I would like some opinions from you experiencd folks as to an idea I have
for putting up an antenna mast.

My fathers own an electrical supply warehouse so I have access to steel
conduit at cost. Many years ago we used 4" conduit and elbows to build a
basketball backboard pole in my folks' back yard, and the thing has stood
the test of time, weather, and a generation of kids hanging from it.

I have a similar idea for an antenna mount.

I would like to dig a hole on the side of my house, approximetely 24" deep
and 12" square. I'd like to take 12 2" conduit couples and weld them into a
sheath, and then put this sheath in the hole, filling it (the hole) with
cement. So I'd have a big cement block in the ground with a hollow tube in
the middle. I would then take three 10' lengths of 2" conduit and weld them
together using couples, and place the resulting pole into the hollow sheath
in the cement. I would then use a pipe fastener strap to fasten the pole to
the awning of the house, approximately 9' up from the ground. I'd pound a
couple of copper lightning rods into the ground several meters away, and
ground the pole to these rods with large-guage copper wire.

So I'd have a grounded 28' pole above ground, anchored in a 24" deep steel
sheath in the ground, and anchored at 9' to the side of the house with steel
and bolts. So I'd have 21' of 2" steel conduit sitting in the air
unsupported.

I would then build some antenna mounts out of 1" conduit (something that
would look like those little plastic tables that the use to keep the
cardboard off of pizzas in their delivery boxes). I would of course then
affix antennas to these mounts.

Does this idea have any merit? Is 2" steel conduit rigid enough to support
weight at 28' above ground? Should I go to 3" pipe instead? The more I sit
here and think about it, the more I think 2" just won't be thick enough to
stay rigid in high wind.

I live in southeastern Arizona, and the winds here to get a little high.
But my major concern would be lightning. Also, at some point we will be
moving, and I'd like to just be able to take the pole, remove it from its
sheath, and simply have to dig and pour at the new house.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

"Jason Wagner" wrote

My fathers own an electrical supply warehouse so I have access to steel
conduit at cost.

As far as I know, conduit isn't rated as a structural member...

Does this idea have any merit? Is 2" steel conduit rigid enough to
support
weight at 28' above ground?

I have three sections of 10' mast up, supporting a discone; it's
scary to watch it sway around in a high wind, but it's held up. It's not
conduit, though. My brain is trying to tell me that conduit won't take the
necessary flexing....you might want to look into that.







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Ummm, The best thing I used was a 21' top rail for chainlink fencing.
No welding the sections together and you get 2. They fit together like
standard antenna mast. this way with 2 feet in ground, you will have
40' over mast. Get some good guy wire and guy down 8' from the tip of
the mast and then mount your pizza box above the guy wire coupling.
this way one of the antennas can still go at the tip of the mast.

It just seems easier and simpler than messing around with 3" conduit
and welding with couplings and all that, especially if you are getting
a new house soon. but I still like and understand the idea of the
pizza box thing.


On Sat, 9 Aug 2003 14:26:05 -0700, "Jason Wagner"
wrote:

I would like some opinions from you experiencd folks as to an idea I have
for putting up an antenna mast.

My fathers own an electrical supply warehouse so I have access to steel
conduit at cost. Many years ago we used 4" conduit and elbows to build a
basketball backboard pole in my folks' back yard, and the thing has stood
the test of time, weather, and a generation of kids hanging from it.

I have a similar idea for an antenna mount.

I would like to dig a hole on the side of my house, approximetely 24" deep
and 12" square. I'd like to take 12 2" conduit couples and weld them into a
sheath, and then put this sheath in the hole, filling it (the hole) with
cement. So I'd have a big cement block in the ground with a hollow tube in
the middle. I would then take three 10' lengths of 2" conduit and weld them
together using couples, and place the resulting pole into the hollow sheath
in the cement. I would then use a pipe fastener strap to fasten the pole to
the awning of the house, approximately 9' up from the ground. I'd pound a
couple of copper lightning rods into the ground several meters away, and
ground the pole to these rods with large-guage copper wire.

So I'd have a grounded 28' pole above ground, anchored in a 24" deep steel
sheath in the ground, and anchored at 9' to the side of the house with steel
and bolts. So I'd have 21' of 2" steel conduit sitting in the air
unsupported.

I would then build some antenna mounts out of 1" conduit (something that
would look like those little plastic tables that the use to keep the
cardboard off of pizzas in their delivery boxes). I would of course then
affix antennas to these mounts.

Does this idea have any merit? Is 2" steel conduit rigid enough to support
weight at 28' above ground? Should I go to 3" pipe instead? The more I sit
here and think about it, the more I think 2" just won't be thick enough to
stay rigid in high wind.

I live in southeastern Arizona, and the winds here to get a little high.
But my major concern would be lightning. Also, at some point we will be
moving, and I'd like to just be able to take the pole, remove it from its
sheath, and simply have to dig and pour at the new house.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

Ummm, The best thing I used was a 21' top rail for chainlink fencing.
No welding the sections together and you get 2. They fit together like
standard antenna mast. this way with 2 feet in ground, you will have
40' over mast. Get some good guy wire and guy down 8' from the tip of
the mast and then mount your pizza box above the guy wire coupling.
this way one of the antennas can still go at the tip of the mast.

