Steel building : Magnets for TV antenna on roof...?

[Drifthopper]

Pole barn / Steel building .....Let's talk magnets & over-the-air TV antennas.

WNY hunting camp, off-grid, no internet.
(but excellent cell service, tower is less than mile away, if that has anything to offer for this thread.)

We want to get rid of our little rinky-dink antenna and thinking of putting the new larger antenna on the roof to get it up as high as possible, ( we're kind'a in the trees ) but want it movable to fine tune the reception.

Amazon has some 70lb and even 100 lb capacity magnets.

We are thinking of making some type of base for the antenna and sticking it on the roof with magnets to be able to move it.

What'a you guys think...? Would it get blown off....?

 

[jimh406]

I wouldn't put it on with magnets. I'd attach to the end of the roof into a joist on an antenna mast to get it as high as you want.

 

[D2Cat]

Something like this to make sure a high wind doesn't ruin the whole thing.

Robot or human?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I wouldn't bother putting up an antenna at all, you got cell signal, stream TV service.
Magnets and antennas do do well together, if your going to do it put up solid mounts.

 

[William1]

I'd skip magnets as well. The idea is good but if you got a magnet strong enough to hold the antenna, you are not going to be able to move it. Try this. Get out a square rake. tines against the ground and stand on them You are the 'magnet' Now have someone move the handle, they are the wind.

Get a good four or eight bay Channel Master and mount properly. Alignment is simple with a compass.

TV Fool

 

[chim]

Another possible consideration is whether the thin metal affects the magnet's holding power. Metal thickness has a huge effect on my mag drill.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Do it right... install a proper TV tower and get antenna above the top of the trees. I assume you'll need a rotor to scan for best reception ? Add a balun( 300r to 75r ttansfmer at the antenna and run good quality 75r coax cable into the building with a drip loop at the entry point.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Good day.

I really don’t understand mentioning cell tower location if thinking TV over air antennae. I don’t think they are related (I could be wrong.). Unless as @North Idaho Wolfman mentioned you are weighing option vs streaming?

I am not sure this works for your location but I find it helpful up at my steel building. (Go to the tab for the map and put your zip code in).

Free TV Channels by Zip Code

View a list of TV Channels available by TV Antenna in your area. Review a TV antenna map to determine signal strength and antenna selection.

www.channelmaster.com

I think the tower idea mentioned above is the way to go (although I still use a temporary mobile telecommunications platform at my steel building …it works but I think it attacks rain/snow).

Anyway I’d agree with the @GreensvilleJay idea…

 

[Old Machinist]

Cellular streaming seems like the best solution.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I was not really don’t understand mentioning cell tower location if thinking TV over air antennae. I don’t think they are related (I could be wrong.).

You are not wrong. They are not related at all.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Do it right... install a proper TV tower and get antenna above the top of the trees. I assume you'll need a rotor to scan for best reception ? Add a balun( 300r to 75r ttansfmer at the antenna and run good quality 75r coax cable into the building with a drip loop at the entry point.

This wins the "Best Answer" Award for today.

A decent Rohn self-supporting tower isn't hard to install and will do the job for you.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OTA TV ( Over The Air TeleVision ) is FREE(well, ONE time purchase of antenna and feed in), everything via cellphone costs you money....( monthly Gbit fees.... )

 

[Drifthopper]

Ya... Streaming services cost money, this is just a weekend place.
Mark... those towers are nice, but a bit too high end for our TV watching. Although, we may look in to a small tri-angle tower/mast.
Those channel master antennas are the way to go.

 

[lugbolt]

I just mounted a mast to the end of a joist and put the antenna up. Had to put an amplifier in line but it picks up 50 some odd channels just fine OTA. Some of them are duplicates of others, and there are a couple spanish duplicates of the same English channels too.

Brother had an antenna on his shop. Lightning got it. Didn't have it grounded so it 'grounded' itself through the building. Took out every single electrical component that was plugged into all the outlets. TV went up in smoke too. Make sure you ground the antenna.

 

[InTheWoods]

I'd think a set of three or four strong magnets would work, as long as they are set up to get a wide stance and the antenna is only a few feet above the roof. Lots of commercial installations on flat roofs use mounts weighted by a bunch of concrete blocks.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Ya... Streaming services cost money, this is just a weekend place.
Mark... those towers are nice, but a bit too high end for our TV watching. Although, we may look in to a small tri-angle tower/mast.
Those channel master antennas are the way to go.

Our streaming is free, I do it via satellite internet, if I had good cell coverage that would work too as we have unlimited data.
An antenna would give us about 2 fuzzy channels, I guess you flat landers have it so much better.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I have a similar problem/dilemma at out cottage.

We are "topographically" at the bottom of a hill and OTATV reception is none existent basically.

I thought about using a "tall tree" to mount it, but the gravitational pull of the earth scares me more than I want to watch the same sh!tty TV programs, and Fake News.

The "towers" I looked at were stupid expensive too.

So we have adopted a blended program of videos and streaming though our phones.

Between both our phones we get 60 Gigs of "hotspot data" and we have only gone over twice.

Turning your reception down to 780 helps with saving data, (even though I rarely turn it down below 1080)

Walmart also sells a "portable hotspot" for 50 bucks and you buy "data cards". It is something like 60 gigs for 50 bucks.....however those cards are only good for one month, so you gotta "use it or lose it".

I bought one and it worked great for those 2 months I went over.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Hay NIW..
re: Our streaming is free, I do it via satellite internet

Is your 'satellite internet' service FREE as well ? While I don't have a cell phone/smart phone I know that nobody around here offers free cell service.
Yes, I get 'streaming ' on my PC for 'free' BUT I still have to pay the cable company every month for the bits and bytes to get to me.

At least with OTA, once the hardware is bought, watching is free....

 

[InTheWoods]

At least with OTA, once the hardware is bought, watching is free....

Free, as long as you can tolerate the commercials...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

In the good old ANALOG days I built a simple device that'd automute commercials, cost all of $10.
sigh I miss the old days

BTW, my 'free' PLUTO has commercials..kinda neat watching Perry Mason again though