OTA Mounts, Towers, Rigging Hardware
1981 - 2000 of 2052 Posts
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2,012 Posts
byebye_cable
just a thought.
If possible, try to put up something "temp" near the possible locations - in order to test "signals" performance at the those locations - before deciding.
I have found signals can be great in one place - and crappy in another.
There can be a big difference - and it's hard to predict or understand why.
Just have to test sometimes - for a period of time.
Some set up a portable test rig, or go up there with a signal tester to see how things are first - or to find the signal "hotspot" first.
... or just to confirm it's not a "crappy" spot for antenna placement.
Signal reception, I am learning - are a funny complex thing sometimes.
Art as much a science. Trial and error sometimes is the only way for most.
"Black Art".
Experience, knowledge, and good test equipment help alot.
But we don't all have all those things - so trial and error is all we have left sometimes.
just a thought.
If possible, try to put up something "temp" near the possible locations - in order to test "signals" performance at the those locations - before deciding.
I have found signals can be great in one place - and crappy in another.
There can be a big difference - and it's hard to predict or understand why.
Just have to test sometimes - for a period of time.
Some set up a portable test rig, or go up there with a signal tester to see how things are first - or to find the signal "hotspot" first.
... or just to confirm it's not a "crappy" spot for antenna placement.
Signal reception, I am learning - are a funny complex thing sometimes.
Art as much a science. Trial and error sometimes is the only way for most.
"Black Art".
Experience, knowledge, and good test equipment help alot.
But we don't all have all those things - so trial and error is all we have left sometimes.
Joined
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561 Posts
Thanks guys, I got the channel master chimney mount kit & am mentally preparing myself for that trip up the ladder 
I assume I'm going with a ten foot galvanized pole here, but I called Lowes & Rona but they claim not to have them. Where would a good place be to get an appropriate pole?
EDIT: While I'm at this, might as well add this additional question: I'd like to replace my own pole as well as the one above. However, my pole needs to be bent in two locations due to the complicated way it enters the house (where the roof drops a foot, the pole goes in horizontally & then bends to travel along a rafter. Who does good pole bending??
I assume I'm going with a ten foot galvanized pole here, but I called Lowes & Rona but they claim not to have them. Where would a good place be to get an appropriate pole?
EDIT: While I'm at this, might as well add this additional question: I'd like to replace my own pole as well as the one above. However, my pole needs to be bent in two locations due to the complicated way it enters the house (where the roof drops a foot, the pole goes in horizontally & then bends to travel along a rafter. Who does good pole bending??
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561 Posts
That looks perfect for my friend, thanks.
For my own needs, do you know a good bending place? All Canadian pipe & tube bending wants $110 to bend a pole in two places, seems a little high.
For my own needs, do you know a good bending place? All Canadian pipe & tube bending wants $110 to bend a pole in two places, seems a little high.
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200 Posts
byebye_cable,
Try a muffler shop.
Try a muffler shop.
Joined
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561 Posts
Much better thanks $35 for two bends first place I called.
few quick questions before setup
if this wrong section i apologize in advance.been lurking and joined up
i posted this at tv fool with no answer.any help b great
ok guys getting stuff together to set up a new system.insurance guy said no way to putting tower up attached to my house trailer as i live on highest peak in my county and lightning strikes are frequent.so we are putting tower 125 from house and i am gonna attach to a oak tree that i topped till i get footers poured for guy wires.sadly i have 2 metal roofs i have to run the wire down then down a metal sided wall and into house.tower is 35 feet.
1.i have 125 feet of coax i gotta run across metal roof and wall.so what kinda wire and is there anything i can run the wire inside of to help shield it?i will be running 2 wires for an a/b switch for 2 sbgh that will be pointed in opposite directions.
2 how do i ground the tower?on houses we use 8 gauge wire with grounding rod and accorn clamp.where do i connect to tower or is there a better way?
3.should i go ahead and preamp both units?
here is my tvfool
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=e1c6731f09574a
any help appriciated
if this wrong section i apologize in advance.been lurking and joined up
i posted this at tv fool with no answer.any help b great
ok guys getting stuff together to set up a new system.insurance guy said no way to putting tower up attached to my house trailer as i live on highest peak in my county and lightning strikes are frequent.so we are putting tower 125 from house and i am gonna attach to a oak tree that i topped till i get footers poured for guy wires.sadly i have 2 metal roofs i have to run the wire down then down a metal sided wall and into house.tower is 35 feet.
1.i have 125 feet of coax i gotta run across metal roof and wall.so what kinda wire and is there anything i can run the wire inside of to help shield it?i will be running 2 wires for an a/b switch for 2 sbgh that will be pointed in opposite directions.
2 how do i ground the tower?on houses we use 8 gauge wire with grounding rod and accorn clamp.where do i connect to tower or is there a better way?
3.should i go ahead and preamp both units?
here is my tvfool
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=e1c6731f09574a
any help appriciated
Welcome to the forums
Pips, welcome to the forums.
Your questions have been answered in existing threads.
