Jase88,

Not sure if such a tool exists, but you need to be very careful straightening elements. The element can easily to break due to metal fatigue even when doing it carefully down on the ground. Doing it in place is only going to make it more likely to break.

Yeah, I had thought of that. Since it's a passive element, and likely not negatively impacting reception, we'll likely leave it alone.

Certainly not obstructive, but I would look at getting a stronger mount. J-mounts aren't intended to support that much load and your antenna could fall down in a wind storm. Try and see if you can get an eave mount. It will be much stronger and just as discrete.
There's an eave mount? I am also using a J-mount to clear my rain gutter. I was wondering if it's strong enough to hold a Channel Master 4228 on an 8' galvanized pole. Been up since February no problem. But I'd be interested in hearing about or seeing something stronger. Any place to recommend for various antenna mounts?

There's an eve mount if you actually have a gable end to attach it to. Channel master has one called the CM9030 (http://www.channelmaster.com/product-overview.php?proID=54&catID=36).

If you have a standard hip roof, you can use a wall-mount bracket with enough offset to get you past the soffit and eavestrough overhang, such as the 18" standoff channel master CM9036 (http://www.channelmaster.com/product-overview.php?proID=51&catID=36).

@TechieFreak: I don't recommend using a J-mount with an 8' mast and 8-bay antenna. I've seen a few installs done this way, and they've all come down or aren't sitting up straight.

FYI, here is a photo of the CM9030:

http://www.summitsource.com/images/products/MT9030.jpg

The short bracket goes up near the peak, and the long one goes further down. You can adjust the length of the long one to accommodate different roof pitches.

I'd like to replace the J-mount with somthing that would be considered stronger. Here's something I found... do a Google of "Ronard 730 Heavy-duty Under Eave Mount". Does anybody know of a Canadian source for this mount? Any recommendations for a similar mount?

I don't want to mount the antenna on the roof, because of the extremely sloped roof that I have. I hate going up on my roof for anything. My current mount is made of 2x10's, with a 2x6 holding it up against a 6x6 post which holds up my roof over the deck. I have to have the mast hang beyong the rain gutter which is 27" away from the edge of the post.

Here are two pictures to show what I'm using right now to hold up my CM4228...

http://imgur.com/428Ht.jpg (http://imgur.com/428Ht.jpg)

http://imgur.com/HVMnV.jpg (http://imgur.com/HVMnV.jpg)

I'd like to replace the J-mount with somthing that would considered stronger. Here's something I found... do a Google of "Ronard 730 Heavy-duty Under Eave Mount".

Although likely stronger than a J-mount, I doubt if it will be as strong as the CM9030.

I was just looking at that Ronard unit and it looks sturdy, but my biggest concern is that you would have to find two joists in which to sink those U-bracket lag bolts upwards into, because there's no way a conventional soffit and fascia would support those brackets without those, even with that end bracket firmly in place against the siding.

So I decided to do my spring tower inspection today...

Had some "housekeeping issues" (loose tape on coax and rotor cable), wanted to check for rust, and I was replacing my big VHF with the smaller and more compact Antennas Direct C5 (see Kitchener results thread for reception on this unit). We also had a wind storm last week. And while I didn't see any problems with the tower or antenna equipment, I thought it would be good to climb and check it out.

What shocked me was that most bolts/nuts were loose! I mean very loose! I'm not sure if this was an effect of the wind storm, or temperature changes, or a combination thereof. Needless to say, I was glad I caught this problem before it became a disaster.

We discussed loosening bolts on DMX towers earlier in this thread. I can now attest that the effect can occur--even (and probably especially) with new hardware. My hope is that the C5 VHF will greatly reduce vibration and wind load on the tower (over the 16' VIP307).

If you have a tower, it's a good idea to periodically climb it (or have someone do so for you) to check tightness.

Did the bolts that came loose have lock washers? If there's enough thread on the bolt you may want to slap some on for safety. Alternatively, you could put on jam nuts so you don't have to take the bolts out to install the washers.

Yes, there are lock washers on the bolts.

I wonder if something like Loctite on the threads would do the trick?

Also, were the nuts torqued adequately? Optimally a torque wrench should be used, but that could be awkward.

I used a torque wrench...and they were torqued to the manufacturer's spec. It wasn't difficult, as both hands are free with my safety gear.

I suspect it was vibrations from the large VHF I have. I've now taken that down and replaced it with a C5....far less wind load and stress on the rotor and thrust bearing...

Interesting. I've got a large'ish amateur radio yagi (15' boom) on my Delhi tower that has been up for over seven years and all the tower bolts are still tight.

my friend has a cm4221hd with a j pole
and wants to set it up on the balcony outside.
Is it wise to ground the antenna? and how can it
be done 7 stories high? would a surge bar be of
help?

Yep, grounding a balcony antenna is covered in this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=62265

can you tell me which post? because there is just
way to much.

Go into the Grounding thread and use the Search This Thread tool to the upper right beside Thread Tools and put in balcony as your search term so that you can compare. :)

Here are a couple of other great tips:If you lose track of where your post has gone, simply go to the DHC Quick Links menu and pull down to "My Posts". Another method is to go to one of your previous posts anywhere on the DHC site and click on your own user name to the left to get to the "Find More Posts By..." menu item.Here's how to always have the newest, latest posts displayed when you open a thread (I highly advise it!):

In the blue navbar click on "User CP"
under "Your Control Panel" at the left of the screen select "Edit Options"
scroll down to "Thread Display Mode"
select "Linear - Newest First"