From time to time, some pretty good discussions of this thread appear on
qrp-l, a very busy list for those of us who either by choice or
circumstance, run mostly at 5 watts or less.

The basic rules for operating from a condo or apartment are:

#1. stay hidden as much as possible.  This usually means antennas in the
attic, or very small gage wire.

2.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to string a wire outdoors, make
it as long as practical, and keep as little wire as possible inside.

3.  design a good rf ground.  If, like me, you are on the second floor or
higher, you may have to resort to a quarter wave counterpoise for each band
you wish to use.  This wire is connected to the radio's ground terminal, or,
most likely, to the ground terminal of the tuner.  It is usually placed
along the baseboard, hidden under the rug, etc, and is not grounded.  It
also carries a nasty rf bite, so, keep it away from children or pets when
transmitting.

4.  Your neighbor is probably six inches away from the edge of your
operating desk.  Therefore, if your radio is getting into your TV, phone,
doorbell, etc, guess what!  Chances are excellent that you are in the
neighbor's stuff too.  This is why so many of us in these situations try to
keep the power as low as possible.

I use about 50 feet of wire which is hidden in the trees behind my building.
Only about two feet of it is inside, plus a similar amount for the
counterpoise which in my case runs around the balcony.

I have found that on 80, 40, 30, and 20, I'm safe up to 25 watts or so.
Above 20, 10 watts is often as high as I can go. Above those levels, I'm
taking chances.

I've lived in this apartment for nearly 7 years with the same land lord.
Thus far, she hasn't complained about either my wires or my operating.  I
have, on the other hand, seen her toss tenants out of here quickly for
"offences" which appeared to me to be less obtrusive than a neighbor's rf.

Coax is hard to hide, so, be ready to adapt an swr meter for use with an
external wire tuner.



Mike Duke, President
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs