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Delivers1234

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it was suggessted i use a u bolt. i know if wouldnt hurt. this is on the 2nd floor roof and reaches just above the tip of the roof line. What do you all think? im in Central coast Cali.
 

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jonwienke

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Several problems:

1. The hose clamps. Replace with U-bolts ASAP.

2. The hose around the fatter pipe. It's blocking electrical continuity between the upper mast and the lower mast, which is a problem because of

3. Grounding. Your antenna mast is not grounded, which means you are vulnerable to lightning and static electricity frying your radio and damaging your house. Your antenna mast should provide a low-resistance path to ground via a ground rod directly below the antenna, which should also be connected to youe AC power service ground rod. Not grounding means that the the shortest path (and only) to ground from your antenna is through your radio. Even if lightning is rare, wind can still create static charges that can build up on your antenna if there is no ground connection to dissipate them, which can damage your radio and possibly you.
 

KOK5CY

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Get rid of those flimsy clamps and that pipe . I used a top rail pipe from a chain link fence and used a mount like you have on the roof . But I drilled a hole through both mount and pipe and used a self tapped screw to keep it from wobble . Then used wire rope for better support in wind gust . So far my antenna has not fell down and it's went through 60mph winds . My ground is attached to the service box ground rod which is in 2' of concrete .

Or just go with the previous poster and use U bolts
 

FKimble

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Also the whitish or yellow wire that seems to be running too close to the antenna, where does it go and how close is it to the antenna?

Frank KK4YTM
 

jhooten

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I have an antenna that size and one bigger, much bigger with the mast clamped to the support with only 3 SS screw/band clamps that just survived the 40 MPH+ sustained winds from the fringes of Harvey.

The grounding issue should be addressed, yes. The sat dish mount does not provide a good path of low impedance continuity suitable for grounding. The powder coating on the arm and the pivot base are not conductive. If you remove it at the point of contact it gets better. But you will need to slather on the conductive grease to keep it conductive. Best bet would be to add a conductor from the mast across the mount to a ground point.
 

Delivers1234

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Ok. I hear you all.

So I will drill 3 holes into 2 pipes (two parallel, one perpendicular) and add screws and lock nuts. They will go across the 2 pipes. It sounds like the fatter the screws the more "grip" it will have. So I try and get the direct dish size screws. I will also screw in a ground wire to the pipe and run the ground to my coax ground. Before this did not have the extra pipe (about 7 additional feet). With this height, I am able to get San Jose towers from salinas (50 miles at least)

I looked at hardware u bolts but they don't seem to work well. I think after the screws i will keep on the "bands". i did notice at the hardware store a plumbers band that was about 3 inches tall and had 2 bands around the rubber (like a sleeve). I thought about it...

I ordered an 8 foot aluminum pipe. Im on a 2nd floor apartment and can't really drill or add masts etc. My patio has a roof cover.

Thank you all. more to come.
 

prcguy

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Personally I would ignore all advice up to this point. First off the old satellite mount you are using is extremely strong and designed for a dish with way more wind load than your little antenna and mast could ever muster.

You have the optional outrigger arms that turn it into a very strong tripod. Somewhere I have the wind load stress tests from that mount and its pretty impressive. Originally the outrigger arms were not used because the basic J mount is very strong but due to installers mounting them to crappy roofs that bend and move at the mounting foot they added the outriggers.

Hose clamps are fine and if anything you have to many, 2 of them is overkill for what you are doing. If I look at the closest 4 lane street that has a huge traffic light that hangs over the entire street, the 20ft long steel arm holding all the lights and weight is secured with larger versions of the same clamps you have on your mast. They are very strong and I've had 21ft of 1 1/2" fence rail attached to another mast using three hose clamps with a huge antenna on top of that that I was testing when a storm came through town and the steel fence post buckled but the hose clamps never budged.
prcguy
 
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Delivers1234

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I wish you guys should make up your minds.

What do you think about this? or just adding the metal strapping around the whole area?
 

