50' Telescoping Antenna Setup

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slas

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How’s the signal?
We have Atlink SW of Piedmont and had to move the antenna to the top of the barn this summer due to tree growth between us and the water tower.
I bet we are over subscribed also. We get 5 mb some mornings but evenings and weekends are 1-1 1/2 at best. We may have to see if another tower is an option also.
I hope all your work, that you shouldn’t have had to do, pays off.



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We were on the Shawnee tower (Hwy 177 and Garretts Lake Rd) and have the 5 mb package also. The guy said they never should have sold us that one, said they don't even offer it now because the Shawnee tower was so saturated we'd never get close to that speed. At the end before we lost signal we were getting less than 3. He told me if I got the 50 ft. he could connect me to Tecumseh and that it was far from saturated and we could get 50 mb if we wanted to pay for it. After getting the antenna up and honing in the signal he said, "Oh man", I thought it was bad. I asked what's wrong, he said nothing, the signal was great. After all was done we're now getting about 4.6 when he tested it and said that was the best we'd had based on the history. With overhead I'm happy with that speed. No problem with two tv streaming netflix and the boy on the online games.

My biggest problem with the antenna set up was it was all new to me and there was very little on the internet about specific setup instructions, which is strange because the internet has everything...right? I made a few mistakes, ordered the wrong antenna first, only was 36' so had to eat a couple hundred there. It'll be on craigslist soon or if you know anyone looking for a great deal. We set the base in a 2x2x2.5 hole. I learned that 10 80lb bags of cement is just shy in covering that. Had to learn how to figure out all the geometries and distances to put the guy wires out 120 degree from the base distance(used visio). Again, not much on the internet to help, and believe me, I searched. In the end it all cost around $800. The AtLink guy told me it was the best setup he'd seen yet since I used 5 sets of guy wires (every 10 feet) compared to the one set they use when they set one up. I told him I didn't know any better since I was just following the direction.
 

slas

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Is one supposed to ground the antenna tower? That thing really looks like it is out there calling out, "Here I am...I'm a lightning rod!!"
Was told the steel guy wires act as a ground. Here's a clip from the web:

While steel is not as conductive as copper, there is so much of it and with such a large surface area that adding a grounding wire along the tower has no benefit. ... Guyed towers make grounding easy since the guy wires tend to divide up the electrical energy of any lightning strike.
 

MacFromOK

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Yeah, that might work if the tower is substantially taller than the antenna dish.

Otherwise, lightning can strike the dish, cable, etc. and then arc to the grounded tower, along with sending a hefty surge into the house via the cable.

Lightning struck/destroyed my CB antenna and followed the coax into the living room, arcing to the best stereo I ever owned and starting a small fire. The CB wasn't even connected. A section of the melted coax is still stuck in the living room wall, the outer insulation was literally dripping off it (RG-8 or 9, the big stuff). :/
 

swampratt

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slas what diameter are the guy wires or gauge.
And what diameters are the poles and the wall thickness of those. Just curious.

It looks sturdy with all those wires.

When i plant a fence post to swing a heavy steel gat on or wood gate I use about 800 lbs of concrete to fill the hole.
Probably overkill but the largest is a 16 foot single swinging gate.
Hole is 3.5 feet deep and 2X wider at the bottom than the top.. You do not pull those back out you just cut them off if you want it moved :)
 

slas

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slas what diameter are the guy wires or gauge.
And what diameters are the poles and the wall thickness of those. Just curious.

It looks sturdy with all those wires.

When i plant a fence post to swing a heavy steel gat on or wood gate I use about 800 lbs of concrete to fill the hole.
Probably overkill but the largest is a 16 foot single swinging gate.
Hole is 3.5 feet deep and 2X wider at the bottom than the top.. You do not pull those back out you just cut them off if you want it moved :)
Here's the link with for the pole and guy wire set:

https://www.3starinc.com/50_foot_te...able.html?search_string=EZ+TM-50-U-95&s_tit=1

https://www.3starinc.com/50_foot_telescopic_antenna_mast_3_way_down_guy_wire_kit.html
 

slas

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Yeah, that might work if the tower is substantially taller than the antenna dish.

Otherwise, lightning can strike the dish, cable, etc. and then arc to the grounded tower, along with sending a hefty surge into the house via the cable.

Lightning struck/destroyed my CB antenna and followed the coax into the living room, arcing to the best stereo I ever owned and starting a small fire. The CB wasn't even connected. A section of the melted coax is still stuck in the living room wall, the outer insulation was literally dripping off it (RG-8 or 9, the big stuff). :/
Been doing a bit more research and it looks like it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some more "grounding" work. Like this pic:
 

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