19dsniper
Member
I am looking at putting up my first tower/mast at the house. I was looking at putting up a 50'Rohn antenna at first. What got me started with wanting an external antenna was an offer from a friend for a free 100 foot Rohn. All i had to do was haul it off and install it. Well, knowing that i would have to inspect every weld, have it professionally installed, and then have guy wires running around, i decided against it. So, then i started to look into self supporting antennas.
Long story short, I have free power poles that are 40 foot long laying around the property. I know that i could sink them in 15% (6 feet) leaving me with a 34 foot mast. I know this has been done by many before me. I have a few questions about this and the antenna before i actually start the hole and get things set.
First, I was looking at the Diamond X700HNA Dualband Base/Repeater Antenna for use with my Yaesu FT-8800R. Is this antenna still as highly recommended as it use to be? I was looking for a stationmaster or clone and this is the best quality antenna i could come up with. I will be limited by tower height because i don't want anything that has to be guyed out. So the tower/mast will have a set height above ground.
I have heard some of the argument that if i decide to go higher and instead keep the overall height the same, that i could have a shorter antenna at the same maximum height, but possibly with better coverage because of the antenna emitting in the middle of the mast that would then technically make it taller.
Example:
34' mast + X700HNA @ 24'= 46', with max height at 60'
50' mast + x300A @ 10'= 55', with max height at 60'
Am in understanding correctly that the antenna will radiate the signal from the middle of the antenna?
This is indifferent to my decision on the height because i will be restricted to the height of the actual 40' mast. So for me the antenna should still be sitting at a max of 60' but hopefully without guy lines.
Has anyone else done something similar with this or a similar antenna and if so, did you have to guy it out?
Is there a better antenna for this setup? I would prefer to keep the cost of antenna at $400 or less. I am not interested in making my own right now as i don't want to monkey around with a home-brew antenna when i need to get it this high up in the air. I definitely want to make some of my own and test them out, but will wait until I'm on the air better so i still have something to use while i play and learn.
I can hit all of the local repeaters from home with a 5 watt HT, so this setup is intended to add range for simplex and to get me into the repeaters better. Long range Simplex is the biggest reason for the tower. I know, I know HF... Right now I'm just looking at extending vhf/uhf and I'm not interested in directional antennas. That will come later.
I have been trying to find an Elmer in my area and hope that I have a lead on one. Unfortunately the one that i had been using lately for this stuff isn't as sharp as he use to be. The man is an incredible wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately he is in his late 80's and was in a car accident a while back. He has been focused on getting better and is not the same as he was before his accident. His mind is also starting to slip and Alzheimer's and dementia are setting in. I wish him the best and hope he pulls thru, but as of right now I'm not bugging him with questions like this as he can no longer follow along with the conversation.
I know this is the antenna section, but i don't see a tower section other than on the scanner threads. So if I'm missing something, please let me know.
I plan on paying some guys that set these poles for a living and having them sink it in the ground for me. Like i said, its 40', and has 4 gauge solid copper wire from the top all the way to the bottom. The bottom of the pole has a number of loops at the base (not wrapped around the bottom of the pole, but in circles under the base).
My plan is to sink this in at 6', ground it with a solid 10' grounding rod, tied in with new stainless steel hardware. Have the coax grounded at the pole.
Should i add extra grounding rods?
I thought i might skip the LMR 400 and go with LMR1200. My total run depending on location of the pole will be approximately 65 feet or less. Is this a good idea or a waist of money? I would rather buy once / cry once when it comes to coax and antenna.
LMR-400 LMR-1200
144 mhz (1.5) (0.46)
220 mhz(1.8) (0.56)
450 mhz (2.7) (0.83)
How important or how noticeable would it be for me to switch form LMR-400 to 1200?
Sorry this is kinda random and garbled. I am overwhelming myself quickly with my own questions and unknowns when it comes to an antenna project like this. I know is should be simple, i guess my biggest concern going into this is that i don't want a lightning rod that is going to bring lighting straight into the house.
Long story short, I have free power poles that are 40 foot long laying around the property. I know that i could sink them in 15% (6 feet) leaving me with a 34 foot mast. I know this has been done by many before me. I have a few questions about this and the antenna before i actually start the hole and get things set.
First, I was looking at the Diamond X700HNA Dualband Base/Repeater Antenna for use with my Yaesu FT-8800R. Is this antenna still as highly recommended as it use to be? I was looking for a stationmaster or clone and this is the best quality antenna i could come up with. I will be limited by tower height because i don't want anything that has to be guyed out. So the tower/mast will have a set height above ground.
I have heard some of the argument that if i decide to go higher and instead keep the overall height the same, that i could have a shorter antenna at the same maximum height, but possibly with better coverage because of the antenna emitting in the middle of the mast that would then technically make it taller.
Example:
34' mast + X700HNA @ 24'= 46', with max height at 60'
50' mast + x300A @ 10'= 55', with max height at 60'
Am in understanding correctly that the antenna will radiate the signal from the middle of the antenna?
This is indifferent to my decision on the height because i will be restricted to the height of the actual 40' mast. So for me the antenna should still be sitting at a max of 60' but hopefully without guy lines.
Has anyone else done something similar with this or a similar antenna and if so, did you have to guy it out?
Is there a better antenna for this setup? I would prefer to keep the cost of antenna at $400 or less. I am not interested in making my own right now as i don't want to monkey around with a home-brew antenna when i need to get it this high up in the air. I definitely want to make some of my own and test them out, but will wait until I'm on the air better so i still have something to use while i play and learn.
I can hit all of the local repeaters from home with a 5 watt HT, so this setup is intended to add range for simplex and to get me into the repeaters better. Long range Simplex is the biggest reason for the tower. I know, I know HF... Right now I'm just looking at extending vhf/uhf and I'm not interested in directional antennas. That will come later.
I have been trying to find an Elmer in my area and hope that I have a lead on one. Unfortunately the one that i had been using lately for this stuff isn't as sharp as he use to be. The man is an incredible wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately he is in his late 80's and was in a car accident a while back. He has been focused on getting better and is not the same as he was before his accident. His mind is also starting to slip and Alzheimer's and dementia are setting in. I wish him the best and hope he pulls thru, but as of right now I'm not bugging him with questions like this as he can no longer follow along with the conversation.
I know this is the antenna section, but i don't see a tower section other than on the scanner threads. So if I'm missing something, please let me know.
I plan on paying some guys that set these poles for a living and having them sink it in the ground for me. Like i said, its 40', and has 4 gauge solid copper wire from the top all the way to the bottom. The bottom of the pole has a number of loops at the base (not wrapped around the bottom of the pole, but in circles under the base).
My plan is to sink this in at 6', ground it with a solid 10' grounding rod, tied in with new stainless steel hardware. Have the coax grounded at the pole.
Should i add extra grounding rods?
I thought i might skip the LMR 400 and go with LMR1200. My total run depending on location of the pole will be approximately 65 feet or less. Is this a good idea or a waist of money? I would rather buy once / cry once when it comes to coax and antenna.
LMR-400 LMR-1200
144 mhz (1.5) (0.46)
220 mhz(1.8) (0.56)
450 mhz (2.7) (0.83)
How important or how noticeable would it be for me to switch form LMR-400 to 1200?
Sorry this is kinda random and garbled. I am overwhelming myself quickly with my own questions and unknowns when it comes to an antenna project like this. I know is should be simple, i guess my biggest concern going into this is that i don't want a lightning rod that is going to bring lighting straight into the house.
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