Goin' Roof Top

[cassidy1190]

Hey all,
Well I’ve finally had it with attic setups...I'm going to put my discone on the roof. I have never done this before though and have no idea what I am doing. I plan to mount the mast to my chimney and will be mounting a D-130J discone with about 50ft of LMR-400 coax...that’s about all I know. You are all always so helpful so I thought id look here for answers first. I am looking for what kind of chimney mount to bye, how high the mast should be, grounding procedures and what not ect...any information is greatly appreciated!

 

[gewecke]

You'll be ecstatic to have it outside,but maybe explore your options other than the chimney?
Previous chimney installs have had disastrous results.
73's!
N9ZAS.

 

[cassidy1190]

What other ways can it be mounted?

 

[digitalanalog]

you might consider this.
12" Outside Wall Mounts - RadioShack.com

 

[Laxplurr06]

A Tri-Pod above the roof would also work well. I also think a chimney would not be a good idea especially if its an old chimney.

 

[cassidy1190]

so what do you mean by disastrous, i have a pretty solid chimney. A wall mount would be nearly imposible as i dont have a latter tall enough or space to put it up outside the house.

 

[Laxplurr06]

Well with wind the chimney cold possibly be destroyed over some time with extra force on the chimney. I mentioned the Tri-Pod mount which can be secured to your roof.

 

[gewecke]

Awhile back someone posted a pic of a collapsed chimney which had a mount kit on it. The torque and windload exerted on a chimney over a period of time by the antenna and hardware can be several hundred pounds in a good wind storm.
I use several 12" wall brackets with steel masting.
N9ZAS.

 

[digitalanalog]

Chimney mounts are used by allot of people, and work very well.
If your chimney is in good shape, do NOT be afraid to use a chimney mount.

Many places sell them, just make sure you get a good one.

 

[cassidy1190]

yeah, its very wide and not even 18 years old..It doesnt stick that much above the roof either so i think its pretty secure. Any recomendations on a good chimney mount?..i hear the ratchet one from RS isnt really that great. Im keeping the tripod in mind as well.

 

[zonian149]

I recently purchased this one from solid signals and it appears to be very sturdy. I haven't put it up yet because it is too hot here in Florida for an old man to be climbing on the roof.

http://www.solidsignal.tv/prod_display.asp?prod=RON2212

 

[cassidy1190]

hmm, that looks like a nice product. haha thats why im trying to do this project now, because in the winter at the jersey shore its too freezing cold for any man to go up on the roof! After going up and inspecting the roof Ive made a decission on the chimney mount. Now im just looking for tips on a mast, if there are any, and how to go about grounding this baby. Thanks so much all of you!

 

[cassidy1190]

here is the grounding wire which the cable company used outside of my house which i plan to ground my antenna with: the gray wire going off to the right hooks up with a grounding rod and i believe the gray wire going down hooks up with my circuit box.

 

[theo1972]

nice details in pictures...

 

[SCPD]

Going with a chimney mount

Chimney mounts are used by allot of people, and work very well.
If your chimney is in good shape, do NOT be afraid to use a chimney mount.

Many places sell them, just make sure you get a good one.

Chimney mounts can work well. The thing you need to do when you go with one is to put angle iron behind the straps on all 4 corners. This distributes the stress across all the chimney. Where a chimney mount goes wrong is when the straps are right on the brickwork, and then you have a small surface area digging into the brick and mortar during high wiinds.