Sharing the guy wire experience

[Architectural_Drafter]

Guy wires.
My first experience with them. I thought I'd share a few observations.
Some of these I came up with before installing them, some I picked up the hard way. (I'll asterix these, unless they make me look really dumb...)

1. Find the trusses. Do this before poking holes in your roof. Treat your roof like your head: No extra holes unless absolutely necessary. Use a good sealant around the penetration. Also, roof penetrations are a maintenance issue: Don't seal them and expect them to last the life of the roof. Check them every year or so and re-apply sealant when necessary.

*2. This really bites as a do-it-alone project, as the height of the antenna is probably greater than an installation without the guy wires. I really could have used another person, even if it was someone on the ground who could identify a 14/" drive 3/8" socket, or wingnuts in a specific box.

*3. A dry run on the ground of what you're gonna do topside isn't a bad idea. It may add to the amount of time you spend on the project, but you may thank yourself later. I had half of my elements extended when I noticed that one was trapped behind the extension of the mast. You can't un-extend the elements on this particular antenna without the risk of breaking the clips that lock the element down. I couldn't set it down on the roof, and I couldn't reach my tools while holding it up. And, I had my coax zip-stripped to the antenna boom and the mast. Thank God for my fake chimney to the fake fireplace that I don't use.

4. You don't want to be looking up with pride at your accomplishment, and utter the immortal phrase: "Uh oh..."

5. I couldn't find anywhere exactly how taut the wires should be. A went with just taut enough to straighten the wires. I tightend each one a little, then went to the next one, and proceeded in this fashion, making several orbits of the mast, until they all seem fairly tight. They're not guitar strings-I didn't want them musical.

6. I expect to go back up in a few days to re-inspect them. Maybe the mast sections will settle into each other a bit more (especially if it gets warmer outside), or maybe one of my cable clamps will slip. Or something.

*7. Look up. You folks here are mostly over-achievers. Adding guy wires allows you to go a bit higher, and/or maybe put-up a larger antenna. That tree branch that was out of the way previously may be inconveniently close now, especially if it get's windy out.

8. Partially sink some heavy screws into the mast just above the bracket where it mounts to the tripod. The downward pressure from the wires may start to pull the mast down, and you don't want your shingles messed up, right?

9. I remounted my pre-amp to be on the bottom section of mast, rather than near the antenna. I'd like to upgrade it in the future, and lowering the mast now would be....inconvenient....

10. Bypass your pre-amp at first.See what the reception baseline is. Introduce the amp again later, and see if it made a bit different.

10. Wait for a day (or weekend) when everything that happens to you is bad. Then expect the karma to even out in favor of the antenna project.
I worked for me!

Go ahead and add to this, refute part of it or tell me that I am, without question, the single most incompetent person on the web

Goodnight all. I'm sleeping between lines of textl :drool2: :canada:

[LeeS]

Great post! The only thing I didn't see mentioned was your drip loops. :) I do realize that the subject or your thread was 'guy' wires.

Lee

[Architectural_Drafter]

Got em. Makes the wire a little loose, but hey, ya can't have everything...

I was thinking about the 'drip loop' thread while I was on the roof. Heh..heh..

I went back up this evening to hook up the pre-amp. The tension on the wires was a little less. The clamps haven't slipped, so I assume it's just a bit of 'settling in'. 2-3 turns of one of the turnbuckles, and all was right with the world.

How about a couple of silly questions?

1. Antenna masts. When you attach one to another, do they scrape enough of the paint off of each other so that you need only ground the bottom one? Should you jumper across the joint?

2. Is there any signal loss at the connectors on coax?

3. Can an orphan eat at a family-style restaurant?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[LeeS]

NO (if we are talking for lightning, it will find its way :), the antenna signal ground is through the coax.)

YES (with good connectors it is minimal, less connections the better, can't find the spec on it, its in here somewhere)

YES (but no discount)

When I need a smile I go to the 'drip loop' threads too. :)

Lee

[Architectural_Drafter]

3rd windstorm since the instalation of the guy wires.
The guy wires seem a little loose. I suspect a bit of stretching in the cables, or the turnbuckles have backed off a bit. I'd go up to check, but I had knee surgery last week, and a ladder is beyond me for a while.

And yes, you can have too large of an antenna. All of the elements that were upwind last night are bent back towards the boom. And I do mean bent. Cute little arcs, making my new antenna look like something that the owner neglected to take down after getting cable installed 20+ years ago...
It's gonna get pretty honkin' expensive if I have to replace my antenna after every storm. (central Iowa. Like it doesn't storm here much...) Looks like I'll be going back to the ol' reliable Magnavox combo antenna.

Here's a thought: I'll find a periscope from an old submarine (I'm sure they could be found at any midwestern salvage yard...) and build a housing for it at the peak of my roof. Mount my antenna to the top of the scope. Whenever I want to watch TV, I'll yell 'Up scope', and my darling, obedient children (insert sarcastic snicker here) will run upstairs and raise it.

I'm waiting...just waiting....for the day that my luck turns around... :)

[LeeS]

Dang, wind storm or tornado? :wow:

Lee

[Architectural_Drafter]

Just wind. There was a great deal of severe weather in the state last night, but the storm that blew through here wasn't even labeled 'severe'. Bunch of small limbs down in my yard, though.

I know it wasn't the nearby tree. It'd have to uproot itself to reach. Plus, it's closer to the UHF end, which is fine. But the longer the element, the more it's bent. If a branch broke free and whapped it, it left no evidence that I can see.

Just another in a long series of unfortunate occurences.
This is where Marty Feldman says 'I dunno, it could be worse. Could be raining...'

Might get the ol' sawzall out and make it a UHF only antenna. Just for kicks.

[Architectural_Drafter]

Late blooming tree. Enhanced gravitational forces. Add a little water and some wind, and branches that I thought were safely out of the way bent down to whap my precious, precious antenna. I went up on my roof today to find where the water was penetrating my 1 year old roof, (5" of rain in about 4 hours or so last night. Happily, the 3 tornados in our county last night missed us) and checked the antenna out. I'd been postponing going up due to my recent knee surgery, but felt it necessary as I had about 2 gallons of water built up in a kitchen trashcan placed strategically in my theater room, under a slot I cut in the ceiling drywall at a drip that had formed. I get to replace some drywall and insulation, but none of the electronics or speakers were doused. The guy wires, the antenna mounts, the cable entry points, were all solid. The leak involed 2 intersecting roof slopes and a poorly placed roof vent. (Leak, HA! Once a point was reached, it was basically like it was flowing into a drain.)

Maybe without the guy wires, the mast would have bent with the wind, and the antenna wouldn't have been mangled. Or the tripod would have ripped out of the roof, leaving great big gaping holes. Whatever...

Yeah, I know that this was mostly a rant, but MAN i've had a couple of bad months. I AM the great attractor of minor misfortunes...