An Antenna in Every Room
It’s been a couple of years since I first floated the notion of an ‘Anti-Shack’. At the time I was high on using my KX1 transceiver and if you recall, I had posited that the days of the radio shack stacked from floor to ceiling with bulky old equipment was waning and a new age was dawning – the anti-shack.
I’ve seen nothing in the ensuing period that has changed my mind about that…
For a while I had taken to just stringing the feed line across the floor which allowed me to operate the KX1 anywhere in the house. This was somewhat liberating in that I could enjoy my hobby from the comfort of my recliner in the family room alongside Brenda and Jamie while they enjoyed ‘Dancing With Stars’ or whatever they watch.
But I’ll be the first to admit that dragging the feed line across the floor was an inelegant solution…
I haven’t been very active on HF of late so this hasn’t been much of a concern.
But when I saw this concept for a retractable electric cord, it got me thinking about how something like it could be deployed for the feed line.
An antenna outlet in every room with a central switch to select where the signal goes would undoubtedly make the anti-shack notion a bit more spouse friendly for the HF aficionado.
Whether driven by limited living space or numerous other factors, hobbyists continue to pioneer alternate operating styles that look considerably different from the radio shacks of old. A growing number of radio enthusiasts who have been forced to deal with draconian antenna restrictions keep finding new ways to enjoy the hobby
