Install an Antenna Mast on a Hillside? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 10:41:33 am
content: HiI would like install an Antenna Mast on a Hillside. One of the problem is above our Yard is the Neighbour Yard who nobody life there right now.So how to mount a Antenna mast on the Boarder of your Yard to be as hight as possible.Any ideas?Thanks

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 12:09:49 pm
content: What type of antenna and what height were you thinking of? Do you plan to use it for transmission? (Got your license yet?)There may be regulations you have to observe -- you may have to keep a certain distance from your neighbor's property when erecting tall structures. This forum is the wrong place to ask; better check with your local council.Also, if you want to erect the tower right next to the property line, you will not be able to run any guy wires (to stabilize you tower) in the direction of your neighbor. There are self-supporting antenna towers which do not need guy wires, but they will typically be quite a bit more expensive.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 12:23:53 pm
content: There's also foundations to consider - if its on a significant gradient, and the foundations are poorly designed or constructed, one wet week followed by a heavy rain storm could result in a land-slide and your mast on its side and broken at the bottom of the hill.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 12:42:38 pm
content: QuoteVarious Antenna. I plan to mount 3x Magnetic Loop Antenna there (if the can mount in such a narrow Config).QuoteWell just ROLA, Wifi and other legal stuff. Maybe a VHF Antenna as Backup.QuoteWell the Antenna Mast is far away from any Structure like Building.The max higt is 10m what I know who I dont need a Permission for.QuoteRight that is what I sayed before.QuoteI thougt about a thick Steel Pipe with an big wall. A 10m (or non Metric 9m) long Pipe dont seem to be that hard to Handle.QuoteMy idea was to dig 2m in the Ground and put 4x 10cm Pipes in there who get filled with concrete. Also xm to the Side to put support Bars there.QuoteWell the Hillside is Stable there nothing slide. If the House above our Yard would get unstable.Thats why I want use support Bars.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 02:08:58 pm
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on February 17, 2020, 12:42:38 pmOK, that's still a modest height. You could look at flagpoles (Fahnenmasten). Similar size and construction. You may be able to get a suitable pole with known-good stability at a decent price, and should be able to find guidance on the required foundation.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 02:09:24 pm
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on February 17, 2020, 12:42:38 pmPlease don't use heavy walled pipe particularly in the lengths you have in mind. You want thin walled large diameter galvanised steel tube and I would suggest no higher than a 6 meter length in 50mm diameter using wall brackets or short arm mounts spaced about 800mm apart. Anything larger than a 50mm tube can make it difficult to mount stuff as larger U bolts and Vee blocks will be required.You could concrete in a 120-150mm square section to say 3 meters above ground as the base stage then bolt on the 6 meter tubular section to achieve the required height. You also need to be able to drop the mast for modifications and maintenance hence my recommendation for a lighter more manageable section.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 02:15:34 pm
content: Good idea. Idea V. Alpha 2.0 is to use a Pipe with an big Diameter for the first 3m (?) and on top a 6m (- 7m) smaller Diameter one.Is there some Tilting Mechanism I can use on the Market?

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 02:34:43 pm
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on February 17, 2020, 02:15:34 pmDepending on the weight of the antenna array you probably won't need a tilting mechanism to lower the mast. You should be able to simply lean a ladder against the base stage and loosen the wall brackets which will enable the tubular section to slide down to ground, then you should be able to walk it down the rest of the way.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 02:43:06 pm
content: Well I dont trust the base. Does a 2m deep Pipe can hold my wight to?I must digg and see if there is any big stone down there.What I realy know my Parents will hate me for.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 03:15:26 pm
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on February 17, 2020, 02:15:34 pmYou can buy these. The modern "brute force" steel version looks like this:http://www.adcon.ott-microsites.com/de-de/produkte/zubehoer-282/kippfuss-fuer-10m-teleskopmast-stahl-verzinkt-1672/The more traditional version uses two short poles which are permantly set in the ground, and support the long pole about 0.5m to 1m above ground. That reduces the forces a lot due to a longer leverage:https://www.joda.de/Holz-im-Garten/Fahnenmasten/Fahnenmast-mit-Knauf-Leinenhalter-Seil-und-Mastfuss-V84070090.html

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 04:12:03 pm
content: on a Hill the problem is below the Mast mean +1m - +2m longer Steelbar.I dont know how many % the Hillside have but its very step.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 04:55:36 pm
content: How deep must I dig for the concrete?Thanks

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 05:19:42 pm
content: That's what you need a local civil engineer for, to do a site survey then tell you. Depth and size of concrete foundations depends on many many things including: slope, soil type, and predicted wind loads. Get it wrong and your mast ends up wrecked on its side!If you guess, you'll have to make it absolutely massive, to be certain it can never blow over. You want a 10m mast - I bet a 4m x 4m x 30cm thick reinforced concrete slab would hold it as the mast would break before it could tip a block of that size, which would weigh about ten tonnes! However that's a big ugly and expensive foundation.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 05:50:17 pm
content: The idea is to dig deep down to anker it down.In a 10m Radius there is nothing who really could be Damaged.Maybe some Apple get kicked from the Tree.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 07:23:18 pm
content: to give you an idea, here to mount a light pole, 6m tall, they dug a hole 1.5m by 1.5m, 2m deep, and put in a massive reinforcing bar cage, and then used a full load from a concrete truck, around 6 cubic metres of concrete, to make a foundation for 1 pole. This is because the pole has a caternary wire on it, to support lights in the middle of the road.Turned out that the single LED lamps mid span were not bright enough, so the poles got 400W HPS lamps installed on them, to provide light, and then they installed 60W led fixtures to light the pavements as well.But at least they reused the old 150 year old poles, a feature of the road, dating back to when there were trolley buses around. The bus stop across the street is a historical landmark as well.

author: SmallCog
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 04:44:31 am
content: Sounds to me like it’s not your property (your parents?) so spending a lot of money on a decent tower may be a waste. Building some dodgy non engineered 10m tower will surely upset your neighbors and could hurt someone if it falls over.Perhaps something like this would be a better option? Not necessarily this one, just an example.https://blackhawkantennas.com.au/portable-telescopic-tripod-5m-extended-height/You can lower it to work on it meaning you won’t kill yourself falling off it and you won’t have to build it to take the stresses of being climbed.You can lower it when not being used if it pisses off your parents or neighboursYou can take it with you should you move houseThey’re not that expensive compared to the engineering, earthworks, materials, etc to build a rigid tower.We have a lot of towers at work. Some are tilt towers to save needing to climb them but these still have a lot of concrete in the base. Our 7.5m tilt towers counterbalanced to carry 20kg on the top have about 2m3 of concrete holding them in to the ground (at the insistence of the design engineers, insurers, building permits etc)Concrete isn’t exactly expensive but it’s not cheap either. If you can’t get the truck next to your hole you’ll have added costs for pumping or barrowing or cribbing it into place.Some of our sites use windmills as radio towers. We won’t be putting any more in due to the safety issues of climbing them but they do make a solid, cheap, and effective tower that doesn’t have guy ropes.