Mounting Antenna Outside in ground

[tspainiv]

I have an Antennascraft ST2 on a 10' pole and am looking at a place to mount it. I have a spot outside between two trees where the scanner picks up everything I want to listen to. I can stand there holding the pole while it's resting on the ground and it picks up fine. If I were to mount it here, what kind of grounding do I need to use? Also, could I use a post hole digger and mount the pole in the ground with cement like a mailbox post? or should I use some other way. Thanks for any help.

 

[erikTromatowski]

I would also like to know this. I'm planning on getting a Diamond Discone antenna, and mounting it about 6 feet in the air on a piece of conduit or pole. But, I can't use cement, as I live in an apartment complex (not even really supposed to be mounting things off of my poarch, but it will be hidden behind trees and bushes, so it should be fine). Would it be enough to just dig the hole, and then back fill, or even just kind of pound the pole into the ground?

 

[W4KRR]

I have an Antennascraft ST2 on a 10' pole and am looking at a place to mount it. I have a spot outside between two trees where the scanner picks up everything I want to listen to. I can stand there holding the pole while it's resting on the ground and it picks up fine. If I were to mount it here, what kind of grounding do I need to use? Also, could I use a post hole digger and mount the pole in the ground with cement like a mailbox post? or should I use some other way. Thanks for any help.

I myself would not mount a freestanding 10 foot pole in the ground like that. I would get a house bracket and attach the pole to that, and it would only have to go in the ground a foot or so. Places like Radio Shack and Home Depot sell 20 foot television masts; that's what I would mount the scanner antenna onto, then attach a house bracket high up on the side of the house, and attach the mast to that. Your mast is less likely to blow over in a storm if it is bracketed to the side of the house up as high as you can get it.

 

[tspainiv]

I was probably going to use guy wires though and mount them in the ground around the pole. What I was really concerned about was grounding. Would 1-2 feet of the antenna mast mounted in the ground with NO cement, (just dig hole and back fill) be a sufficient ground? I know I still need to use a grounding block for the coax. The antenna would only be a max of 8-9 feet high, and it's between two trees.

 

[W4KRR]

I was probably going to use guy wires though and mount them in the ground around the pole. What I was really concerned about was grounding. Would 1-2 feet of the antenna mast mounted in the ground with NO cement, (just dig hole and back fill) be a sufficient ground? I know I still need to use a grounding block for the coax. The antenna would only be a max of 8-9 feet high, and it's between two trees.

I would use a regular ground rod, at least four to six feet long, driven into the ground next to the mast. Attach the mast to it with a length of number 6 or 8 copper wire.

If you're only going one to two feet in the ground, you will need concrete or guy wires. But, if you're going to all this trouble, I would make it at least a 20 foot mast. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Thayne]

Most antenna masts are thin galvanized steel, and would corrode away to nothing if buried in earth. (After a few years)
An aluminum mast wouldn't fare well buried either. If you use heavy GRC conduit it might last longer but it is very expensive now that China is buying up all the scrap steel.

The best thing would be like the other guy said and mount it to the house and ground it to a ground rod.

 

[tspainiv]

I think I will end up mounting it to the house. I was just throwing up ideas. BTW the mast is just a 10' piece of conduit. VERY heavy probably 1/4 thick. It's a pretty heafty piece of pipe. Which in turn, makes me think if mounting it to the house it might be to heavy? Should I get some regular antenna mast pipe or just use what I have?

 

[jim202]

It would be wise to take a look at the national Electrical Code for grounding your antenna. There are several sections that cover radio antennas and communications facilities. The more recent versions have sections that cover antenna installations for residences. Take a look at section 250 for a starter.

In general you will find that any antenna that is installed be it on a tower, building or what ever is required to be grounded. How it is done and what materials used will depend on the type of installation.

I don't know where you find 6 foot ground rods. Most of what I know is available is 8 foot or 10 feet long. Have never seen that short of a ground rod. Not sure I would use it. The longer it is, the better chance you have to get a low resistance ground. Unless you live on sand. Then all bets are off. Make sure your radio equipment is grounded also.

Point to remember is that you want to keep all parts of your system at the same potential if you take a lightning strike. Its when parts have voltage differences between them that damage is done.

Jim

 

[tspainiv]

Thanks for the tips Jim. My whole family is electricians so I'm sure one of them has a code book I can look at. BTW, the location I want to mount it to on the house is close to the ground rod at the elec. meter box. Can I run a ground wire from the mast to this ground rod or no. I think I could because the sat. is grounded to this rod also.

 

[MacombMonitor]

I've seen guys take an inexpensive TV antenna tripod, sit it on the ground, and put a cement block on each leg. One guy took an old patio umbrella stand, and remove the umbrella, and clamped an antenna to that. It had one of those big plastic bases that you fill with water, or sand, to weight it down. It worked! Check out Radio Shack, as they sell a varity of mounting hardware, including 5' & 10' mast sections, and it's all fairly inexpensive. Sometimes we tend to over engineer when it comes to antennas. When you get down to it, they're all pretty much just a piece of wire in the air. Most anything will work for receive. It only gets critical when transmitting. Try what you may, if it doesn't work, try something else!