Location: Battle Ground, WA - South side of house facing Portland, OR
I had mounted an HD Stacker from Denny's on the north side of the house on a pole on top of the garage. We have a 2 story house so the antenna needed to "look thru" the house. Had as +18db amp pushing signal to 3 TV's in the house using the coax distribution system built with the house (8 years ago).
Never got really good reception from the garage side so I decided to move to the south side of the house with the only obstructions being some trees facing S/SW. Intended to be 208-210 degrees.
Used a 21' length of galvanized pipe (1 5/8) put 18" in the ground. Drilled through the pipe in 2 spots and put threaded stock (12") with nuts on either side to keep the threaded stock in place. Placed in hole. Next, I bought some 3/16" x 1" x 4' plate stock (2 pieces).
Measured out from the house to the pole. Using a propane torch I heated the end of a piece of plate stock and hammered it to fit around the curve of the pole. I then heated and bent the other end to form an L facing "out". Drilled 2 holes in the L and 1 hole in the C.
Set the first brace against the house, marked with red felt tip pen and predrilled pilot holes through the siding (Hardiplank). Sprayed the back of the L on each bracket with a rubberized material. Primed the plate stock so it wouldn't rust. Using stainless steel 1 1/2" 14's I attached the bracket to the house and then using self tapping screw attached the C to the pole (where I had bent it).
With the first brace in place I mixed 2 bags and cement and filled the hole. I let sit for 2 days to dry. I then made 3 more braces and placed one 7' (total of 14') above the first. The last two braces I placed opposite each other just under the eave and gutter. Note that the L's were both facing out. This anchored the pole.
I then move the antenna from the garage keeping it on the 70" pipe stock and dropped it into the new pole, aimed 208-210 degrees and set using a self tapping screw. Attached new 100' triple shielded coax to the antenna and through a lead line over the top of the house and pulled it to the box on the north side of the garage, anchored with coax screw fittings, fed into the box.
I changed the amp to a +24 (from +18).
Every channel worked fine...except...Channel 6 (CBS). Gave it a few days and then got back up on the 28' ladder, removed the set screw and rotated 3-4 degrees further south. Had my cell phone in my pocket on speaker and talked to my wife as she checked the signal strength on our Samsung TV. Every channel came in with 26-30db. Reset the screw and done.
Not sure if anyone wants to see pictures of the pole setup or not. Wasn't really hard and, in the end, a few degrees really did make a difference. So don't be afraid to play with minor adjustments.
