Antenna from Telephone Pole

[Destro]

I have this telephone/power pole in my backyard. And I was thinking about putting a little pulley or something on it about 4 feet under where the wires are. And then I could use it to pull my roll up Jpole antenna up.

My question is, would there be interference from the power lines?

 

[WRUU653]

Those are not telephone wires.  This is a very very bad idea. Do not do it.

[SteveShannon]

Yes, there easily could be interference, but more importantly you would be affecting the safety of any lineman that needs to climb it as well as risking your own safety while placing your pulley on the pole. 
The first time a lineman has to climb that pole he’s going rip your stuff off of it and toss it into the trees. 
 

[WRTC928]

Under no circumstances would I put an antenna on a pole carrying electrical wires. If you kept the antenna lower than the wires, you might be okay, but you also might get a high wind that tossed your antenna or coax into the wires. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. 

[WRUE951]

That is secondary power service...  Now, if you owned the pole, (many cases on private property you could) then mounting on the wood pole may be o.k.   However you would need to adhere to your States PUC requirements for making attachments..  i.e.  California State PUC  (CPUC) requires you maintain 4 feet of clearance from Secondary services and 6 feet from Primary services..   Mounting a J-Pole would probably work ok if you were able to maintain proper clearance but not great. It would be better to mount antenna on a 24" standoff attached to the pole.  If a utility company owned the pole, all bets are off, you can't attach to the pole, it would be a trespass violation and worse if someone was inured as a result of unauthorized attachments.   

 

P.S., utility owned poles will have numbers either etched into the pole or on stamps on a steel plate attached at the base of pole, usually about 6' abv ground level.  The best thing to confirm would be to call your local power company.  

[Destro]

This is in my backyard. And I wouldn't even try to get close to it. Like I said about 4 feet below (or more) the other wires. I doubt I will end up doing, I'm more just curious about the interference.

[HHD1]

Personally, I wouldn't F with that.  There has got to be a better way.  But, you do you.

[Destro]

1 minute ago, HHD1 said:

Personally, I wouldn't F with that.  There has got to be a better way.  But, you do you.

I hear you. Better off safe than sorry.

[WRYZ926]

I agree with every. Don't put anything on an electric utility pole. As Steve said, linemen will rip anything off that does not belong on the pole. 

Also check your state and local laws. I have a pole that feeds my house and another pole that feeds the neighbor's house (on property line) and the poles are still property of the utility company even if they are completely on personal property. Laws, regulations, and ordinances will vary from state to state.

Putting anything on an electric pole is more of a safety issue versus picking up interference from the power grid. Safety first!

@Destro Those look like residential feed lines. But there is still 220 volts present on them at all times. I can't stress Safety First enough. Don't attach anything to that pole and also be careful not to place any metal mast or tower close enough that they can fall onto those , or any, electrical cables.

As long as all connections and transformers are good then you shouldn't get much if any interference from the power lines. My property is surrounded on three sides by the main power lines and  a residential feed line on the fourth. My power goes to the pole and then under ground. I also have transformers on three sides of my property. I can tell when a connection or transformer goes bad as I will start to get noise on my GMRS, VHF/UHF, and HF radios.

There are plenty of other and safer ways to get an antenna up.

[Lscott]

On 10/17/2025 at 6:45 PM, Destro said:

I have this telephone/power pole in my backyard. And I was thinking about putting a little pulley or something on it about 4 feet under where the wires are. And then I could use it to pull my roll up Jpole antenna up.

My question is, would there be interference from the power lines?

 

The main point is YOU DON'T OWN that utility pole! It would be like your neighbor attaching something to you house without permission. Yes I've heard of some Hams hanging one end of their long wire antenna on one, but getting a citation from the city, court order to remove etc. isn't worth the trouble.

Now a few people have "purchased" a untility pole, installed it well within their property, no easements, and used it as a cheap antenna tower.  An idea to consider.

[WRQI663]

As a former Telco and cable tech, I would rip down anything that was in my workspace.....That doesn't look like power, maybe catv or telco service drops - not sure about the grey cable, but I've seen idiots use inside wire as a quick "fix".

[WSFA998]

32 minutes ago, WRQI663 said:

As a former Telco and cable tech, I would rip down anything that was in my workspace.....That doesn't look like power, maybe catv or telco service drops - not sure about the grey cable, but I've seen idiots use inside wire as a quick "fix".

I work for a utility. Looks to me like its almost certainly a triplex power line. Consists of two insulated hot conductors wrapped around an uninsulated neutral conductor, providing 120/240V split phase power. If OP were to trace the run back to the street it probably is terminated into the three secondary terminals on a pole mounted transformer. Can't advise going anywhere near that if you aren't trained properly.

AFAIK comms cables usually either self supporting or wrapped to a support cable with a thin gauge lashing wire. Doesn't appear to be the case here.

