Even as we speak, I am installing a tripod on my roof. It will hold the CM 9521A rotor atop a 5' mast, which in turn will hold a 2' or 3' mast with a CM3671 and a Wineguard HDP-269 preamp. I plan to do the tripod today, and perhaps the masts, rotor and antenna. The preamp will wait for another day, see below. All OTA coax is independent of the Dish satellite coax (no diplexing).
The tripod will have one leg screwed into a rafter. The other two legs will just go into the roof. Asphalt pads will be used all around. The tripod came with six 2" x 1/4" lag screws. Two will go into a rafter. The others would just go into the roof sheathing. I am considering 3 options:
1. Just put the 6 lag screws in to the roof and not worry about it.
2. Mount a couple of 2x4s between rafters for the lag screws to bite into.
3. Use 4 stainless steel or brass bolts with washers and nuts to attach to the roof in place of the 4 lag screws that don't go into a rafter.
Which of the 3 options above do you recommend? Is there a better idea? Is it a bad idea to screw the lag screws into a rafter?
Also, the preamp is fed 18 volts. I will need to run the antenna feed thru an CS-208 8 way splitter (feeding 5 or 6 lines, some of which will be further split). The splitter is marked "all ports power pass." No brand is marked, but I bought it from Warren, along with everything else.
So I don't need to feed the preamp power between the antenna and splitter? Any drawbacks to feeding from one leg, even if that leg is 40 or 50 feet from the antenna?
If needed, I will run an outlet into the attic to power the preamp and an attic fan.
The rotor is to be mounted a certain way facing south. Fine, but that assumes the antenna is mounted a certain way with respect to the rotor. The instructions are silent on this, and the picture gives the impression that the antenna is mounted any which way. I gather the rotor has some sort of digital north finding mechanism, but that still assumes the antenna is mounted a certain way with respect to the rotor. I assume the widest elements in this antenna are the ones "away" from the stations and this is the side that I should point south, with the rotor mounted with it's "arrows" also facing south.
Is that the correct way to mount the antenna? Am I missing something?
This project has been delayed almost 2 months due to health and weather concerns. But today is the day. Off to Rat Shack for that 2 or 3 foot mast.
Thank you for any help.
The tripod will have one leg screwed into a rafter. The other two legs will just go into the roof. Asphalt pads will be used all around. The tripod came with six 2" x 1/4" lag screws. Two will go into a rafter. The others would just go into the roof sheathing. I am considering 3 options:
1. Just put the 6 lag screws in to the roof and not worry about it.
2. Mount a couple of 2x4s between rafters for the lag screws to bite into.
3. Use 4 stainless steel or brass bolts with washers and nuts to attach to the roof in place of the 4 lag screws that don't go into a rafter.
Which of the 3 options above do you recommend? Is there a better idea? Is it a bad idea to screw the lag screws into a rafter?
Also, the preamp is fed 18 volts. I will need to run the antenna feed thru an CS-208 8 way splitter (feeding 5 or 6 lines, some of which will be further split). The splitter is marked "all ports power pass." No brand is marked, but I bought it from Warren, along with everything else.
So I don't need to feed the preamp power between the antenna and splitter? Any drawbacks to feeding from one leg, even if that leg is 40 or 50 feet from the antenna?
If needed, I will run an outlet into the attic to power the preamp and an attic fan.
The rotor is to be mounted a certain way facing south. Fine, but that assumes the antenna is mounted a certain way with respect to the rotor. The instructions are silent on this, and the picture gives the impression that the antenna is mounted any which way. I gather the rotor has some sort of digital north finding mechanism, but that still assumes the antenna is mounted a certain way with respect to the rotor. I assume the widest elements in this antenna are the ones "away" from the stations and this is the side that I should point south, with the rotor mounted with it's "arrows" also facing south.
Is that the correct way to mount the antenna? Am I missing something?
This project has been delayed almost 2 months due to health and weather concerns. But today is the day. Off to Rat Shack for that 2 or 3 foot mast.
Thank you for any help.
