Newbie Base Station Setup diagram

[Robb]

Ok, so I have the location for my antenna mast now. Now I set it up yesterday morning so I could see how much it will move in the wind. It sways maybe 1-3 feet at the most, however, this is without the antenna on it. So I figure it will sway at least double that once I get the antenna up. Here is a quick diagram of my ideas for some guy wires. I am not able to secure any guys in the dirt lot where this picture was taken from due to the cable and electric companies needing access to the power pole behind my yard. The green lines are possible spots for guys, don't know if they would work very well there though. The red lines are my first choice for guys.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Do the red and the green guy wires. That should make it sturdy enough. Just have the height of the guy wires 8 ft below the antenna feedpoint on the IMAX.
Next, you will need to calculate the coax length. Be sure to add about 6 ft extra for "wiggle room".

 

[will85w4]

It's a desert.

Enough water is wasted down here watering all the exclusive golf courses as it is...

Plus, it's easier to take care of

I know this doesn't have anything to do with this thread, but it was a comment made in this thread, so here's an interesting link to see how much water you use.

H2O CONSERVE

 

[will85w4]

Do the red and the green guy wires. That should make it sturdy enough. Just have the height of the guy wires 8 ft below the antenna feedpoint on the IMAX.
Next, you will need to calculate the coax length. Be sure to add about 6 ft extra for "wiggle room".

Thank you Robb for the advice.

 

[W5LZ]

Another alternative is to put the mast next to the house and guy to the fence on one side, the roof edges on the other side. Not sure how to describe it but, a couple of feet (?) to the front of the back edge of that latice work, is that a 'set back' at the roof line? If so, it would be one handy place to 'fix' the mast.
- 'Doc

 

[loosecannon]

not going to work, sorry.

i am not being pessimistic, or trying to be negative; i am speaking from personal experience.
i have been into this hobby for 23 years and have put up at least 10 different CB antennas by myself in different locations. (those do not include antennas ive put up for others)

in one of my installations, i was putting an antron 99 on 30 feet of pole on the side of my house, very similar to your situation.
in my situation, instead of a chain link fence it was a cinder block wall.
the distances involved were almost exactly the same as yours. (distance from the side of the house to the fence/wall)

i put two guy wires into the cinder block wall, and two across the roof.
it lasted two months just fine, and i thought it would continue to work, until a particularly gusty day, (not more than 50mph) when i came home from work to find my antenna laying horizontally across my roof.
the mast had folded (1 1/4 inch tubing made for antenna masts).
the guy wires were still all intact. i got very lucky that nothing, including the antenna was damaged.

what was the culprit? the angle!
those two guy wires i put in the cinder block wall did not have enough of an angle to them to be effective.
you really dont want to go much less than a 45* angle coming off of the antenna mast.
much less than 30* (approx) and the guy wires dont really serve their purpose very well.

right now, as per your diagram, you only have two directions covered.
it wont make any difference whatsoever whether you mount the guy wires to the fence or the eaves of the house.
the angle is just not great enough.

have you considered mounting the antenna in the center of your roof?

this would give you four good guying points. one at each corner of the house.
if you can find a three foot tripod, it might be just the ticket.

i hope my experience can help you.
i cannot overemphasize the worry factor in a base antenna installation.
at the VERY least, you will have a broken antenna, and will likely be too discouraged to put up another one any time soon.
LC

 

[will85w4]

have you considered mounting the antenna in the center of your roof?

this would give you four good guying points. one at each corner of the house.
if you can find a three foot tripod, it might be just the ticket.

Unfortunately, I cannot put it on the roof. So, I have been considering my original placement since I have good guy wire points that I can use for it. But am not sure yet...When I get the antenna I will be playing around with it some more to test out the best placement.

 

[Robb]

not going to work, sorry.

i am not being pessimistic, or trying to be negative; i am speaking from personal experience.
i have been into this hobby for 23 years and have put up at least 10 different CB antennas by myself in different locations. (those do not include antennas ive put up for others)

in one of my installations, i was putting an antron 99 on 30 feet of pole on the side of my house, very similar to your situation.
in my situation, instead of a chain link fence it was a cinder block wall.
the distances involved were almost exactly the same as yours. (distance from the side of the house to the fence/wall)

i put two guy wires into the cinder block wall, and two across the roof.
it lasted two months just fine, and i thought it would continue to work, until a particularly gusty day, (not more than 50mph) when i came home from work to find my antenna laying horizontally across my roof.
the mast had folded (1 1/4 inch tubing made for antenna masts).
the guy wires were still all intact. i got very lucky that nothing, including the antenna was damaged.

what was the culprit? the angle!
those two guy wires i put in the cinder block wall did not have enough of an angle to them to be effective.
you really dont want to go much less than a 45* angle coming off of the antenna mast.
much less than 30* (approx) and the guy wires dont really serve their purpose very well.

right now, as per your diagram, you only have two directions covered.
it wont make any difference whatsoever whether you mount the guy wires to the fence or the eaves of the house.
the angle is just not great enough.

have you considered mounting the antenna in the center of your roof?

this would give you four good guying points. one at each corner of the house.
if you can find a three foot tripod, it might be just the ticket.

i hope my experience can help you.
i cannot overemphasize the worry factor in a base antenna installation.
at the VERY least, you will have a broken antenna, and will likely be too discouraged to put up another one any time soon.
LC

I agree. Whatever it takes to make it as sturdy and SAFE as possible I would agree with. Please make sure it will withstand winds and not hit power lines. I cannot stress that enough...

 

[Marconi]

Way to go Robb, now you are being responsible with an new inexperienced CB operator.

 

[will85w4]

Antenna set up 99% complete...here's some pics. I do have to make a few adjustments, but for now, it's working and very sturdy. It has already been through a few very strong wind storms with winds up to 60mph. The IMAX 2000 was a good choice in my opinion due to the high winds that our area experiences almost on a regular basis.

 

[hotrod]

looks good.try bending the radials up so there more horizonial supposed to be
better .ive never tried but couldnt hurt either

 

[will85w4]

looks good.try bending the radials up so there more horizonial supposed to be
better .ive never tried but couldnt hurt either

I feel dumb asking this, but what do you mean ("...bending the radials up so they're more horizontal...)?

 

[W5LZ]

(Psst - He thought the guys were radials)

 

[will85w4]

(Psst - He thought the guys were radials)

Like a ground plane kit? Or just horizontal elements?

 

[loosecannon]

because the guy wires you used appear white in the photos, hotrod thought you had the groundplane kit that you can buy for the IMAX2000.

the radials on the groundplane kit stick out at about a 45* angle from the bottom of the antenna.

some have suggested that bending the bracket a bit so that the radials are more horizontal will help their performance.

i have never seen this tested, so take it for what its worth.
LC

 

[will85w4]

because the guy wires you used appear white in the photos, hotrod thought you had the groundplane kit that you can buy for the IMAX2000.

the radials on the groundplane kit stick out at about a 45* angle from the bottom of the antenna.

some have suggested that bending the bracket a bit so that the radials are more horizontal will help their performance.

i have never seen this tested, so take it for what its worth.
LC

Gracias LC, Gracias