Horizontal polarity vs vertical polarity. The eaves trough would act as a reflector for a horizontal antenna where the downspout would be relatively neutral. That would also depend on the type of antenna, which hasn't been stated.

"...I was going to remove my dish and mount a 4221HD..." :)

Thanks for the explanation!

threeflags if you stay with the common OTA brand names (Channel Master, Winegard, Antennacraft, Radio Shack, etc.) you will have a good tripod.

Radio Shack (The Source)? That's interesting. Who makes that for them?

Just checked the .ca site ... no tripods.

Nope I specifically said Radio Shack (i.e. U.S.A.) :) but check our official site sponsor (http://saveandreplay.com) for their stock of tripods too. Let's get back to the topic and not the sales side of things.

In reference to post # 1606 by 300sflyer
I recently put an antenna up at a friends cottage and was shocked to see this tower set-up . When I saw this base , it reminded me of that post . I had to share this pic. The tower was short at 16' , secured as best as you could get it at the top with two pipes clamped to the tower and "L" brackets to the wall with very large screws but yet the whole tower didn`t feel solid at all . I can`t say how deep that cement block go`s .

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g326/loveota/Mounts/1.jpg

loveota: Bracketed towers don't require a concrete base. Typically three long stakes are used through a base plate which sits on the ground. At only 16' in height, this base is overkill. Of course it's always better to over-engineer something than to not engineer it well enough.

If the brackets aren't secure, that's a concern.

At only 16' in height, this base is overkill.

Regardless the height of the tower this base is a MickeyMouse set-up . I would atleast use taller "L" brackets at the bottom and make use of the second set of holes . The top brackets are plenty secure , it`s just that bolting tubes to a flat bracket at the base doesn`t make for a solid feeling mount. Personally I`d toss this tower set-up and put something atleast a few feet in the ground . However , done properly it`s a good idea for lowering towers to work on the top . My concern would be the possibility of the bolts breaking when doing so .

Regardless the height of the tower this base is a MickeyMouse set-upJudging from the photos and the description I don't agree with you on that. :) Further to Jase88's reply, I would say please go back through this thread and you'll see excellent explanations about why a top-bracketed non-guyed tower in the ~20' range can be very safe without much digging since the main load is actually on the roof/joist brackets. You'll also see discussion of using grades 5 through 8 bolts, which will not break under such a light load.

This thread is a goldmine of information on towers, mounts, and other OTA rigging hardware.

The top brackets are plenty secure

Because of those bottom mounts it was the shakiest tower I`ve ever been on . If there was another section to it there would be no-way-in-H*** I`d ever climb it . I couldn`t work on top of one if I didn`t feel safe . I wasn`t impressed with this one .

I'll take your word on it as safety is paramount.

I tried an 18" wall mount which was too small by about 4 inches. I'm contemplating the eave mount and the tripod mount. I have a 10' mast and the 4228. At the moment the eave mount is looking easier. Anyone have some tips (do's/don'ts) for an eave mount?

Use the Search This Thread tool to the upper right beside Thread Tools and put in "eave mount" as your search term and you'll get a ton of great info. :)

Hi,

I'm considering the idea of using an outside antenna instead of an attic antenna. I need the extra gain since I can't get a few channels since a few month. As far as I know, it should be related to the presence of leaves in the tree (I live in a forest).

If I simply go outside on to of the house (chimney mount) I can't go much higher than 35 ft. Trees go at least to 50 ft, so going outside should give me some gain, but I also get new problem, like grounding the antenna.

What would solve all my problem would be to use a tower. I considered some free antennas that people give away if you come and dismantle them. However I can't take 2 low antenna and combine them as I only get the top parts.

On the other hand, some Delhi GN type antenna seems to be the same all the way from the bottom to the top. However the instruction mentions:

Designed to support equipment up to 3 square ft. (0.28 m2
) projected wind
area, mounted not more than 2 sections above house bracket.
Caution: Guy wires must be used for larger loads or greater heights
above house bracket.

So if I want to go above the tree, I would need guy wires. Still I can't find instruction or guidelines on how many guy wire (at what height), what is the required strength of the wire, and so forth for the GN type antenna.

Another thing I though about is building a highed type antenna with 1.5 steel pipe. I could build it with 2 inverted pyramid:
http://www.colorsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/28hof/02hof.jpg

Still, getting practical guy wire guidelines would also help me. Anybody know where I could get that information?

Thanks,

jf

Time to go high.:D

I now have two Delhi free-standing towers that I am going to combine into one.

The bottom section is a 48 ft. tapered 6 section tower, and on top of that I am going to add three sections of straight tower, followed by a section of mast pole.

The final antenna height will be around 85 ft. above ground level, or about 160 ft. above sea level.

The tower will be placed on a concrete block of approximatly 3 cubic yards, with guy wires at the 30 ft. and 60 ft. levels.

I think I may be able to see over the ridge at 20th ave. and pick up the U.S. stations.

I'll try and take some pics of the installation as I am putting it up.

Kevin -- make sure you buy and USE a fall arrest harness when you are doing tower work.

jflarin some municipalities have bylaws or ordinances about towers, including guy wires. As for where to place the anchors, the bigger the triangle can be, and the more horizontal the guy wires can be, the better.

Tim that's good advice.

I already have a harness, and my brother is a high-rise window cleaner/ rigger.

He has developed a no-fall system to replace the fall arrest system usually used.

He also has all the ropes, pulleys and block and tackel that will be necessary to put up a tower safely at this height.

Team efforts work best, I am the installer, mechanical expert, and he is the high angle guru. Together, the installation will go smoothly.

Hi all,
I have a new 30 foot GN Tower I plan to install this weekend. My house is Vinyl Siding and as far as I can tell the joists seem to be 7" apart. The Brackets are for 16" spacing. I was thinking of mounting 2 2 x 4 Horizontally (one at the top of the house and one at the middle to mount the Tower brackets to). I can not use the eaves bracket because i have no eaves on the side of the house. I also plan to use the base bracket and bolt it down to the exsisting slab that is already there. Does anyone see a problem with my proposed setup?. I want this to be as secure as possible before I send the wife up to Install and adjust the antenna.
Thanks

as far as I can tell the joists seem to be 7" apartDo you have an attic or access panel to see through to the roof joists to confirm how far apart they are? 7" is very narrow and unusual. For wall studs the standard spacing is 16".