I took a 30 year old tv antenna down today

[lowell holmes]

I took it off of my chimney. It was strapped to the chimney with galvanized clamps, straps and bolts.

When I got the mess down, I cut u- bolts and straps up to put in the trash can. I am flabbergasted at
the hardness in the 30 year old bolts There was some rust, but they would have lasted many more years.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's amazing what weather exposure can do to metal. I saw stainless steel pins that were oxidized to the rotating base in radar antenna. We ended up cutting the aluminum portion to get the pins out and get the new antenna up so we could resume flight ops.

[Jerome Stanek]

When I had a steel roof put on I removed my 30 something year old antenna and ended up putting it in the attic to get over the air broadcasts it still pulls in about 40 stations

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

One of my neighbors just put up a 50 ft tower and tv antenna. He claims to get over 25 HD channels and no cable bill. But he pay an inordinant amount for his satellite internet.

[John Terefenko]

When I moved in my house over 30 years ago I had one and did not use but left it there for some years. Went to replace the roof and the roofer noticed the chimney broke at the roof line from the wind blowing that antenna around for all those years. You get harmonics and vibration from the wind which added to wind load on chimney.

[Van Huskey]

The funny thing to me is you are taking one down when many people are putting them back up...

[Mark Blatter]

When I moved in my house over 30 years ago I had one and did not use but left it there for some years. Went to replace the roof and the roofer noticed the chimney broke at the roof line from the wind blowing that antenna around for all those years. You get harmonics and vibration from the wind which added to wind load on chimney.


Hmmm, that reminds me of the old video of the long gone Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I first saw the film of it in high school physics class. Later I lived in the NW and drove over the highway where it used to stand. Here is the video if you have never seen old Galloping Gertie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsKKDLKYsVU

[John Terefenko]

Hmmm, that reminds me of the old video of the long gone Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I first saw the film of it in high school physics class. Later I lived in the NW and drove over the highway where it used to stand. Here is the video if you have never seen old Galloping Gertie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsKKDLKYsVU


Probably that was what happened. Heard it used to happen more often back in the day.

[Bill Dufour]

Probably that was what happened. Heard it used to happen more often back in the day.

That was a fairly new bridge when it failed. (less then six months old so no corrosion) it was an attepmt to save cost by making the main support deck structure shallower and thus less costly. In theory it worked fine but it did not have much damping effect because it was too shallow to have the needed stiffness. It had a harmonic frequency that a deeper structure would have damped down. Kinda like a trailer with no shock absorbers jumping up and down.
Bill D.

On edit: wind was only 40MPH. well under design limits.

[Keith Outten]

Lets get back on the topic of TV Antennas.

[John Terefenko]

wow.tough crowd.

[Lee DeRaud]

Topic cops in the off-topic forum...life's too short.

[John Terefenko]

Topic cops in the off-topic forum...life's too short.


Agree with this. Mods looking for something to complain about.

[Ole Anderson]

Agree with this. Mods looking for something to complain about.
Ironic, complaining about complaining...life is too short to complain about moderators doing their job...

[John Terefenko]

Ironic, complaining about complaining...life is too short to complain about moderators doing their job...


Doing what job though how ironic it is to complain about a topic that is off topic in the off topic forum. See if you can top that one:) So many times things go different directions, just like this is now, in a thread but it usually gets back on target by itself. Life is too short. Can you say short these days??? Is that politically correct??:)

[Carlos Alvarez]

My house is only 12 years old and in a dry climate, so removing the TWO (why?) satellite dishes was not a challenge. It never had a regular antenna at all. But now that both delivery methods have been replaced by the internet, I figured I'd remove the eyesore and possibility of wind damage. We get 100 MPH here at least every other year.

Topic cops in off-topic, that's funny right there.

[John Terefenko]

My house is only 12 years old and in a dry climate, so removing the TWO (why?) satellite dishes was not a challenge. It never had a regular antenna at all. But now that both delivery methods have been replaced by the internet, I figured I'd remove the eyesore and possibility of wind damage. We get 100 MPH here at least every other year.