For questions regarding cabling, check the OTA Cabling thread.
Grounding questions/answers are found in Grounding.
Signal Amplifiers thread.
I invite you to ask specific questions in each of the specific threads, if you can't find the answers that you need in these threads.
Pips, welcome to the forums.
Your questions have been answered in existing threads.
For questions regarding cabling, check the OTA Cabling thread.
Grounding questions/answers are found in Grounding.
Signal Amplifiers thread.
I invite you to ask specific questions in each of the specific threads, if you can't find the answers that you need in these threads.
Joined
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561 Posts
Well it's all bad news!
There was loose mortar & I wan't willing to strap a 10' pole to it.
In the mean-time we just tied the antenna to the chimney without the pole, pointing straight south & directly at the house next door. He's thrilled regardless but I don't like his odds if it's still like this in the fall. He's getting a quote to repair the chimney, if someone here knows someone pls pm me.
-------------
Now my personal installation problems
Since I have a complicated double bend coming out of my house, I use two poles. One pole handles the two bends & a few feet of height, the next pole provides the height. The poles are flared, so one fits into the other neatly. The existing pole is kinked & I want to replace it.
1. The muffler shops will bend 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" pipe.
2. However flared pipe is available in 1 1/4" and 1 11/16" sizes.
Checkmate, or so it seems. Options?
It was not structurally sound, at least to my untrained eye
There was loose mortar & I wan't willing to strap a 10' pole to it. In the mean-time we just tied the antenna to the chimney without the pole, pointing straight south & directly at the house next door. He's thrilled regardless but I don't like his odds if it's still like this in the fall. He's getting a quote to repair the chimney, if someone here knows someone pls pm me.
-------------
Now my personal installation problems
Since I have a complicated double bend coming out of my house, I use two poles. One pole handles the two bends & a few feet of height, the next pole provides the height. The poles are flared, so one fits into the other neatly. The existing pole is kinked & I want to replace it.
1. The muffler shops will bend 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" pipe.
2. However flared pipe is available in 1 1/4" and 1 11/16" sizes.
Checkmate, or so it seems. Options?
Joined
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200 Posts
byebye_cable,
If you haven’t bought the pipe yet the muffler shop can probably duplicate what you have by bending their own 1½” or 1¾” pipe stock. I believe most antennas will mount to either but take one of your ‘U’ bolts just to make sure. If you need two separate sections they should be able to swedge the ends to make a slip joint just like they do when constructing a tail pipe from scratch. You may need to clamp the sections with a muffler clamp.
If you haven’t bought the pipe yet the muffler shop can probably duplicate what you have by bending their own 1½” or 1¾” pipe stock. I believe most antennas will mount to either but take one of your ‘U’ bolts just to make sure. If you need two separate sections they should be able to swedge the ends to make a slip joint just like they do when constructing a tail pipe from scratch. You may need to clamp the sections with a muffler clamp.
Joined
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561 Posts
I called a few. They are willing & but can only do a 2 1/4" flare which is smaller then I'd like.
I'm also not clear if muffler pipe is as strong as the conduit ppl are using here?
I'm also not clear if muffler pipe is as strong as the conduit ppl are using here?
Joined
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416 Posts
Taking down an old antenna
Hello,
a friend asked me to help him take down a damaged antenna from his newly purchased house. I was able to scope it out last weekend and this is what I could see (photo below):
- Antenna dates to the 80s, unsure of make
- There is a rotor
- Not sure this was a professional installation
- Antenna and rotor is non-functional inside the house, most likely due to cabling
- Antenna reflectors do not appear bent, they have unfolded out of their deployed position
- The mast is in a sort of metal footing that is bolted to the roof
- Mast was originally held by 4 guy wires. 2 of the guy wires are broken
- The whole things moves significantly when there is wind. The footing has started to tear out of the roof and is causing damage to the shingles.
We're thinking if we both go on the roof, if one of us holds the antenna mast steady and the other loosens the base we can break it free, then slowly lower the mast and antenna onto the roof together. With it lying down on the roof, we cut the last two guy wires and take it apart to get it off the roof.
Any better recommendations to take this thing down safely? Thanks in advance.
![]()
Hello,
a friend asked me to help him take down a damaged antenna from his newly purchased house. I was able to scope it out last weekend and this is what I could see (photo below):
- Antenna dates to the 80s, unsure of make
- There is a rotor
- Not sure this was a professional installation
- Antenna and rotor is non-functional inside the house, most likely due to cabling
- Antenna reflectors do not appear bent, they have unfolded out of their deployed position
- The mast is in a sort of metal footing that is bolted to the roof
- Mast was originally held by 4 guy wires. 2 of the guy wires are broken
- The whole things moves significantly when there is wind. The footing has started to tear out of the roof and is causing damage to the shingles.
We're thinking if we both go on the roof, if one of us holds the antenna mast steady and the other loosens the base we can break it free, then slowly lower the mast and antenna onto the roof together. With it lying down on the roof, we cut the last two guy wires and take it apart to get it off the roof.
