Installing an Antenna Support Structure
- Put together a schematic of your proposed plan.
- Talk to someone who knows what they are doing for a Sanity Check.
- Identify antenna support structure location.
- Contact local authorities & utility companies to confirm you are complying with local and federal laws. This makes sure you don’t accidentally dig into underground cables.
- Laws, cost and application usually determines the height. Make sure you comply with your local laws. This is very important.
- Hire an engineering company - I will strongly suggest you do this if you have no experience with construction and electrical work. We are all about DIY but I wanted to sleep peacefully on future stormy nights. And I met some very knowledgeable people who helped me setup my station safely.
Also talk to your local club members. If you are hiring, hire from recommendations from them.
- Get the structure. Sometimes you can get a tilt mount with it or build one yourself (with help from engineers).
- Excavate the base - Around 4ft or more depending on the support structure manufacture’s instructions.
- Hire a concrete truck or mix it yourself. Make a frame from rebar and install the base sections. Pour concrete in.
- Let it settle for a few days and then start installing rest of the sections.
- Now install grounding rods and bond them to your structure’s legs using heavy gauge copper wire using grounding clamps.
- Install lighting arrestor and surge arrestors at the base and terminate your coax from antenna there.