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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!qantel!dual!lll-lcc!lll-crg!seismo!brl-tgr!wmartin
From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.video
Subject: Re: Re: Laser and Vcr stuff
Message-ID: <77@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 26-Nov-85 13:21:34 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.77
Posted: Tue Nov 26 13:21:34 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 29-Nov-85 08:10:35 EST
References: <251@omen.UUCP> <90900005@hpisli.UUCP>
Organization: USAMC ALMSA, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 56

Thanks for coming to my defense. However, I have no legal restrictions
preventing me from roof-mounting an antenna. I made the decision not to
based on several factors:

a) First off, I discarded the idea of a chimney mount because of several
reasons: I have one chimney, with two flues, for the furnace and
fireplace. I use my fireplace. Thus, any antenna there (and its leadin)
would be subjected all winter to hot noxious gasses, which would cause
rapid deterioration. I have no interest in high-maintenance installations,
so the need to replace weathered and worn parts and wiring would be too
frequent to be tolerable. Also, I don't like adding wind load on
chimneys, which are tuckpointing maintenance hogs anyway. (I did have
some small outside antennae on my previous house, where I had capped-off
stub chimneys to use as mounting points, and easy roof access.)

b) Straight peak-of-roof mounts, with or without guywires, with
through-roof bolting or screwing, scare me. I don't value an antenna as
much as I do the structural integrity of my roof, such as it is. Also,
there is no easy roof access for installation and maintenance (steeply-
slanted roof fairly high up).

c) Eave mounts would damage my recently-added metal cladding/siding on
the soffits and eaves, and also I don't like putting the wind load of an
antenna on those parts, which often have hidden defects, especially in a
house 50+ years old, as mine is.

d) This leaves side-of-house towers, with perhaps a stabilizing bracket
atttached to the house wall and tower. This isn't a bad idea. However, I
have not done this for another group of reasons: 1 -- I live in the
city, where no one, except a few hams, has a tower. If I lived in a
rural area, where *everybody* has a tower for their TV antennae, there
would be lots of expert tower-installers to choose from to get the work
done. In the city, the TV repair people probably have never touched a
tower, and I don't want them learning at my expense and on my property.
I know nothing about this stuff myself and have little enough interest
in it to learn to do it well enough to suit me. 2 -- The configuration
of my property would make the best place for a tower too close to my
Western neighbors' house. All I need is a tower falling on somebody
else's roof to make my day... (either during construction or in a
windstorm). 3 -- Cost. Not only is the tower and installation expensive
in itself, but, if I DID go to that length, I'd feel compelled to mount
enough antennae on it to get into serious FM & TV DXing (7-foot UHF dish,
various Yagis, rotor, etc.) and probably buy more inside electronics to
go along with them. Also, in this location, this would be the sort of
thing that decreases the value of your property, instead of being an
enhancement.

With this mindset, I figured I would put in an attic antenna and stick
with it. I do have a binder full of tower catalogs and another of TV
antenna manufacturers' stuff, though, in case I overcome my common sense
and go hog-wild... :-)

Regards, 
Will Martin

UUCP/USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin   or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA