Antenna setup recommendations needed for rural area

[tigerbangs]

You will need an addidional mast, 5' long to sit on top of the rotator on which the antenna mounts. When attaching the cable to the antenna and masting, use zip=ties to hold the wire to the masting, and where the rotator connects the two pieces of mast, use about an extra 16" of slack in the cable to allow the rotator to turn without fouling the cable. Be sure to zip-tie the coax cable just above and below the rotator to insure that the cable doesn't snag any components

Radio Shack, and most home-improvement stores have TV masting, which is 1 1/4' in diameter.

[cmuspmed]

Just so I know I am understand you correctly, I need two lengths of mast - One that attaches to the gable mount which the rotator will attach to, and one that sets in the rotator that attaches to the antenna. Is it appropriate to have the rotator attached to the gable mast just above the roof, essentially sitting on the roof?

[tigerbangs]

The rotor should not be attached directly to the gable: you should secure the lower mast to the gable with an appropriate mounting bracket(s), then mount the rotator on top of the lower bracket, then mount the antenna(s) on the second mast attached to the upper part of the rotator. When mounting the rotator, remember to use a compass and be sure that your antennas are aimed SOUTH when installing. Rotators are configured from the factory using south as their default. In this way, the compass points or degree points will line up with the actual position of the antennas.

[cmuspmed]

Yeah, I meant mounting the lower mast to the gable, attaching the rotator to the lower mast, and attaching the upper mast/antenna to the rotator.

One last question (I think), does it matter which direction the actual rotator faces when installed, or just the antenna?

[tigerbangs]

The antenna position is the only important consideration.

[cmuspmed]

Another question (I know, I know).

I went to a local hardware store and they mentioned using some galvanized conduit as a mast. My question then is, would that work and what diameter? Any other suggestions for alternatives?

[tigerbangs]

You need 1 1/4" masting. I suggest using real antenna masting, since it is designed to dovetail , and is engineered for the specific application.. Radio Shack sells 5' masts fairly reasonably, and it is good quality masting. Galvanized masting tends to be rather soft, and bends more easily.

[cmuspmed]

That makes sense and kind of what I was concerned about if I didn't get the actual masting.

[cmuspmed]

Have had the system up for several days. Getting at least 30 channels. Very impressed. Thank you.

One question: How often should I expect to sync the rotator? It seems to get out of sync relatively regularly but we are using it alot. It could be my imagination as well. Just wondering if syncing it once per day or more is excessive.

[tigerbangs]

I'm glad to hear that it worked well for you: you are in an area rich with TV stations, so I would esily expect 30+ TV stations.

Rotators seem to need synching more when used often and in cold weather: that this time of the year, it wouldn't surprise me to see them need synching several times a week if you rotate the antenna severa;l times a day.