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I'm rethinking using conduit and going with direct bury
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What did you decide about how you will run your coax up the hill?
What TVs are you using; do they have digital tuners, or are they analog TVs with converter boxes?
Do you have a TV that has a signal strength indicator? It would be helpful to be able to tell how strong your signals need to be for reliable reception.
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How would I mount my antennas in the tree?
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I thought a little more about that question. If you mount your antenna on a tree you will need to fasten a horizontal support to the tree that sticks out from the trunk with a vertical section of metal mast at the end of that support. Most antennas have a clamp that fastens to tubing that is 1-1/4 inch in diameter. The mast should be grounded with a heavy gauge copper wire to an 8 ft copper coated steel ground rod driven into the ground at the base of the tree. Use this type of clamp to connect the wire to the rod:
The wire goes between the rod and the V notch, not under the end of the screw.
The coax should be grounded down at the house to a grounding block to drain any static buildup. Since the coax will be connected to AC operated equipment in the house, grounding the coax will also protect you from shock if any of the equipment becomes defective and from normal leakage current that exists on all AC operated equipment.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1099
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1022
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1025
If there is a nearby strike at the antenna the current created by the EMP will favor (we hope) the low resistance path to the ground rod instead of going down the coax to the house. If there is a direct strike, there isn't much you can do, your installation will be toast.
An alternative support for the antenna would be a metal mast inserted into the ground. A 10 ft mast is expensive to ship, so you can pick one up from a local store like the Radio Shack in Reading:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3739599
The self-supporting metal mast should be grounded to a grounding rod as described above.
Home Depot sells a fence top rail that is galvanized 17 gauge that is a little less expensive:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDGARD-...3DPT/100322532
If you want to go higher than 10 ft, you can add more sections, but it will no longer be self-supporting and will need guy rings and guy wires. You can also buy a push-up mast.
http://www.cableandwireshop.com/telescoping_masts.html
http://www.texastowers.com/towers/pushup.htm