Antenna inside attic vs. outside roof

[mmckenna]

Any suggestions as to how to get up there and work on it?

Extension ladder. Unbolt the whole thing and take it down. Do your work, then put it back in place.

That's going to be a lot cheaper than any other -safe- solution. If money isn't a challenge and you want to try it, most rental yards will have a small cherry picker mounted on a trailer. You back it up near where you want to work, set up the outriggers and they'll usually give you about 30' - 35' reach. I rented one a year or so ago to replace a bunch of parking lot lights at our church. I think it ran about $225 for the whole day.

 

[Indie]

So do all the work from the ladder. I'll need what, a 40 foot extension ladder?

 

[mmckenna]

So do all the work from the ladder. I'll need what, a 40 foot extension ladder?

That would be the cheaper approach. As for how tall a ladder you need, I have no idea. Whatever it takes to get to the mounting brackets safely.
If you have an extension ladder tall enough, or can borrow one, that might be a good approach if you are comfortable working that high.

If you don't have access to a ladder that tall, then a small cherry picker type lift might be a very safe way to do it.

Your safety should take precedence over the costs, though.
Or better yet, hire someone to do it.

 

[mmckenna]

I'm comfortable working at heights, but then again I've got a lot of safety gear and training to do it correctly. Not everyone is. Getting hurt on a ladder is a high risk. Dropping tools, having the mast fall and hurt you, someone else, or your home should all be concerns. If you have any doubts about your capabilities to do this, then it's a good idea to consider either hiring someone to do the work for you, or renting the proper equipment. No amount of hobby fun should come at the cost of a dead/injured Indie. Your family would not be amused.

Safety gear and proper tools for doing this sort of stuff is —always— a good investment. While dropping a few hundred bucks on a rental lift, it's a lot cheaper than ending up in the hospital. Falls from 30 feet up don't end well. In tower climbing school we were taught that anything over 6 feet can kill.

Hard to tell from the photos, but there may be other ways to do this. Not sure what your roof pitch is like, but going up on the roof might be a safe approach. Either way, taking the mast down, installing your antenna !!!properly waterproofing the connections!!! and routing coax is going to serve you better in the long run. Trying to do all that while balanced on top of the ladder is probably not going to lead to the best results.

 

[WB9YBM]

getting an antenna out in the clear is always the better option, although at one point I had a random-length long-wire inside the very peak of my house (used it for SWL) running the entire length of the house with pretty good results with the benefit that I didn't have to worry about weather damage...

 

[Indie]

Sober advice. Thank you. I am comfortable working up high. Yeah I was thinking of getting up on the roof, tying off around chimney and doing the work from there, up on the roof because the ladder I have is only 28 feet high. So the highest danger is in going up and coming down. But I think first I'll see how much I'd have to pay a pro to do it.

 

[mmckenna]

Sober advice. Thank you. I am comfortable working up high. Yeah I was thinking of getting up on the roof, tying off around chimney and doing the work from there, up on the roof because the ladder I have is only 28 feet high. So the highest danger is in going up and coming down. But I think first I'll see how much I'd have to pay a pro to do it.

Yeah, you can get some cable monkey to scramble up there and they'll do it quickly. Might be a good investment.

On the other hand, if the roof is manageable, that's an option.

Most important thing, other than safety, is securing everything well, waterproofing your connections, and properly routing the cable. If you pay someone else to do it, or do it yourself, you won't want to do it again due to a wet connection or flapping cable.

 

[a417]

, tying off around chimney and doing the work from there,

I'd be wary as hell of tying off to a chimney.

 

[krokus]

I'd be wary as hell of tying off to a chimney.

The chimney is not a good idea, unless many precautions have been taken. Most chimneys are not a strong as most people think, even when they are in good material condition.