Rooftop masts

[Napalm]

Hey gang.

I have my antennas in the attic space of my two storey typical American wood construction.

It's a newer (2018) house but there's no metal backed insulation in the roof space.

I'm itching to get them out of the attic and into free space. I don't fancy bolting them to the eaves, so would a roof top tripod work? Or maybe a couple?

I have a discone, a DPD Omni X (mil) and a 300MHz dipole. As with most places in the Midwest we do get frequent lightning which concerns me. I'm gone for 10 hours of the day and I have to sleep at some.point. Disconnecting antennas when it storms isn't practical.

I thought about a freestanding mast/tower next to the house but my house is already 30/40ft high so I'd be wasting money imho.

Any thoughts?

Dave

 

[mmckenna]

I have a discone, a DPD Omni X (mil) and a 300MHz dipole. As with most places in the Midwest we do get frequent lightning which concerns me. I'm gone for 10 hours of the day and I have to sleep at some.point. Disconnecting antennas when it storms isn't practical.

A wooden roof doesn't magically stop lightning. Lightning can still hit your antennas, even in the attic.
And a direct strike should not be your only concern. Nearby strikes can induce enough energy into your antenna or feedline to do damage.

I'm itching to get them out of the attic and into free space. I don't fancy bolting them to the eaves, so would a roof top tripod work? Or maybe a couple?

A long time ago I had a neighbor that had two tripods at either end of his roof with a 10 foot mast on each one. Should work just fine if that's what you want.

Proper grounding should be done either way.

 

[Napalm]

A wooden roof doesn't magically stop lightning. Lightning can still hit your antennas, even in the attic.
And a direct strike should not be your only concern. Nearby strikes can induce enough energy into your antenna or feedline to do damage.



A long time ago I had a neighbor that had two tripods at either end of his roof with a 10 foot mast on each one. Should work just fine if that's what you want.

Proper grounding should be done either way.

Yeah I understand about the induced currents. My radio room is on the second floor so grounding would involve a 20ft ground strap to a real ground.

Aside from relocating to the basement, what can I do?

 

[mmckenna]

Aside from relocating to the basement, what can I do?

You answered that yourself:

My radio room is on the second floor so grounding would involve a 20ft ground strap to a real ground.

If you put masts/antennas on the roof, you still need to ground those. That'll be some copper coming down to your ground rod.