<![CDATA[N2UX]]>http://www.n2ux.org/http://www.n2ux.org/favicon.pngN2UXhttp://www.n2ux.org/Ghost 4.48Thu, 21 May 2026 11:05:39 GMT60<![CDATA[Alpha Antenna's HOA Buster]]>For those who live in a deed restricted community or are otherwise unable to  use a typical amateur radio antenna the "HOA Buster" from Alpha Antennas can provide an opportunity to work the 160 through 10 meter HF amateur radio bands as well as the 6 meter

]]>http://www.n2ux.org/alpha-antennas-hov-buster/63b3202690f0df0a4a2e9badMon, 02 Jan 2023 19:29:44 GMTFor those who live in a deed restricted community or are otherwise unable to  use a typical amateur radio antenna the "HOA Buster" from Alpha Antennas can provide an opportunity to work the 160 through 10 meter HF amateur radio bands as well as the 6 meter VHF band.

An "HOA Buster" from Alpha Antenna. The package includes an Alpha match, an antenna lead with a gutter clip, a mount, and a ground spike

The HOA Buster is rated for 250 Watts PEP for SSB, 125 watts for CW and 25 watts for digital modes.

Setting up the unit was straight forward and didn't take very long.  I attached the alligator clip to an exposed metal spot on my aluminum gutter down spout, attached the antenna match assembly to the ground spike, attached the antenna coax to the match, and pushed the spike into the ground.  I made sure to locate it so that the gutter lead was not touching the ground and not parallel to the antenna coax.  Total time from delivery to a complete installation was less than 15 minutes.

Using a NanoVNA I checked SWR of the alpha match & gutter combination on each of the major HF bands, the 6 meter VHF band, and then across it's entire advertised range of 160 meters through 6 meters.

BandMaximum SWR
160 Meters1.55
80 Meters2.25
40 Meters1.45
20 Meters1.3
15 Meters1.75
10 Meters2
6 Meters3.7

My MFJ-969 tuner was easily able to tune it to a perfect match across the entire range including on the 6 meter band.  Since on most bands the untuned SWR is well within acceptable limits I normally just set the tuner to bypass.

In summary, I found the HOA Buster to be an excellent choice for my operating conditions and a great improvement over the tripod mounted portable HF antenna I had been using.  

A note on shipping:  The manufacturer doesn't start building the HOA Buster until the order is placed so it can be up to 6 weeks for delivery.  In my case I placed my order on November 14th, 2022 and it was delivered on December 30th, 2022.

NanoVNA SWR Graphs for each tested band

SWR Graphs from 6 meters through 160 meters

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