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 Previous: W1ZR Joins ARRL Staff |  Next: Amateur Radio Support Winds Down as Isabel Recovery Continues |
By Don Steele, W1NFG
September 30, 2003
A care facility opens its arms to Amateur Radio operators, even aiding in antenna construction and deployment.
With so much current news about Covenants, Conditions and Restriction--CC&Rs--affecting residential developments, and making it difficult or impossible for some radio amateurs to erect reasonable antennas, you may be surprised to learn that there is one continuing care retirement community where hams are accepted, encouraged to move in and to be active.
 The author's QSL card sports an aerial view of Elim Park Place. |
This community is called Elim Park Place, located in Cheshire, Connecticut. The 38-acre Elim Park is a truly delightful residential complex for people over 55 of all faiths and in various degrees of aging. But best of all, hams are actually welcomed and are assisted by the skilled maintenance staff in antenna construction and special wiring. There was no problem having the installation and use of Amateur Radio with outside antennas included in our contract for lifetime use of the apartment. Their marketing department has actually used pictures and stories about my station in TV spots and direct mail advertising campaigns.
Solving the Initial Problems
I was the first active ham in the place, moving in on June 10, 1995, and getting on the air fairly promptly. I soon discovered what it is like to have literally several hundred neighbors located closer to my station than any neighbor had ever been in my previous 55 years of hamming. I did my best to cooperate, installing filters on some telephone lines, and helping a couple of neighbors eliminate "touch control" lamps. The solution to the latter problem proved to be a two-way benefit, since those infernal devices put out horrible noises on our bands, and flashed on and off with every word I uttered.
The worst problem, however, was with the intercom system, which had only partially shielded wiring. Additionally, a silicon controlled rectifier was used as a switch in every bedroom and bathroom in the building. Almost any HF signal I radiated rang the bell for the nurse, and usually from several apartments simultaneously or in sequence. It was easy to demonstrate that the SCR was acting as a detector, while the wiring made a great antenna.
To cope with this most serious problem, after getting absolutely no help from either the manufacturer of the intercom system--still under warranty--or the contractor who had installed it, I got some advice from Ed Hare, W1RFI, at ARRL Headquarters. I also enlisted the aid of Frank Darmofalski, W1FD, chairman of the Interference Committee of the nearby Meriden Amateur Radio Club. With a lot of testing and a few changes in antenna locations and feed styles, plus some strategically placed ferrite filters, all such interference was eliminated. In this process, Darmofalski learned a lot about Elim Park, and liked the place so much that he soon moved into another of the apartment buildings and became our second active ham.
 A multiband trap HF vertical stands tall and proud atop a 30 foot pole, which the staff at Elim not only endorsed but also helped Steele set up. Other antennas in use include a long G5RV for 80 and 160 meters, and a pair of 2 meter antennas. [Don Steele, W1NFG, Photo] |
Shack Set-Up
One room of my apartment is the ham shack, housing all the radio equipment and two computers used for e-mail, packet and some unrelated record keeping. Back-up emergency power is available to only part of each apartment, but management has seen to it that each active amateur station is served by the emergency power circuits, which are fed by natural gas-fired generators. I operate mainly on SSB, with some CW, utilizing two 100 W HF transceivers, each with an antenna tuner and dedicated to one of the two outside antennas.
My wife Jane, W1UKL, operates mostly on 2 meter FM, with a 35 W transceiver. Our two outside antennas are a G5RV, used for 80 and 160 meters, between the peaks of the gables on two adjacent buildings, and a trapped vertical, covering 10 through 40 meters, mounted on top of a 30 foot pole about 100 feet from the building. By using the two antennas in this manner, I no longer encounter one of my earlier problems, changing bands and forgetting to change antennas--another very reliable way to ring the bell for the nurse. Each HF rig is permanently connected to one antenna, so changing bands often means simply turning off one transceiver and turning the other on.
In the attic, we have two 2-meter antennas, a ground plane for general use and a quad, dedicated to the local Packet DX Cluster, plus another ground plane for a 50 channel scanner, as my wife and I are also fire buffs, monitoring most of the fire departments in this part of the state.
I have never been a very avid DX operator. I did, however, demonstrate the effectiveness of my station by acquiring the ARRL's Millennium DXCC Award. I have been treated so well by my present antenna setup, that I wouldn't think of suggesting a tower or a beam.
Getting Along with the Joneses
Since activation of these antenna systems, there has not
been a single legitimate complaint of interference. Television reception
throughout the complex is via cable, so there has never been a serious
complaint of TVI. One new neighbor, on moving in, heard my voice on a very old
TV receiver, even when it was not turned on, but did not complain, as he soon
understood that the problem lay within the TV. He has since replaced the TV,
and no longer hears my voice. He says he misses hearing me! Another couple
heard my signals on a telephone-answering device, but refused to consider
letting me or Frank look into the problem. After several months they bought new
answering machine, this time with a chip rather than a tape recorder, and the
problem was solved.
 The feed line for the HF vertical heads out from Steele's apartment and crosses the courtyard. [Don Steele, W1NFG, Photo] |
Frank's station is a bit more modest than mine, with an HF transceiver, antenna tuner, dummy load and power supplies located in a specially designed cabinet in a corner of his living room. For an antenna, he uses a 130 foot wire stretched diagonally across the courtyard of his L-shaped building, at a height of 40 feet, center fed with dual-shielded coax, and he has had no problems with his neighbors.
His installation, as you might have guessed, was planned after we learned about eliminating my interference problems. Frank, however, has a much higher noise level than I do. Apparently some further work is needed on some of the building's lighting or HVAC equipment.
Bob Moseley, WA1ZLF, recently moved into another apartment building that has just been completed. As soon as maintenance personnel become available, he plans to erect a multi-band vertical. Each of us also has a 2 meter handheld radio, and we use them around the complex, at times, as well as in the local ARES organization. We all participate regularly in several local and regional nets, and some of the other net members seem to be looking forward to joining us when they reach retirement age. The bad news is all of the apartments at Elim Park are full at this time and there is a substantial waiting list of wannabes!
Don Steele was first licensed in 1941 and has held his
original call since then, in addition to a General Class Commercial Radio
License. The Yale graduate pursued a varied career in business and industry,
retiring in 1984. Steele has decades of experience as a volunteer firefighter,
serving for 10 years as Connecticut's State Fire Coordinator. A forest fire
warden for 20 years, he now serves as Elim Park's fire marshal. He is a member
of ARRL and the Quarter Century Wireless Association, and was formerly the
Emergency Coordinator in his hometown of Hamden, Connecticut. Steele can be
reached via e-mail at w1nfg@juno.com.
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