Through the roof mount

geo · 21-Jul-2012, 1:29 PM

I know that sounds silly. I temporarily installed our antenna about 14 months ago.. I need to do it correctly and now have the bug up my crawl to do so. We have very tall trees blocking reception on the side of the house that would be best for the mount so in order to get reception I had to mount it lower on the eave on the side of the house that has a street light power line close by.

I have had intentions of mounting it on the roof of the carport to stay clear of the power lines and get the antenna up in the air a bit more. Being a carport is there anything wrong with just going through the roof and mounting a 5-6' mast to the joist? I tend to over think things but looking at my situation it seems the easiest step. The mast could be sealed with a boot. I have a Clearstream4 antenna but do not have the stock mast to go with it.

Thanks

geo · 21-Jul-2012, 1:52 PM

Here is the inside of the carport.

signals unlimited · 21-Jul-2012, 2:04 PM

Not silly! creative!

I have a mast straight thru the roof of my 2012 Ford Transit Connect. No leaks, no problems.

Use a product by GOOP called Pluming to seal, available at Lowes.

See the mast on the installation page of my site www.tripleplayantenna.com

21-Jul-2012, 2:11 PM

Do as the the other question askers do and Do This--> http://forum.tvool.com/showthread.php?t=4.

Use the Exact address to make the tvfool radar plot report.

Make the antenna height 25 feet.

How many Tv's are/will be connected??

Pictures of the Outside of the building structure and statements of , information , and , directions of the pictures ,

is helpful.

GroundUrMast · 21-Jul-2012, 5:12 PM

Consider using a J-pole with pitch pads to seal.

If you need to get the cable through the roof then instead of the J-pole, a section of rigid 1" or 1 1/4" electrical conduit (check your antenna clamp size) topped with a weather-head, sealed at the roof deck with a conventional roof flashing can serve very well as an antenna mast, provided the mast is secure, so it can't move in the wind causing the flashing (boot) to leak over time. Done properly, this should last as long as the other plumbing and electrical roof penetrations.

U-bolts and uni-strut are options for clamping the mast under the roof deck. Guy wires above can be use, especially if you use a full 10' section of conduit.

The big box home centers should stock all these items.

geo · 22-Jul-2012, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GroundUrMast

If you need to get the cable through the roof then instead of the J-pole, a section of rigid 1 1/4" electrical conduit topped with a weather-head, sealed at the roof deck with a conventional roof flashing can serve very well as an antenna mast, provided the mast is secure, so it can't move in the wind causing the flashing (boot) to leak over time.

Thanks that is pretty much what I was thinking. We have been without cable for over two years and I do not miss the bill one bit.

I need help with getting the mast properly grounded. Our house is old and there is no grounding rod. There is a ground wire from the breaker box fished through the attic and back down to the water line inside the house. Single story on a slab.
I don't have a problem installing a grounding rod for the antenna mast but I am not clear on how to bond it, should it tie into the service panel? I want to make sure everything is done correctly.

geo · 22-Jul-2012, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teleview

Do as the the other question askers do and Do This--> http://forum.tvool.com/showthread.php?t=4.

Use the Exact address to make the tvfool radar plot report.

Make the antenna height 25 feet.

How many Tv's are/will be connected??

Pictures of the Outside of the building structure and statements of , information , and , directions of the pictures ,

is helpful.

Thanks the antenna I have is working fine I just want to get it mounted properly.

GroundUrMast · 23-Jul-2012, 1:19 AM

Your desire to 'do it correctly' is commendable. I'm reluctant to tell you to work in your electrical service panel for obvious safety reasons. You need to judge for yourself whether you need professional help with such a project.

Here in the Seattle area, two ground rods are required due to soil conditions. If I bought an older home with no existing ground rod, I would run #6 AWG copper from the ground/neutral bus in the service panel, with no splices to two 8' or longer rods spaced at least 8' apart.

If I had a situation similar to yours, I would locate one rod near the electrical service panel and the second rod near the antenna installation.

Once an effective ground system exists, I would run #10 AWG or larger wire from the mast to the nearest ground rod. I would also run the coax from the antenna to a location close to the ground rod and then connect a coax grounding block with a short piece of #10 AWG copper to the ground rod.

The big box home centers stock the wire, clamps, etc.

Again, working in your electrical service panel can expose you to dangerous voltage. If you aren't sure of what you're doing, consider hiring a licensed electrician.

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901

geo · 25-Jul-2012, 4:16 PM

Okay you guys have been most helpful so I thought I would post an update. I have decided to mount a J pole to the roof instead of going through it. I have two 8' grounding rods in at about 9 feet apart. My J-pole should be in this weekend and I will post an update once I have it done or if I run into a snag.

Thanks for the help.