Hi. I live in suburban detroit, michigan. I am trying to replace the
tripod and lead in wire for our roof-top tv antenna. I am wondering if
anyone can tell me how this was put together. go to
www.picturetrail.com/wh349055 and look at the pictures. Basically,
when the roofers put on a new tar and gravel roof, they used these
square metal things to support the tripod. Do these attach to
something under the tar? Thanks, Warren.

They are probably just the brackets that came with the tripod and are
screwed or laged into the roof sheething. When your tar and gravel roof
was installed they just gooped over everything to seal it up. The lead
wire enty point may have been done through an upside down 4" handy box.

You have a few options.

1) If its not leaking, just abandon it and install a new antenna. Use
sandbags to secure it so you do not need to penetrate the roof.

2) if it is leaking, remove everything down to the sheathing. Roof
cement then spread out the gravel. Use the sandbag trick.

3) Remove everything, install new tripod brackets, roof cement, replace
gravel.

4) Remove everything, repair roof with roofing cement, replace gravel.
Install a new antenna on side of house with stand off brackets lagged
into side of house.

5) Remove everything, repair roof with roofing cement, replace gravel.
Install a new antenna on to chimney with wrap around bands or masonary
anchors.

If it were me, I would do option #5. You get the asthetic benefit of
having a less visible antenna AND you no longer have a potential for a
leak. Find a new route for your new antenna wire that does not
interfeer with the roof. it may mean more wire but thats cheaper than
damage caused by a leak. it looks like you have a very small attic. Run
the cable from the chimney to the closest gable end and enter there and
then follow the path of the old wire if need be. Also, your new wire
will likely be 75OHM coax, not 300 Ohm flat wire like it looks you old
antenna used. Good luck if shopping at radio shack. They may have
everything you need but you will likely have an idiot helping you. I
have heard good things about http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
for selection help. I do not know a good brand or place online to buy
them.

Thanks for the reply. I guess its not visible from the angle of the
pictures, but the wire enters through something similar to the location
the antenna tripod feet go. Nothing leaks right now, I just want a new
antenna, and I want to re-do everything right at once. I am hoping i
can just drill out the wire entry point and run a new line. I would
like to do the chimney wrap idea, but the chimney is 15' long, so that
isnt an option. Hopefully a roofer or someone who knows about flat
roofs will be able to identify the square metal things. I am
wondering- Maybe they are actuallly large squares
{roof tar-------------|antenna foot|-------------roof} of that makes
sense.

Does anyone have any ideas?

The square metal thingies are called pitch pans. Basically, there
will be a lag bolt or lag eye with the guy wire attached buried
down in that tar. They make the connection and literally fill up
the pitch pan with hot tar. The pitch pan was probably nailed to
the decking and hot mopped in.

To replace the antenna, your choices will be try to reuse or
extend the existing guy wires and adapt to the existing pole (cut
off above the pitch pan and couple on the new antenna pole) or to
have a roofer set new pitch pans, you set new equipment, he comes
back to fill pitch pans. You can leave the originals or remove
and reshingle as you see fit.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi. I live in suburban detroit, michigan. I am trying to
replace the
tripod and lead in wire for our roof-top tv antenna. I am
wondering if
anyone can tell me how this was put together. go to
www.picturetrail.com/wh349055 and look at the pictures.
Basically,
when the roofers put on a new tar and gravel roof, they used
these
square metal things to support the tripod. Do these attach to
something under the tar? Thanks, Warren.