Any better recommendations to take this thing down safely? Thanks in advance.
Newly acquired 20 year old TV Antenna Tower
After 5 years of having two ugly tripods with GH antenna's on the top of our house, I just scored an 18 Gauge, 30ft. Galvanized Tower from my neighbour. Installation is not complete yet (still have to plumb and lock washer the antenna sections) but the welds are good and the base is only "surface" rust. I anchored the base with a 16"x16" patio paver and the the roof truss support was in excellent shape. For now I'm posting the WIP pics in my gallery but will post the finished results hopefully this weekend. Any criticism's are welcome and any thoughts on grounding would be nice. The area around the tower is all sand (wood foundation house - septic is not far from tower location). Since I am only mounting the two homebrew GH antenna's, top end weight should not be an issue. Long time since I've posted anything on these pages.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=1753
After 5 years of having two ugly tripods with GH antenna's on the top of our house, I just scored an 18 Gauge, 30ft. Galvanized Tower from my neighbour. Installation is not complete yet (still have to plumb and lock washer the antenna sections) but the welds are good and the base is only "surface" rust. I anchored the base with a 16"x16" patio paver and the the roof truss support was in excellent shape. For now I'm posting the WIP pics in my gallery but will post the finished results hopefully this weekend. Any criticism's are welcome and any thoughts on grounding would be nice. The area around the tower is all sand (wood foundation house - septic is not far from tower location). Since I am only mounting the two homebrew GH antenna's, top end weight should not be an issue. Long time since I've posted anything on these pages.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=1753
Joined
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2,012 Posts
Nice catch - getting and installing the tower.
Tower looks in pretty good shape still - looks silver and still well galvanized.
I'd try and find a way to drive some metal stakes or rods into the ground, to hold the patio stone base/weight from ever moving sideways.
[ Esp. if you plan to climb the tower, but necessary anyway, I think ]
Those metal stakes might also serve as your ground rods - where you could run and connect a ground wire from the bottom tubes to the stakes.
Tower looks in pretty good shape still - looks silver and still well galvanized.
I'd try and find a way to drive some metal stakes or rods into the ground, to hold the patio stone base/weight from ever moving sideways.
[ Esp. if you plan to climb the tower, but necessary anyway, I think ]
Those metal stakes might also serve as your ground rods - where you could run and connect a ground wire from the bottom tubes to the stakes.
Best Way To Extend Antenna Mast
I have a regular J mount attached to the chimney I think I need maybe 10 to 12 inches more in height. I bought a steel pipe extension at an OTA store now I'm wondering what is the way to extend!!!
1-Cut the existent J mount by 8 inches then slide the extension inside. I would need to cut the J mount pipe just so I can reach the new extension to do my aiming otherwise if I just butt the 2 pipes together I won't be able to reach.
2-Clamping the 2 pipes together side by side. That would be the easiest thing to do but I don't know what kind of clamp I would have to use!!! I was just thinking about the good old pipe clamps that they sell at any hardware store but I'm just wondering if there's something on the market just for that.
I have a regular J mount attached to the chimney I think I need maybe 10 to 12 inches more in height. I bought a steel pipe extension at an OTA store now I'm wondering what is the way to extend!!!
1-Cut the existent J mount by 8 inches then slide the extension inside. I would need to cut the J mount pipe just so I can reach the new extension to do my aiming otherwise if I just butt the 2 pipes together I won't be able to reach.
2-Clamping the 2 pipes together side by side. That would be the easiest thing to do but I don't know what kind of clamp I would have to use!!! I was just thinking about the good old pipe clamps that they sell at any hardware store but I'm just wondering if there's something on the market just for that.
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9,188 Posts
The usual way to do this is by sliding the top pipe inside the lower. I would not cut the existing J-pole The catch is finding a top pipe that is a snug fit with the lower. Too much play will cause issues. Play can be reduced by wrapping a little duck tape around the inside pipe. Then drill a hole through both pipes and secure them with a pin, screw or nut and bolt. A better option would be to get a J-pole with a longer top piece. Since this is a chimney, a set of chimney straps and mast may be the best option. Quite a lot of height could be gained with that method.
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810 Posts
Various sources including the forum sponsor sell a 39 inch j-mount.
You could leave the foot mounted where it is right now, then just swap the post.
You could leave the foot mounted where it is right now, then just swap the post.
Thanks mrvanwinkles. I did beef up underneath the patio paver by speading a full bag of Quickcrete underneath with lots of the available sand to level things off as a more secure base for the Tower. She's very solid now. Still need to drive a copper (preferable) stake into the ground, but she survived Saturday night's rain/wind storm with no surprises Sunday morning. Please see my updated Album pics. The top DBGH with less than ideal placement of the NAROD's pulls in ALL the Watertown, NY stations. The Chicken Wire DBGH pulls in all the Camp Fortune, QC signals but the Herbert's Corner/Manotick tower is still a tough one to get OMNI/CITY TV. But it always was. I'm 60 miles from the CF towers & 90 miles for the Watertown towers.
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