[WRUE951]

1 hour ago, WRQI663 said:

As a former Telco and cable tech, I would rip down anything that was in my workspace.....That doesn't look like power, maybe catv or telco service drops - not sure about the grey cable, but I've seen idiots use inside wire as a quick "fix".

what you are seeing as the 'gray' cable is actually the steel strand the electric service is attached to..  Certainly looks like it's on private property.  But I've seen shady work like that done by the actual utility workers in Oregon and Washington.. Both states did not have a GO95 up until 1995 when they adopted safe construction practices.  

[WRUE951]

47 minutes ago, WSFA998 said:

I work for a utility. Looks to me like its almost certainly a triplex power line. Consists of two insulated hot conductors wrapped around an uninsulated neutral conductor, providing 120/240V split phase power. If OP were to trace the run back to the street it probably is terminated into the three secondary terminals on a pole mounted transformer. Can't advise going anywhere near that if you aren't trained properly.

AFAIK comms cables usually either self supporting or wrapped to a support cable with a thin gauge lashing wire. Doesn't appear to be the case here.

that's what it is

[SteveShannon]

56 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

that's what it is

I agree.

1 hour ago, WSFA998 said:

I work for a utility. Looks to me like its almost certainly a triplex power line. Consists of two insulated hot conductors wrapped around an uninsulated neutral conductor, providing 120/240V split phase power. If OP were to trace the run back to the street it probably is terminated into the three secondary terminals on a pole mounted transformer. Can't advise going anywhere near that if you aren't trained properly.

Exactly right.  

[WRQI663]

I agree, I have been retired for a while, I would have to see the whole path of that cable to be sure of what it is.

[WRYZ926]

There is no question that the photo in question shows electrical wires. That is a typical residential 220V feed from a transformer. 

Even if that is not a power pole, you should never put anything on any utility pole that has electric, phone, cable, or other services on it.

As the retired linemen have stated, the utility company will remove anything that a homeowner installs on a  pole. Plus there is the safety factor. And I can't stress Safety First enough. I've seen enough Bubba the backyard electrician get seriously hurt or worse by messing with 220V residential feeds.

 

[WRCZ387]

On 10/20/2025 at 1:44 PM, Lscott said:

Now a few people have "purchased" a utility pole, installed it well within their property, no easements, and used it as a cheap antenna tower. An idea to consider.

Years ago, I read an article on doing that either in 73 or Ham Radio Magazine

If I can locate the particular issue in the archives, I'll post a link to it

[WRYZ926]

I know a few that have a big enough property that has installed their own poles for HF loop antennas. You have to have big area for a 80m or 160m loop.

[WRUE951]

22 minutes ago, WRCZ387 said:

Years ago, I read an article on doing that either in 73 or Ham Radio Magazine

If I can locate the particular issue in the archives, I'll post a link to it

The only problem using a utility pole as an antenna mast, you gotta climb it, unless you are fortunate to have or know someone with a bucket truck..  Average utility poles are 45', - 6' in the ground, so you get about 40'.  

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, WRUE951 said:

The only problem using a utility pole as an antenna mast, you gotta climb it, unless you are fortunate to have or know someone with a bucket truck..  Average utility poles are 45', - 6' in the ground, so you get about 40'.  

I'm not up on the cost of the utility pole but I'm guessing it's cheaper than a tilt-over or crank-up type tower. A 40 foot pole, or tower, is a fairly good height for VHF and UHF communications. The towers also require a good sized concrete  base, which gets expensive too. 

Oh, with a pole one could always attach a length of heavy duty mast for a bit of extra height.

[WRUE951]

1 hour ago, Lscott said:

I'm not up on the cost of the utility pole but I'm guessing it's cheaper than a tilt-over or crank-up type tower. A 40 foot pole, or tower, is a fairly good height for VHF and UHF communications. The towers also require a good sized concrete  base, which gets expensive too. 

Oh, with a pole one could always attach a length of heavy duty mast for a bit of extra height.

if you know the right person(s) they're free..  Personally, i use a home brew 30' tilt up (non-support)..  Makes life really easy.  I use to climb poles some 40 years ago and have no interest ever doing that again.  

[Lscott]

2 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

I use to climb poles some 40 years ago and have no interest ever doing that again.  

[WRTC928]

On 10/20/2025 at 12:44 PM, Lscott said:

Now a few people have "purchased" a untility pole, installed it well within their property, no easements, and used it as a cheap antenna tower.  An idea to consider.

Hmm...  If I had a 30' utility pole and attached a 35' telescoping fiberglass mast (about as long as you can get without having to guy it) to the top, I'd have a pretty impressive antenna. It's worth consideration.

[WRUE951]

2 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

Hmm...  If I had a 30' utility pole and attached a 35' telescoping fiberglass mast (about as long as you can get without having to guy it) to the top, I'd have a pretty impressive antenna. It's worth consideration.

Think i would consider installing the antenna on this apparatus before putting too much more thought in this idea. .  

[WRTC928]

19 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

Think i would consider installing the antenna on this apparatus before putting too much more thought in this idea. .  

Okay, wise guy.  I thought that went without saying.