I'm only guessing here, but I believe HDTV101 may be referring to Valkryie's posts.

Many people forget that an antenna or tower doesn't need to actually touch electrical wires to present a danger. Energy can arc from such wires to a tower or antenna in close proximity.

And, as mentioned, I believe Valkryie's OTA setup is far too close to electrical wires. In particular, the hydro drop servicing his home.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=400&pictureid=1989


Antenna falls on Powerlines - Palm Bay Florida - 3 People killed
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Hi there, I am a newbie and I am wondering if anyone have used the Piggyback mount to install the ota on top of the satellite dish.

I am not sure if I am able to use it because my dish is installed on a wall.

my second question is if My dish is grounded to a grounding rod, would I need to ground the OTA?

thank You in advance.

Hi there, I am a newbie and I am wondering if anyone have used the Piggyback mount to install the ota on top of the satellite dish.

I assume this is what you mean?

http://www.skywalker.com/images/image/Sky6004WithAntenna.jpg

I haven't used it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It might be OK for small antennas (like the omnidirectional one shown), but my fear is the added stress on your J-mount will cause it to bend or slip, resulting in your dish not being aimed properly.

my second question is if My dish is grounded to a grounding rod, would I need to ground the OTA?

Wrong thread for this question, but the short answer is yes. See the Grounding Info & Standards: OTA/Dish/CATV/Telecom (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=62265) thread for more details.

Thank You Roger1818.

Thanks!

To replace the antenna, how would I go about doing that safely? The tower is already in concrete. My dad plans to add more in the spring to keep it from swaying. The pole is 30 feet up. I'd have to take the entire pole down from the tower, then climb back up again. It's not guyed or anything and it's dangerous, hence why I was kinda leaving the antenna as the last resort.

We have no ladder that goes that high. How would I be able to get it down properly?

^^^^
If you can't climb it, then you'd need a "cherry picker" like the utility companies use.

I'm looking at putting upa very simple bow-tie antenna this weekend as a proof of concept and some testing to see what I can get. I don't have a tower up as of yet so I will have to mount it on my roof with some chimmeny support.

The roblem is the chimmeny is only about 3 feet higher than the roof so not much support there.

How high can I go before I need support wires?

Thanks

rlongfield: This is a difficult question to answer, without knowing the condition of the chimney (assuming that you intend to use a chimney mount). I would closely inspect the chimney for loose bricks and mortar.

Keep in mind that the structure wasn't designed to absorb the wind load of an antenna. Therefore, I wouldn't go more than 8' to 10' from the roofline with a medium gauge mast and a 4-bay antenna. Maybe less height if you intend to use an 8-bay bowtie.

TVFOOL, as well as feedback from others in your area, should help you decide how much height is necessary for decent reception.

Thanks for the tip, The chimney is in great condition and I would only be putting up a bowtie antenna. A larger antenna will be going up on the TV tower when I am able to get it up.
This is really a temp setup to test my reception.

Yep, heed those wind load cautions and just remember that what goes up must come down (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=892649&postcount=675). :eek:

Ok so, the antenna is now on the roof!
I was able to use a couple of 6" hose clamps and a 2x2, and attach it to my furnace vent pipe, at the roof apex.
I have a perfect, unobstructed view of Mt. Seymore from there.
My signal strength went sky rocketing. I'm getting a 50% stronger signal now.
I don't think splitting it up will be a problem :)

No Seattle signals, but I would have to rotate the ant. by about 110 deg. to be pointed that way. It's not something I'm in a big rush to try though, since roof walking is not my scene :eek:

hmmm - rotator. For my setup, I use 3 fencepoles. One end is stuck into the ground and I have a bracket attached to the soffit. The fencepoles are free to rotate in the bracket. So when I have to rotate (for the one channel CHCH), I can do it from ground level.

"I was able to use a couple of 6" hose clamps and a 2x2, and attach it to my furnace vent pipe, at the roof apex."

Pesky, it's not a good idea to attach it to furnace vent pipe. It's not designed for that kind of stress and if it cracks below the roof line you stand the chance of putting products of combustion into the house. NOT safe.

Thanks for bringing that up.
The vent is a galvanized solid tube that is impossible to 'crack'.
The antenna and assembly is fairly light-weight too, and only extends above the cap. The worst case scenareo would be bending, but I don't even see that happening, but we did just have a severe wind storm before I put it up.
I will check on it after the next storm.
Has anyone else used this method of mounting?

I have a pyramid shaped roof and was thinking a tripod mount where one of the legs is the mast would be sufficient for my DBGH Gen1.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=491&pictureid=2381

I think I have a pretty clear shot towards the CN tower, but there are some big trees not far off.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=491&pictureid=2382

Will I need to raise the antenna much above the peak, or should it be okay resting just above the peak? If I do need to raise it higher would these tripods provide enough for a longer mast?

Pesky there are lots of great posts in this thread explaining why you should never use vent pipes as antenna mounts. ;)

I need about a 7 foot mast attached to my chimney for
perfect line of site. What can I get from home depot that
would be the best for that length. I heard something about
EMT, could I get a specific one with exact measurements for
7 feet? thanks.

Ontherooftop........
I use EMT myself (Electro Metallic Tube). I find that the 1-1/4" size (inside diameter) is sufficient for mounting my 8 bay antenna and rotor. It comes in 10FT lengths (I used the full length).You'll see a smaller diameter piece of EMT sticks out from the top of the rotor.This is 1" EMT and above the 10FT piece of EMT. If you were to use the full length I would clamp the bottom 4 or 5FT of it . In your case ,if you still wanted to only 7FT, I would clamp the bottom 2-3FT. Here is a phot og mine .Its mounted on top of a 4"x4" piece of treated wood.
You can use straps and clamps that can wrap around a chimney to hold it in place or make brackets like I did from 1-1/2" galvanized Angle bar.
Good luck
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/wee-haggis/100_1857-1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/wee-haggis/100_1858-1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/wee-haggis/GroundingAntenna-2.jpg

Wow that is pretty big, I am looking for something smaller, do
they have 5 foot poles like that because then I could just clamp
the top part of my chimney with the first foot of the emt pipe
and then hook the bottom half the cm4221 4 bay with the top
bays not touching the pipe, I need line of site. or Should I just
get save and replay to install this for me and tell them I need
this exact line of site pointing south ( because my roof and my
neighbours roofs are all pyramid) which blocks line of site
to Buffalo so Im guessing 4 feet or so above the very top
of my chimney would give me the line of site I need, so thats
why I thought 7 was practical, maybe I should look around.
1 thing is I will be the only one on my street with an antenna
because everyone else either pays for cable or satellite and
doesn't know about free HD.

Cut the EMT yourself with a hacksaw. It takes minutes. You could also use a fence top rail for the mast.