Outdoor TV antenna advice

[jinman]

A standard VHF antenna may be needed for some channels that did not move to UHF. We have one of those in the Dallas/Ft Worth area (Channel 8, WFAA). Also, a good high-gain UHF antenna might improve your reception and keep channels from dropping if you are in a fringe area. I am 75 miles away from the broadcast towers and my UHF antenna works great.

How about renting a manlift? You will surely be able to do that much more cheaply and safely than trying to disassemble that tower. If the height still bothers you with a manlift, I'd bet you can find a friend willing to do the job for you. Manlifts are a terrific option for a job like yours. If you have a relatively flat area, they have one manlift that you tow behind your car or pickup to your site. These normally go as high as 40', so they are plenty good for working on your tower. They have to be levelled before they will operate and that can be a pain on uneven ground, but it is still very doable. The heavier ones are even better, and don't require levelling, but you will have to pay a delivery fee.

 

[MossRoad]

Hire a professional to do it. It's foolish to risk your life for a few hundred bucks.

We should all hire professional limo drivers, too, then, because there is probably more risk of getting killed driving to work each day than there is working on an antenna. :thumbsup:

 

[DANOCHEESE]

Also higher is not always better for TV reception. HD antennas is all marketing hype. Verify the station that you desire is either UHF or VHF. Then youmay need ot tweak.

 

[MossRoad]

I am in agreement that you should try the existing antenna, first. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Second,
Take some pictures of the bottom of the tower and post them here.

Third,
Take another look at the tower and see how long the sections are and exactly how tall the tower really is.

Two strong people can put up and take down a 30' tower on a hinge without assistance. You can make a tower into a hinged tower fairly easily with some angle iron, drill and bolts.

Finally, measure the tower and look for power lines. The general rule of thumb is if there are power lines withing one and a half times the height of the tower, don't do it. At that point, call a professional. Example... tower is 30' tall. If there are power lines withing 45' of the base, don't do it. I know of one person that was killed taking down a tower in our neighborhood when it hit power lines. I know a second that was taking down a tower and the base was rotten. It bounced on some power lines and took out the neighborhood. I know of two young men in our town that were killed on a painting job when their aluminum ladder hit power lines. So use some common sense. :thumbsup:

 

[TNTractor1]

Great thoughts everyone! I love this website. The tower has a large antenna and a second smaller one already on it... I had no idea that I didn't need an "HD" antenna! The wire is even hanging down about 5 feet off the ground (flat brown wire)... So I just need to somehow connect my coax cable to the brown wire and the to the tv and see what I get. I like this much better than wrangling with that tower!

 

[keegs]

I replaced my older VHF/UHF antenna with a new Yagi UHF antenna. Didn't make much of a difference.

The guy that cleaned my gutters swapped it out for me. He charged me $30 extra to do the antenna.

 

[dmccarty]

Great thoughts everyone! I love this website. The tower has a large antenna and a second smaller one already on it... I had no idea that I didn't need an "HD" antenna! The wire is even hanging down about 5 feet off the ground (flat brown wire)... So I just need to somehow connect my coax cable to the brown wire and the to the tv and see what I get. I like this much better than wrangling with that tower!

Radio Shack sells a device to connect the coax to the flat 300 Ohm wire. Home Depot and Lowes likely sell the device as well.

Later,
Dan

 

[vwnotrunning]

check with the local Ham Radio club. They quite often have members that are willing to help with something like this.

 

[duanekeys]

Try this site which will tell you type of antenna (likely the existing one will work) and the direction you need to point it.

AntennaWeb

 

[sal64]

I have a situation I need some advice on. We just moved into a house that has a TV antenna mounted on a tower right next to the house. I would estimate the tower to be around 25 - 30 feet tall. (just like the one in the picture I attached) I want to mount an HD TV antenna at the top. Here is the problem.... 1. I am afraid of heights and 2. even if I was not afraid of heights, our house sits on a hillside so, it would be difficult/dangerous for me to attempt. Here is my question: The tower looks to be put together in sections (maybe 6 foot sections... from my memory), would it be possible to detach the tower at the lowest section above the ground and then lower the tall section attach, the antenna, then raise it back up and re-attach? I have no idea how much the tower weighs (seems relatively light) and I know it will be difficult handling the tower from the bottom with all the weight up in the air. I am not optimistic about this option, but I thought some of you might have experience with this type of tower. Any ideas are welcomed. The picture below is not my actual tower, but it looks just like it and seems to be the same height. Thanks.

did u try mounting the tv antenna on your roof? it mite work, if your house is high enough, stand straight up hold the antenna up and walk around on your roof to find best spot.