mm wrote in
:

On Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:17:37 -0600, Red Green
wrote:

mm wrote in
m:

On Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:46:57 -0500, aemeijers
wrote:

Red Green wrote:
"hr(bob) " wrote in

om
:

On Dec 30, 4:41 pm, Red Green wrote:
mm wrote
innews:ashnj55ci62e5fnq9s8rtefhjcjg57
:
Removing part of one truss, temporarily.
Why would you even risk such a thing for a TV antenna and "some
things"?

You can't just go whack up a truss and stick it back together so
it looks good & strong even if everything goes well.

First person down the road like a potential buyer, home
inspector,

That's a good point.

etc is going to want to see is the paper from the PE with the
repair spec, signature and PE stamp.
....
Even if the roof were to sag when one section is out, can't it
be lifted up again and then the truss repaired, or some other
method used to put the sagging part back where it belongs?
Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
IF you do go ahead with this, why not put the sister in place
before you cut the truss support? You could put new supports in
that would clear the antenna and then cut out the existing lumber
that is in place.

That's an idea too. I hadn't thought of it.


Hey, why not whack up the antenna and sister it back together with
dowels and duct tape?

Could even use some cardboard and duct tape to make gussets.

Actually, not a bad idea. Replace the longer elements on the antenna
with something metal the same length that can be snapped off and on
as needed.

Solidsignal.com has email and telephone help, and I called and asked
if the elements came off. Unfortunately she had to check with
someone who had actually held an antenna, but the answer was no.
But I still might drill out the rivet on one or two elements if I
have to and reattach with a screw and nut.

I also made sure that each element opened separately. I was afraid
it might be like an umbrella. On some antennas, two or more
elements hinge in the opposite direction and they're worried the
customer will break one by getting it stuck under another and then
forcing it, so I won't do that.

orr maybe modify the existing antenna by making clean cuts on the
too-long elements, and reassemble them using tubing to make a sleeve
that the elements fit tightly into, with set screws to hold it all
together.

That's a good idea.

Inside, out of the weather, all the elements need to do is
hold themselves up and in the proper orientation, not fight the
wind. One could even make a usable antenna out of copper wire
segments hung in the proper orientation, held up with non-conductive
fish line.

I figure it's worth spending a little money, when it's a one-time
cost and only 60 to 80 dollars. Right now I get most of the
stations I want just with a single strand 7-foot piece of wire stuck
into the coaxial connector hole, then draped over a dresser. I get
3 or 3 DC stations this way, plus 7.2, and I'm in Baltimore. I'm
hoping to get four or five more, counting x.1, x.2, x.3, and maybe
one really good one,

For damn sure I'd do something like that before I went mucking up
the trusses.

Well, cutting the truss was only a last ditch idea if nothing else
worked. It's probably more likely I'd try to return the
antenna, or sell it, and buy the next smaller one.

But I like to plan for all contingencies in advance.

Thanks to all of you.



I was just kidding about hacking up the antenna!

That's okay. I'm crazy enough to do it!**

Not sure why you don't want to mount it outside on the house.

That would get me 10 added feet or more, but according to tvfool.com,
I would have to have the antenna 50 feet high to get more stations
than one in the attic is likely to get.

Plus I'd have to borrow a ladder, probably from a friend who would
insist on bringing it over for me, I'm fatter than ever, and it's cold
outside, the antenna won't weather in the attic, and won't fall over,
ever.

I considered erecting a mast from the ground, underneath a fir tree
and putting 30 feet of the mast withn the tree.

They both seem too much work for what I'm likely to get.

I stuck one of these $35/40 Walmart jobs outside on the chimney
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=11019010

I only have a round galvanized chimney. I don't think it will hold an
antenna, will it? There is still roof mount.

The one I mentioned is just some lightweight plastic thing.


I get a bunch of stations from Raleigh which is 45 (air) miles north
to their transmitters. Also get a couple from Myrtle Beach SC which is
a little further and south. It's a cheap CRT digital TV.

Might mention that it has one of those little inline boosters
(amplified) that goes to a wall wart. When I unplug that I get almost
nothing. When in, everything comes in clear.

Very interesting!!! How far is the antenna from your tv?

Total probably 35 ft of line.


People keep telling me that "The amplifier is only to make up for
losses from the antenna to the tv, not to get more stations", but
since there are weak stations, those seem like more or less the same
thing to me. And unless your antenna is 50 or 80 feet from the tv,
your experience agrees with what I thought.

I'm no TV or antenna guru so I'm not going to argue with "the people". I
just know what's here, the fact that it works and the inline amp does
something to make it work. Sorta like how aluminum hats work. Leave the
reasons to "the people".


I don't watch much TV so it's good enough
for me.

I watch it a lot, but since one digital station now has RTV and
another has WITH, there's really enough on.

But I want my old stations back and the antenna prices are 60, 66, and
80 dollars. For the same effort, I want to put in the biggest that
will fit.

If I were to be here for any length of time I'd see it just about the
same as you.


(I get one PBS channel but I"m missing on PBS channel 26 an hour of
news Friday night, plus an hour of Monk if he's still on, plus an old
movie on Saturday nights, some I want to see, some I don't.)

The stations I know I can get are all in the direction parallel to the
trusses, but I can still rotate the antenna 10 or 15 degrees each way.
I think I could fit an even longer one than the 6P, but the longer the
antenna, the less I'll be able to point it. That reminds me. I'm
supposed to find my compass and verify exactly what direction my house
faces.

**Well, I probably could cut off an element, because all but one of
the antennas I'm considering have more VHF elements for channels 7 to
13 than there are channels. 13-6= 7 The biggest one I'm likely to
buy, the 6P, has 15 VHF elements for 7 channels. I'm pretty sure I
could sacrifice one or two and it would still work well.

Plus there is no channel 10 or 12 I have any chance of getting here,
The odds are 2 out of 7 that if I take off an element, it will be one
intended for a channel that doesn't exist around here. (But the plan
is to drill out the rivet and then bolt it back.)

Plus 11 and 13 are local and so strong, they should come in no matter
what. That only leaves 7, 8, and 9, two of which I can get with just
with a 7-foot single strand wire. That leaves channel 8, which I
would like to get.