Mast height for base station

[WRZC903]

Hi there, 

I am new to GMRS and looking for guidance and best practices for putting up an Antenna to extend my reach. 

 

Thanks,

[marcspaz]

In the radio world, height is might. Get that thing in the air as high as you can.

 

35 feet is a modest improvement. You can get about 8.5 miles to the horizon in most relatively flat areas. Obviously better than that if you're on a hill.

[WRZC903]

marcspaz, thank you for the information. I see that there are several kinds of masts online. I see aluminum as well as fiberglass. How do you protect the radio from the potential damage of lighting strikes. 

[jsneezy]

2 minutes ago, WRZC903 said:

marcspaz, thank you for the information. I see that there are several kinds of masts online. I see aluminum as well as fiberglass. How do you protect the radio from the potential damage of lighting strikes. 

I think a lightning arrestor and proper grounding are going to be the solution for that. 

[marcspaz]

There are some really good books/guides that have been published on station grounding. There are some important specifics, but it involves tying ing the home ground, adding ground stakes and lines, and lightning arrestors.

 

I recommend checking out some of the publications that are out there. Some of the folks who have done it may have some author/title recommendations. 

[Flameout]

I use four 10' sections of that galvanized top rail used in fencing. It was only meant to be temporary, but so far is working good. Yes, there are guy wires

[WRZC903]

3 minutes ago, Flameout said:

I use four 10' sections of that galvanized top rail used in fencing. It was only meant to be temporary, but so far is working good. Yes, there are guy wires

Is that 40ft above your roof or from ground. I utilized Google university and seen were some used collapsible flag poles. 

[WRYZ926]

One caution about about using fence top rail or even 1 5/8" fence posts connected together. You will want to support the poles by clamping them to a structure and/or using guy wires to support the mast. I am using three 8 foot 1 5/8" one posts connected together and they are pretty flimsy without any wall clamps. Two poles together sticks 2 feet above my roof. I will have ten foot of mast plus antenna sticking above my roof so I will have to guy it. The two lower poles are attached to the house with a couple of wall clamps.

Grounding antennas, coax, etc can and does cause some arguments at times. I won't get into it other than to suggest reading the many books on the subject. There are also NEC codes and local building codes to abide by.

 

[Flameout]

20 minutes ago, WRZC903 said:

Is that 40ft above your roof or from ground. I utilized Google university and seen were some used collapsible flag poles. 

It's 40' from the ground. That mast/roof line is about 12' and it's also secured to the fascia right at that point.  I would love to get it higher, with a tower, but that's way too expensive right now

[WRYZ926]

13 minutes ago, Flameout said:

It's 40' from the ground. That mast/roof line is about 12' and it's also secured to the fascia right at that point.  I would love to get it higher, with a tower, but that's way too expensive right now

Make sure to use guy wires for everything sticking above your roof. 1 3/8" and 1 5/8" fence rails are flimsy when not supported.

[WRXB215]

I'm going to use fired bricks and build a tower up into the heavens and...

...oh wait, someone already tried that, confusion ensued.