Hmmm... Good idea for the mast material, but the guy wires are out (not a
lot of land back here at the corner of the lot where the house is). I may
look into the fencing thing. Thanks.

What's going to happen when my tower is struck by lightning? If its
proprely grounded, do I have to worry about the bolt lighting my house on
fire, blowing up my scanners and radios with me in front of them, etc?

In article , says...
Hmmm... Good idea for the mast material, but the guy wires are out (not a
lot of land back here at the corner of the lot where the house is).

You can attach the guy wires to your house. I would not go that for up
and put an antenna on it without any guy wires.

--
Dwayne
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BC895/

Wall clamps ... it all depends on how high your house is at the peak ...

"Jason Wagner" wrote in message
...
I would like some opinions from you experiencd folks as to an idea I have
for putting up an antenna mast.

My fathers own an electrical supply warehouse so I have access to steel
conduit at cost. Many years ago we used 4" conduit and elbows to build a
basketball backboard pole in my folks' back yard, and the thing has stood
the test of time, weather, and a generation of kids hanging from it.

I have a similar idea for an antenna mount.

I would like to dig a hole on the side of my house, approximetely 24" deep
and 12" square. I'd like to take 12 2" conduit couples and weld them into
a
sheath, and then put this sheath in the hole, filling it (the hole) with
cement. So I'd have a big cement block in the ground with a hollow tube
in
the middle. I would then take three 10' lengths of 2" conduit and weld
them
together using couples, and place the resulting pole into the hollow
sheath
in the cement. I would then use a pipe fastener strap to fasten the pole
to
the awning of the house, approximately 9' up from the ground. I'd pound a
couple of copper lightning rods into the ground several meters away, and
ground the pole to these rods with large-guage copper wire.

So I'd have a grounded 28' pole above ground, anchored in a 24" deep steel
sheath in the ground, and anchored at 9' to the side of the house with
steel
and bolts. So I'd have 21' of 2" steel conduit sitting in the air
unsupported.

I would then build some antenna mounts out of 1" conduit (something that
would look like those little plastic tables that the use to keep the
cardboard off of pizzas in their delivery boxes). I would of course then
affix antennas to these mounts.

Does this idea have any merit? Is 2" steel conduit rigid enough to
support
weight at 28' above ground? Should I go to 3" pipe instead? The more I
sit
here and think about it, the more I think 2" just won't be thick enough to
stay rigid in high wind.

I live in southeastern Arizona, and the winds here to get a little high.
But my major concern would be lightning. Also, at some point we will be
moving, and I'd like to just be able to take the pole, remove it from its
sheath, and simply have to dig and pour at the new house.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

I have three sections of 10' mast up, supporting a discone; it's
scary to watch it sway around in a high wind, but it's held up. It's not
conduit, though. My brain is trying to tell me that conduit won't take the
necessary flexing....you might want to look into that.

Robert,

What is your mast made of and how is it supported?

Thanks.

In article , says...
Wall clamps ... it all depends on how high your house is at the peak ...

The roof is relatively flat, no real way to secure it to anything other than
the wood trim on the roof line. The guy wires would be a possibility, but
only if I moved the mast out into the middle of the yard, and that's not
going to happen for a number of reasons.

I guess I could go with a shorter mast. I'm just looking to get a couple of
scanner antennas out of the house and into the air, and I figured while I
was up there I'd put up a MURS and 2 meter antenna as well. I suppose as
long as I clear the roof I'll be happy, but I'd really like to go as high as
possible/practical without having to use external supports ala guy wires
etc.




Jason, You can get a nice 36' mast from radioshack for 69.99. They also
have guy wires to help hold it up. Thats the same setup that I have and
it has seen 60mph winds. I placed the mast at the side of the house and
ran 3 guy wires at about 18' and 3 at about 27' to the corners of my
roof.
--
Dwayne
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BC895/

Jason, You can get a nice 36' mast from radioshack for 69.99. They also
have guy wires to help hold it up. Thats the same setup that I have and
it has seen 60mph winds. I placed the mast at the side of the house and
ran 3 guy wires at about 18' and 3 at about 27' to the corners of my
roof.


Dwayne,

Do you have a site or any pictures? How do you get up to the top of the
mast, and how many antennas do you have on it?

Thanks.

In article , says...

Dwayne,

Do you have a site or any pictures? How do you get up to the top of the
mast, and how many antennas do you have on it?

Thanks.

If I ever need to get to the top of it I can get on the roof and
collapse the top 2 sections(real easy to do)to make any changes I need
to. I have a scantenna and a tv antenna on it. Sorry I don't have a site
setup with any pictures on it. I guess I could snap a picture of it
tomorrow and upload it to my web space if you really want to see it. If
you go to RadioShacks website you will get a better idea of what it
looks like and can read more about it. Here is a link to it
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...CTLG&category%
5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F003%5F004&product%5Fid=1 5%2D5067

--
Dwayne
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BC895/