[jrgagne99]

I recommend doing the amplification down at the base of the tree. That way if the pre-amp fails, it is easier to replace. Also, I used RG-11 for my 50-ft downlead to save about 1dB over RG-6 because I have some very marginal signals on UHF. If you do put two separate UHF/VHF antennas up there, I recommend running separate coax leads to the base of the tree and doing both the combining and amplification at ground level, for the same reasons.

I used gable-mount hardware to mount an 8-foot pole parallel to the tree trunk. I mounted the UHF antenna to the pole in the standard configuration, but for the VHF-hi antenna, I moved the mounting bracket almost all the way to the back of the antenna and added a 45-degree brace to the antenna to help support the cantilevered beam. This worked for me, but probably wouldn't work on a big long VHF-lo antenna. If I were to mount one of those, I think I would cut the top of the tree off (as you're planning), and then use two gable mounts spaced at least 24" apart to extend a pole up over the top of the tree and then mount the VHF-lo rig way up in the clear.

BTW are you able to rent a man-left that goes up 50 feet or more? The biggest I could find locally was 35-ft, until my neighbor lent me his 60-footer. But if you space the gable mounts sufficiently far apart, you could put the pole loosely into them, then mount the antenna (and coax) then slide the pole up into the air and gain a good 8-feet of height relative to the man-lift's maximum.

Keep in mind that higher is not always better, though it usually is. You might want some way to check for reception while you're up there, to help get your height and aim optimized. I had a portable 7" TV that helped a great deal in my setup. It is also possible to build a signal strength meter out of a Winegard SensarPro RV-unit. The review on Amazon has instructions, it might also be in my thread...