JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
Messages
42,377
Reactions
109,963
I've been wanting to put up several antennas, at least the one quad band I have for my TYT-TH9800, on a mast. I think I may want to put up a WiFi antenna too so that I have coverage outside the house that will at least reach to the shop.

I have a single level house with a roof that is about 15' at the peak - the peak is approx. oriented east/west. I was thinking of putting up a pole on the west peak (behind the house, outside my home "office" where my base station/etc. would be. Mounted from the ground up, about a foot or two down into the ground, with a bracket attaching it to the peak and the mast extending 5-10' above the peak.

Looking at antenna masts, I am thinking for now I will cheap out with two or three chain link top rails, each 10' long, fitted into each other:

yardgard-fence-hardware-328913dpt-e1_1000.jpg

These are 17 gauge galvanized, which is pretty similar to what Rohn sells in 5' sections (16 gauge).

Home depot has these for $14 each, two would get me above the roof by about 5-7'. More than that - another 10' section - and I might want to put up a guy wire as the jointed section itself is maybe not that good free standing?

When I sell and move then I will just leave the mast behind, then on my new property (assuming I ever get there) I would put up a proper mast or two or three and have an antenna farm.

Thoughts?
 
I've been wanting to put up several antennas, at least the one quad band I have for my TYT-TH9800, on a mast. I think I may want to put up a WiFi antenna too so that I have coverage outside the house that will at least reach to the shop.

I have a single level house with a roof that is about 15' at the peak - the peak is approx. oriented east/west. I was thinking of putting up a pole on the west peak (behind the house, outside my home "office" where my base station/etc. would be. Mounted from the ground up, about a foot or two down into the ground, with a bracket attaching it to the peak and the mast extending 5-10' above the peak.

Looking at antenna masts, I am thinking for now I will cheap out with two or three chain link top rails, each 10' long, fitted into each other:

View attachment 743378

These are 17 gauge galvanized, which is pretty similar to what Rohn sells in 5' sections (16 gauge).

Home depot has these for $14 each, two would get me above the roof by about 5-7'. More than that - another 10' section - and I might want to put up a guy wire as the jointed section itself is maybe not that good free standing?

When I sell and move then I will just leave the mast behind, then on my new property (assuming I ever get there) I would put up a proper mast or two or three and have an antenna farm.

Thoughts?




I just happen to have 2 complete 38' hd collapsible masts I need to let go of. If you need.


With guy line plates. Never used.

Here's one in place.

antenna.jpg
 
Last Edited:
I've been wanting to put up several antennas, at least the one quad band I have for my TYT-TH9800, on a mast. I think I may want to put up a WiFi antenna too so that I have coverage outside the house that will at least reach to the shop.

I have a single level house with a roof that is about 15' at the peak - the peak is approx. oriented east/west. I was thinking of putting up a pole on the west peak (behind the house, outside my home "office" where my base station/etc. would be. Mounted from the ground up, about a foot or two down into the ground, with a bracket attaching it to the peak and the mast extending 5-10' above the peak.

Looking at antenna masts, I am thinking for now I will cheap out with two or three chain link top rails, each 10' long, fitted into each other:

View attachment 743378

These are 17 gauge galvanized, which is pretty similar to what Rohn sells in 5' sections (16 gauge).

Home depot has these for $14 each, two would get me above the roof by about 5-7'. More than that - another 10' section - and I might want to put up a guy wire as the jointed section itself is maybe not that good free standing?

When I sell and move then I will just leave the mast behind, then on my new property (assuming I ever get there) I would put up a proper mast or two or three and have an antenna farm.

Thoughts?
These pole sections will work (rub/ vibrate) over time with the wind so you may want to epoxy the connection points or drill a bolt through them so they stay exactly in the orientation you place them for your antenna bearing. You'll also want to run a copper wire for ground from the antenna and stake the ground wire with a short copper bar. The actual base for this probably also needs a small cement pad or some reinforcement mounting plates into the ground.

Good luck with a fun project :D
 
I have a 6' bronze/etc. grounding rod I bought a couple years ago (IIRC it is for a genset) that is mil-surplus and has a weight on it to drive it into the ground.

My antennas are omni so not worried about orientation - for now. This is just something to have up until I move. If I were to do something permanent, I would consider having an arborist come out and setup an antenna at the top of one of my trees.

I forgot to mention, I am at about 900' on the north side of the Chehalem ridge which is about 1300' high. I have trees all around me:

1598979072976.png

So not optimum.

I just want to get a bit of elevation and outside the house - right now I have the antennas setup inside my office. It would be nice if I could hit the repeater on the top of the mountain as it is only a couple miles away and would give me good access around the valley as it is the highest spot inside the valley and has visibility north and south. But I think I am blocked by the ridge and some other terrain. I can see the Portland west hills repeater, but it is 30 miles away.
 
I use fence top rail. Put in a ground rod, add a brass or copper wire clamp, put the mast on top and secure to peak, and add a stand-off about half way up if needed.

This set up provides a strong ground, no need to run extra wires, but the clamp provides a place to run a wire in case you need to ground other items.
 
Depending on distance house to shop I'd run cat5/6 to the shop and add a wifi hub in the shop.

Running anything between the house - cable or pipe or hose - is problematic due to the paved driveway, power line, septic line/tank/field and water. It is just simpler to have a wireless connection. Plus I want WiFi coverage over as much of the rest of the property as possible.
 
If you want Gigabit and don't want to bury cable for a line of sight connection use this:


60GHZ, works perfectly. Its POE as well and the box includes injectors. I highly recommend Mikrotik commercial gear as well as their routers.

Good Luck
 
If you want Gigabit and don't want to bury cable for a line of sight connection use this:


60GHZ, works perfectly. Its POE as well and the box includes injectors. I highly recommend Mikrotik commercial gear as well as their routers.

Good Luck

I will look at it, but I was going to go with Ubiquiti as they have a good rep and simple setup with a wide array of options. I just need/want wider coverage outside the house (I lose the signal at about 100 feet) and I want the shop to have WiFi inside - it is a metal skin shop. I want to setup an alarm in the shop and put up some WiFi cams around the property for security.

I want wider coverage in part for the cams and for my phone which is VOIP and works with either cell or WiFi - switching automatically between the two. I've got better cell coverage with my newer phone, but there are spots where the coverage is iffy.

I don't need GB for internet access (the cams probably need some speed) as I only have 6 mbps from my provider who has a long distance WiFi network for people like me who have no cable/fiber access and DSL is only 1.5 mbps since I am so far out. I am hoping that Starlink will get me up into at least 50-100 mbps when they go public. I am signed up for the beta but I have not heard anything from them.
 
I used to use Ubiquity, Mikrotik is considerably easier to use for me. That wireless wire takes no software setup. It replaces a cable with no setup needed. Good luck!

That may be, but it isn't just point to point that I want, I want an WAP with an outdoor omni antenna that will give me coverage, for multiple devices, over the area around my house in addition to the shop. The shop is 75-100 yards away. Ubiquiti seems to have what I need - a fast scroll thru the Mikrotik site doesn't lead me to believe they have what I need/want.
 

Upcoming Events

Tillamook Gun & Knife Show
Tillamook, OR
"The Original" Kalispell Gun Show
Kalispell, MT
Teen Rifle 1 Class
Springfield, OR
Kids Firearm Safety 2 Class
Springfield, OR

New Resource Reviews

New Classified Ads

Back Top