Pictures? I can't see any pictures.

Both the masts in the picture I posed above are the 10.5' chain link fence top rail. Works good. Use the extra 3.5' to get some more antenna height and a little more separation.

Thanks Tim ... yeah, I wasn't thinking straight!!!

If I do go the eave mount route...I will get a 10' pole.

With it only being 10', and doing the eave mount, do you think I would be able to get away with no guy wires? I think if my wife sees them, I may be in for a fight :eek:

If we go eave mount, I was planning on the long main bracket/mount, with at least 2 brackets - like these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RCMEEA/

If we absolutely must use the guy wires ... I may be able to get away with her allowing me to take them along the roof line, down to some point on the eaves, then the third one along the peak of the roof (maybe???)

I have never worked with them, so I may not be able to do that.

One of my recent installs: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=13659

Post #1 in the thread includes a photo of the tripod and mast that tops out at about 12' above the roof peak. I've yet to see any reason to consider using guy wires, even though the mast is carrying quite a wind load. The tripod provides a very stable means to hinge the entire array over and down for service... I can single hand the fully loaded mast up and down with no risk of the array getting away from me. I have a 5' or 6' board with a V notch in one end to prop the mast when it's tilted down. That protects the Y10713 from contacting the roof.

Holy cow GroundUrMast ... now THAT is a setup ... pick up NASA deep space signals on that thing?!! :)

Privacy Badger blocks cookies from postimg.org, which seems to disqualify me ... :(

Suggest picking another image server without trackers.

Hey Tim ... sorry about that ... how about now:

(1)
http://i.imgur.com/eUDOx95.png?1


(2)
http://i.imgur.com/8NJUVbU.png?1


(3)
http://i.imgur.com/NEMtlBU.png?1

Works now. Thanks for the revision.

My thoughts - plan 1 is the best. Use the 10.5' mast and move everything up 3.5'. Why is the DB4e on the bottom? On my mast, I put the preamp on the mast between the two antennae and used roughly the same lead length for each. I might put the yagi on top if I was targeting KPTS - but I think you will get it anyway with the DB4e at the high spot.

Taking the mast to the ground in plan 2 does not do much, other than optionally bringing your mast ground down to ground level. The eave mount and secondary bracket will easily hold those antennae.

I see two issues with plan 3. First, the preamp is most effective when the antennae are right there by the preamp. The extra cable between the preamp and the DB4e doesn't help, although it's probably not going to make a lot of difference. Having the antennas separated also complicates the mast grounding effort. If you want to ground both masts with a single wire, ideally it should be an unbroken wire from the furthest mast to the building ground. I would only consider this configuration if the aim of the DB4e were significantly different from the yagi, and obstructions were fewer for each direction at the separated locations.

Hey Tim ... #1 does seem be winning out.

The one thing that "concerns" me is the height of the pole and needing the two antennae to be at least 3' apart ... which puts either one up higher and more top heavy - or am I just being over-paranoid?? :D

I still have not tested the fascia board to see if it is OK (not soft from rot).

I like the look of the Y5713 at the top, but I am not married to it. That KPTS-DT (PBS) is 50 miles out and we don't really ever watch that so it's not that important to receiving it. If we happen to get it, fine ... if not, fine! I have, however, been threatened with a beating if my youngest daughter doesn't get to see the CW, CBS and Fox :rolleyes:

I will be testing, of course, both antennae at the top to see which performs better.

#3 is probably not going to happen ... just as you stated, the preamp would have to be separated from one of the two antenna by about 4-5 feet and grounding would be more of a challenge!

The one reason I still continue to go back to #2, the ground-mounted 22' pole is that it just "feels" like it would be more secure - 10" X 10" X 12" deep cement pad, with that mast ground mount cemented in the pad along with clamps on the fascia board ... if I calculated it correctly, I would have just enough height to pull it off - the cement pad would be about 1-2" above ground level, then ~15' from that to the peak of the roof, giving me roughly 7' or 84" ... with the DB4e being approximately 37" high and the Y5713 being about say 5" high - this should give me about 40 to 41" of clearance between antennae.

Yes, my costs would be about $90-$100 more ... but my wife told me that to her, it looks like it would be more secure and less susceptible to being blown over and hitting our neighbor's home. I did show her an option to use guy wires as well, taking one down each roof line (from the peak, down each fascia board) and the third along the peak of the roof so they would kind of, sort of blend in with the home to help secure it even more.


Guys ... I know I am being annoyingly over-paranoid!! And as my wife said last night ... I need to poo or get off the pot!

I just want this whole thing to be done and over with and work like a charm - 100% crystal clear reception, 24x7!!!!

It's a nice dream ...

If you want to bring the pipe to the ground, an alternative is to use some wall brackets. http://www.antennapartsoutlet.com/Pa...allMounts.html I would secure the mast at the level where the pipes nest and at the eave peak. Holding 3' of the mast below the peak rigidly should be fine, and then the mast would extend 7' above the roof peak. I'd use 3 pieces of top rail and set the bottom one in your pad, at the height that puts the top pipe at 7' above the peak.

Just an alternative, that uses the ground anchor.

I hadn't considered that ... great, one more decision to make :D

But in all seriousness, that sure may be a good option, assuming I can't let go of the ground-mount cement pad!


Thank you again!