Second floor apartment needing help with antenna!

[prcguy]

Aonive got ten foot conduit clamps screws 100foort rg8x.. Sitting at 2678 feet elevation it should put the ir 10-15 feet above the roof? Should I get thr antenna with the ground plane or is it worth it? To groud it couldn't I drill into thr conduit and run a copper wire to a grounding rod or do I even need too

Ideally you would run a 10ga copper ground wire from the base of the antenna or a lightning arrestor to the ground at the main electrical panel. How far away is the electrical panel from where the antenna will go? I would not bother with the ground plane kit, they cost almost as much as the antenna and will only give you a very small increase in performance. If you were going to spend more money I would look into a better antenna like an IMAX 2000 which is 24ft tall and has no ground radials.

 

[Mountaineer304]

I'll stick with the pro ton the power box is a good ways away we don't get many storms... Can I not ground into rod

 

[AK9R]

If using a small satellite dish J-mount, keep in mind that the normal J-mount isn't designed to support much weight.

The later J-mounts that DirecTV required with their 4-satellite dish had struts that went from the vertical part of the J to the wall in order to keep the dish steady with the extra weight.

 

[Mountaineer304]

Ywah I'm doing ten feet conduit

 

[prcguy]

If using a small satellite dish J-mount, keep in mind that the normal J-mount isn't designed to support much weight.

The later J-mounts that DirecTV required with their 4-satellite dish had struts that went from the vertical part of the J to the wall in order to keep the dish steady with the extra weight.

The DirecTV J mount for the Slimline dish is very strong and the reason for the outrigger legs is to compensate for the material the mount is attached to. If the mount were bolted to concrete it will easily survive a hurricane with the full size dish attached. Screwed to a rotted roof not so much.

 

[prcguy]

I'll stick with the pro ton the power box is a good ways away we don't get many storms... Can I not ground into rod

A ground rod separate from the AC entry panel is not a good idea, it will not meet code and can actually cause more damage from lightning and can put an AC voltage on your ground system. I did that as a teenager and had about 90 volts on my coax shield compared to the ground in my AC outlets. If it were me I might not ground the antenna system and just disconnect the coax when I'm not using it or when a storm may happen. I won't recommend that you to do that, just sharing what I might do.

 

[alcahuete]

If using a small satellite dish J-mount, keep in mind that the normal J-mount isn't designed to support much weight.

The later J-mounts that DirecTV required with their 4-satellite dish had struts that went from the vertical part of the J to the wall in order to keep the dish steady with the extra weight.

It isn't necessarily the weight, but the windload. I have used a standard j-mount for almost 10 years for a Diamond X-510, with absolutely no issues at all. That thing whips all over the place...been through almost 80 mph winds. I don't know the windloading for the 510 vs. a dish, but I assume it isn't all that much different. WAY more surface area on the dish.

 

[John_S]

Contrary to some beliefs here, but those 3' like the Workman and Tram 1499 can work. The local range is terrible, but for longer stuff, it will get you out there. They need a 50' length of coax to use as a counterpoise, along with several snap on ferrites near the transceiver end. You'll also need a tuner. I'm a 3rd floor apartment dweller that has use of my fire escape and would normally use most anything else, but when it gets really windy or when the landlord is present, I need something not so obnoxious as a 31' pole holding a 28' Slim Jim. You might also check the Par EndFedz...they're mono band antennas but the wire is thin and fairly stealthy. A 10 meter version and a fiberglass push up pole, along with at least 25' of coax and some ferrites at the Tx end, can get you on 10.

 

[W4AXW]

All the "experts" will scoff but I worked over 50 DXCC's on Inverted V half-wavelength dipoles from a condo balcony. Feedpoint @ 17' AGL. Was it the optimum situation? No but it got me on the air. Super simple to calculate, cut and tune wires for 17,15,12,11 & 10 meters. Never more than 100w out, and less the majority of the time. Was amazed by how well the 17,15 & 12 meter antennas worked with the feedpoint so low, but work they did when those bands were open. Worked South Africa (8300mi) on 10m. No problem talking local either. Used a homebrew wire Moxon on 6m that worked well also. Had a ball with them without pissing off the neighbors or the COA. And learned about antennas in the bargain. Wouldn't trade them for every A99, IJUNK 2000, etc. on the planet.
Let the scoffing begin........

7 3

 

[alcahuete]

All the "experts" will scoff but I worked over 50 DXCC's on Inverted V half-wavelength dipoles from a condo balcony. Feedpoint @ 17' AGL. Was it the optimum situation? No but it got me on the air. Super simple to calculate, cut and tune wires for 17,15,12,11 & 10 meters. Never more than 100w out, and less the majority of the time. Was amazed by how well the 17,15 & 12 meter antennas worked with the feedpoint so low, but work they did when those bands were open. Worked South Africa (8300mi) on 10m. No problem talking local either. Used a homebrew wire Moxon on 6m that worked well also. Had a ball with them without pissing off the neighbors or the COA. And learned about antennas in the bargain. Wouldn't trade them for every A99, IJUNK 2000, etc. on the planet.
Let the scoffing begin........

7 3

No scoffing. It's all about working with what you've got. For years, I was stuck in a HOA and worked DXCC with a vertical antenna mounted 5 feet off the ground. Not going to be able to do that when the bands are bad, but when the bands are great, you don't really need that much in the way of an antenna.