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ramal121

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Two round pipes held together by bands, u-bolts or whatever will still twist over no matter how tight you crank them down. Round members have very little point contact and this is a poor way to connect two of them.

Pro installs will use a clamp set made exactly for this purpose. Now they can get real pricey for some bent steel and threaded rod, but here is one that has a reasonable price. A couple of those is all you need.

https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Heavy-D...04099039&sr=8-13&keywords=antenna+clamp+mount
https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.a...Ptm4DE5dzKZhL7-nKG_UoNhA51uCdrPBoCQUkQAvD_BwE
 
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ramal121

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And they work just fine.

Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk

Yeah but. Antennas will have a saddle or V notch for the mast to rest against and the bands or U bolts hold it into place. Plain jane round pipe lacks this luxury.

Now the referenced DPD antenna either has these or the bands are something different than regular hose clamps. If not, well shame on them.

I've been to too many mountain tops where antenna mounting is cobbled together with hose clamps, bailing wire, ty wraps and too little hardware (usually by IT guys). This leads to an eventual bout with sadness.
 

bharvey2

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delivers1234, Your use of the dish antenna mount as a base should be fine given the antenna you have. They are pretty strong and you've got the outriggers to boot. You don't have near the amount of wind load that a dish would create although the longer the taller the mast you have above the dish mount, the more leverage is created against the mount. From your photo however, it's hard to tell how tall your mast is for the antenna. Band clamps are pretty strong but as ramal121 pointed out, you have two round objects mated against one another and there is the tendency to twist against each other. (Think of closing a pocket knife) This could still happen with two piece of square tubing mounted side by side so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this.

I live up in the Bay Area and like you, we don't have to deal with lightning storms as much as other parts of the U.S. We're not immune however. It would be a good idea to eliminate the insulating hose/piece you have and create a decent path to earth if you intend to keep that up for any length of time.

For peace of mind, I'd suggest keeping your clamps and adding long, stainless steel bolts through the top and bottom of the two tubes along their mating surface. Then, work on the ground issue. As far as the last photo you posted of the no-hub sewer clamp, don't use that at all. It won't be of any benefit to you.
 

prcguy

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If I put two masts together with two or thee SS hose clamps, you will not be able to twist them over without help from a large vehicle and some chain. Been using hose clamps on medium duty masts for 40+ years and they don't move.

For professional use I always use supplied mounts or surplus Stationmaster type mounts, but for home or hobby use go with hose clamps.
prcguy

Two round pipes held together by bands, u-bolts or whatever will still twist over no matter how tight you crank them down. Round members have very little point contact and this is a poor way to connect two of them.

Pro installs will use a clamp set made exactly for this purpose. Now they can get real pricey for some bent steel and threaded rod, but here is one that has a reasonable price. A couple of those is all you need.

https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Heavy-D...04099039&sr=8-13&keywords=antenna+clamp+mount
https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.a...Ptm4DE5dzKZhL7-nKG_UoNhA51uCdrPBoCQUkQAvD_BwE
 

bharvey2

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If I put two masts together with two or thee SS hose clamps, you will not be able to twist them over without help from a large vehicle and some chain. Been using hose clamps on medium duty masts for 40+ years and they don't move.

For professional use I always use supplied mounts or surplus Stationmaster type mounts, but for home or hobby use go with hose clamps.
prcguy

+1 on that. I've used them a lot too and never had a problem. Of greater concern would be the amount of overlap between the two mast lengths. Although it would't pass commercial installation peer review, I don't see his arrangement falling down any time soon.
 

pjtnascar

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Whiners! I have used hose clamps with out any problem. I have also used U-Bolts without any problem. You could go to an auto store and get muffler type clamps which I have used with no problem. .
 

prcguy

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You absolutely need an adequate overlap and about 12" is about average for the types of installs I do with hose clamps. On the 21ft of fence rail I had up temporarily with three hose clamps the overlap was around 2ft.
prcguy

+1 on that. I've used them a lot too and never had a problem. Of greater concern would be the amount of overlap between the two mast lengths. Although it would't pass commercial installation peer review, I don't see his arrangement falling down any time soon.
 
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