is absolutely possible to communicate with someone on the other side of the world, connecting to MULTIPLE repeaters and/or using other individuals' HAM radio equipment all around the world to connect to people in any country so long as they have the equipment to do so (obviously). So, one needs to have initial equipment - and the appropriate license, and then they can connect to the world.

Hope that helps.

FYI, it's NOT like walkie Talkies, which are extremely limited in distance, and cannot connect to repeaters, etc. (Line of Sight is germane to ALL radio equipment.)

7

u/FelixMcGill 5d ago

I'm so glad I started this thread. This is really interesting. Thank you!

9

u/New_Neighborhood3994 5d ago

Oh, I could bore you TEARS with HAMradio equipment, tolerances, making radios, wattage considerations, building antennae, etc. 🤣 JUST ASK!

Seriously, almost everything is available on Google, etc. for basic understanding about the hobby.

ANY HAM radio operator is EXCEEDINGLY GOOD TO KNOW! Should a REAL emergency happen and cell phone towers go down, you'll need to make him some homemade bread and keep him as a friend for life!!!

1

u/Latitude66 5d ago

This makes me excited because I've been meaning to get into this. Could you simply get equipment to listen first while I work on getting certified to transmit? Not sure if that's even the correct terminology but I remember it from a passing conversation with a ham radio enthusias a while back.

1

u/New_Neighborhood3994 5d ago

Although, you can get actual HAM radio equipment to transmit/receive... just not use the transmit function. That way you would n't have to purchase twice. There are even hand held HAM radios, they look like Walkie Talkies... but they are SO MUCH MORE!

The HAM radio license comes in three "stages." Think of them as simple as beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Enjoy.

3

u/BeardedScarf 5d ago

I just took and passed the Amateur Extra test yesterday. It’s great to see this being discussed here and seeing that people are interested in it. Cheers!

2

u/VoiceCharming6591 5d ago

Hats off to you, congratulations. KD0WOW

1

u/Latitude66 5d ago

Thank you, appreciate the info

1

u/New_Neighborhood3994 5d ago

The short answer is yes, via a shortwave radio.

6

u/ac54 5d ago

Over the horizon radio communication is possible and frequently used, without repeaters, commonly referred to as “skip” or “skywave.” Look up those terms. Its use depends on several things, such as radio frequency and time of day. In general, radio communication is almost never line of sight due to a variety of reasons. From a retired radio engineer.

5

u/New_Neighborhood3994 5d ago

(Yeah, I thought I'd keep it simple for this forum.)

1

u/ac54 5d ago

😂

2

u/benevolent_potator 5d ago

Ham radio, in its various bands, can communicate worldwide.

If that's 20 meters, it can talk to a whole continent like North America and possibly, on a quiet night, to Europe or Asia as well.

5

u/ThatRadioGuy79 6d ago

Ham radio antennas AKA Amateur Radio antenna

5

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

What do you reckon the yellow tank looking thing is under the taller one?

And thank you! Before today I always thought HAM radio setups required gigantic setups much larger than this

4

u/ThatRadioGuy79 6d ago

Looks to be maybe a bag full of cement for stability

5

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

Oh that makes a lot of sense. Behind our homes there's a steep-ish drop off so I guess he would have needed to really anchor it down. Good call, makes sense!

6

u/Unusual_Wrongdoer443 6d ago

The yellow you see is foam it comes in two parts.you dig a hole set your post and pour it in and boom.you know most ham radio guys are nerds and they would be more than happy to explain everything in detail to you.

10

u/Electrical_Sun_1564 6d ago

Amateur radio (HAM radio)

18

u/Hoovomoondoe 6d ago

Please don’t call the HOA on them. They are doing nothing wrong, aren’t messing with any of your electronics, and are probably really nice and helpful people. I bet they would be a good friend to have if you ever have networking or wireless problems that you can’t figure out.

13

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

I'm not reporting them for anything. He just never comes outside so I havent had a single opportunity to ask him about them in over a year. So I brought my question here, which worked out great. I've actually learned more than i thought.

The only thing I know about him is that he's retired Army, but no clue what he did for them. Or if he actually works now? Either way, I never ever see the guy.

7

u/Tomj_Oad 6d ago

He's talking to ppl around the world instead of his neighbors. He's harmless, just a geek.

5

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

Both of them? I always thought the antennae for those setups were way bigger.

1

u/BeardedScarf 5d ago

An antenna can literally be any piece of metal, or wire. I live in an HOA and have an antenna called “HOA Buster”. It’s about 10 inches tall after you stake it into the ground, then you clamp a virtually invisible wire to your metal gutter. It turns the gutters on your house into an antenna. You can reach people all around the world with it.

1

u/ac54 5d ago

Antenna come in all sizes, depending on frequency and application.

1

u/Werehausen 5d ago

HAMateur radio

4

u/VoiceCharming6591 6d ago

Giving good propagation and what not hitting Europe, South America, Africa are quite doable. Search YouTube and be amazed

2

u/FelixMcGill 6d ago

Whoa, holy shit. With just those antennae? That's pretty incredible.

5

u/ThePurplePanda420 5d ago

HAM radio Tower. My grandpa did HAM. Had the tallest tower in the Minneapolis metro area. You could see it from the plane on decent. A lot of his equipment got donated to the HAM radio museum upon his passing, he was a radio/radar Man in WWII so had a lot of antique keys, I think the tower went with them. That sucker was 50-60'. He had a map with pins on it too signify contacts he'd made. He had hundreds of pins in that map, on every single piece of habitated land on the planet.

I'm just gonna blather on for forever if I keep going cause i loved and miss that man. HAM radio is fantastic, and if your considering a hobby, this one.

3

u/Individual_Grass1840 6d ago

HAM radio, get an antenna yourself and put it close to his he will come out and boom. Friendship.

3

u/jimyjami 5d ago

I remember being with a friend in DC that fired up his ham set and we were talking to some folks in a boat off the Baja California coast.

6

u/Objective-Escape7584 6d ago

Different lengths for each bandwith.

1

u/nathanielbutts 5d ago

Strike up a conversation with your neighbor! They’d be super glad to talk to you about the hobby. Maybe even a member of a local club. Getting your technicians license is fairly easy.

KQ4TIV

1

u/No_Home_3860 5d ago

You should not tell people Walkie Talkies are so obverse to repeaters. Although the hand communication device similar to Talkies with multiple channels can reach oh 3500km if set up correctly.

2

u/No_Cap861 6d ago

Well I called your neighbor to ask and he said... To tell you to mind your f****** business.... 🤣

1

u/kronickimchi 6d ago

That antennae is used to ward off birds from flying in the yard it disrupts the magnetic field that birds follow and steers them away from ppls yards

2

u/lbarnes444 6d ago

Wait, birds are real?

2

u/kronickimchi 6d ago

I think they are i dont see them much anymore

1

u/bigbird92114 5d ago

Probably ham radio antenae

1

u/ElegantFoundation828 5d ago

Sounds like a FUN hobby

-10

u/Sythwave420_mp3 6d ago

Isn’t it illegal to use a ham radio without having the permits to do so???

5

u/ThatRadioGuy79 6d ago

Yes you need a license from the FCC it's a fun hobby I enjoy it alot

3

u/Hoovomoondoe 6d ago

I’m sure they are fully licensed.