Topic cops in off-topic, that's funny right there.

Man that is hurricane force winds. I would worry about discs on the roof too. The standard antenna on the roof was all to common back in the day. Many times you saw bent over antennas on peoples houses because of wind damage. We have come a long way and I am sure there are many more innovations awaiting us in the way we view TV.

[Jim Becker]

My house is only 12 years old and in a dry climate, so removing the TWO (why?) satellite dishes was not a challenge. It never had a regular antenna at all. But now that both delivery methods have been replaced by the internet, I figured I'd remove the eyesore and possibility of wind damage. We get 100 MPH here at least every other year.

I still need to remove the DirectTV dish that's still up on top of the house as it's been "doing nothing" for many years now. I'll probably leave the mount, however, because I don't want to deal with sealing holes and potential leaks, thereof. One of these days I'll remember to do it. LOL

[Tom M King]

Back to OT. I guess those bolts weren't made in China, and packaged in Mexico.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Man that is hurricane force winds. I would worry about discs on the roof too. The standard antenna on the roof was all to common back in the day. Many times you saw bent over antennas on peoples houses because of wind damage. We have come a long way and I am sure there are many more innovations awaiting us in the way we view TV.

Yeah, it gets pretty crazy. Lost a gazebo that had guy wires, and even they didn't do enough. So nobody mounts antennas on the roof around here. They are all either attached to the house on the side, the eaves on a semi-protected side, or to the block walls around the yards. My house had one on the wall (eye sore for people hanging out in the yard) and one on the second floor patio mostly behind its little parapet.

The city just took away the two trampolines that landed in a wash by the road a couple miles into town.

[Mark Blatter]

My house is only 12 years old and in a dry climate, so removing the TWO (why?) satellite dishes was not a challenge. It never had a regular antenna at all. But now that both delivery methods have been replaced by the internet, I figured I'd remove the eyesore and possibility of wind damage. We get 100 MPH here at least every other year.

Topic cops in off-topic, that's funny right there.

I currently have two dishes, plus a wireless internet antenna on my roof. I use none of them and hope to pull them down next summer when I redo the roof. I do have an actual TV antenna up but it is in attic. I cut the cord about three years and will never go back.

In building my shop I had to have it engineered for 150 mile winds, as that is required by the city. About every 3 - 6 years we get 90 - 110 mph winds that come out of the canyons near me. They take down trees by the hundreds, roofs and siding by the thousands and include a trampoline exchange program too. I keep hoping we get a big wind that takes the shingles off my roof, but not so far.

[John Stankus]

I still need to remove the DirectTV dish that's still up on top of the house as it's been "doing nothing" for many years now. I'll probably leave the mount, however, because I don't want to deal with sealing holes and potential leaks, thereof. One of these days I'll remember to do it. LOL

I used the DirecTV dish mount for my OTA antenna. ( no longer having the $110+ per month bill is nice, and I get more of the channels I want :) )

[Bill Dufour]

The satellite dish can be used to pick up a cell phone signal and run to passive booster antennas inside the house or shop.
Bil lD.

[Jim Becker]

I used the DirecTV dish mount for my OTA antenna. ( no longer having the $110+ per month bill is nice, and I get more of the channels I want :) )
I wanted to do that when I was experimenting with OTA, but it wasn't in the right spot for that. Unfortunately OTA didn't work out because the one station I watch every morning is on a low VHF frequency and line of sight geography just didn't work for getting a usable signal, no matter the amplification or whatever. So I have "Local only" TV via FiOS with no STBs and it's only costing me $13 a month as part of my package.

[Jim Becker]

The satellite dish can be used to pick up a cell phone signal and run to passive booster antennas inside the house or shop.
Bil lD.
True, but with major carriers supporting cellular via WiFi, there's little incentive to use boosters or even microcells or femtocells at this point, at least for folks with decent broadband.