Antenna Pole

Nomad

I prefer headlines (titles) that provoke and make you guess a little so was going to title this thread "Show Us Your Pole" but knowing how some of you might interpret that (you know who you are), I had second thoughts.

Tried many varients - liked Jenn's fishing rod holder but couldn't find one that fit painting poles and held one firmly in place) - Ended up with this config. Holds up well even in the wind... In these photos I'm experimenting with a cheap, non-powered digital tv antenna clamped to the top plate but I normally use it with a magnitized cell phone booster antenna...



The basic parts are ... Cheap paint roller extender pole - Battery connector - Junction box cover - Velcro ties - Ball bungies
... The battery connector screws onto the pole and the junction box cover attaches to that with a wing nut to provide a base platform. Ball bungies hold it in place by attaching to the T@B handle ring and a little camper stake at the bottom. Small velcro ties hold the cables in place.

Additions are ... A coax to tv antenna connector - Allows me to connect/run a ground wire (coax cable) down to the T@Bs ground wire. In the cell phone booster thread it was mentioned one needed a grounded reflector plate to get the best boost. I haven't noticed any difference in using it or not but so much depends on area and base cell signal that it might just be the areas I've tried it in.

So far it's been very stable even in 40 mph winds.

ChanW

Durn good scrounging! Good bottom anchor. Good top clamp - I'll have to remember that one.

(I especially like that cute little phrase there on the back of your Tab.)  B-)

Nomad

Phrase - You're making an assumption, you can't see the right half so don't really know what it says. Did I modify it or did I not, that is the mystery.

jkjenn

After a year on the road, you are finally ready for some occasional TV?

Nomad

Jenn - Not really - Have had a TV tuner stick and that antenna for over a year so thought I'd dig it out and see how it worked up on the poll since I was close to a city. Digital TV is line of site and doesn't carry nearly as far as the old analog. A powered antenna has more range but I don't want to be running the generator to power it out boondocking. The tv kit will probably get repacked when I break camp. Don't need the tv, I've got the net and a ton of downloads. If there's breaking news, can hit the net for that also.
Now, if I was a sports fan I might feel differently. Had a neighbor in one campground that ran his generator 8 hrs a day on sports days so he could fire up his big tv.

Nomad

Jenn - The pole is mainly for cell coverage but to date have only needed/tried it a couple of times. In general I've either had strong coverage or none at all in my travel areas. So the jury is still out for me and the cell phone booster.

Michigan_Mike

So where do you store "your pole" when you are traveling?   I could see a piece of PVC as a storage place for travel and mounted out of the way on the trailer.    

Nomad

Mike - When retracted, it's the exact width of the backend interior of my Jeep so it goes widthwise and sits on the wheelwell ledges. Longer poles wouldn't fit unless I bought one of the more expensive telescoping poles. This one was a 12 footer and happened to be the cheapest one ACE hardware had but it works well.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

Mike - When retracted, it's the exact width of the backend interior of my Jeep so it goes widthwise and sits on the wheelwell ledges. Longer poles wouldn't fit unless I bought one of the more expensive telescoping poles. This one was a 12 footer and happened to be the cheapest one ACE hardware had but it works well.

Ditto for my flagpole. I love all of the storage under the rear seat in my Jeep.

Nomad

Jenn - I have the back seat up and the pole goes widthwise in font of, but against the seat and rest on the sides where the top attaches - There's that little ledge on each side.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

Jenn - I have the back seat up and the pole goes widthwise in font of, but against the seat and rest on the sides where the top attaches - There's that little ledge on each side.

I just slide mine right under the rear seat, along with my hi-lift jack.

Nomad

I have too much other stuff under my seats :-)
Pole sits right above my guitar case.

Nomad

Happened across a Harbor Freight - never been in one before - and they had these suction cups for $3 bucks so even though one of you guys had tried them before and weren't impressed I thought "what the heck". Stuck one on the side of the T@B and it fell off 2hrs later - not good. Tried it again by whetting the rubber surface and pressing against the center and it holds tight. Been on for two days and still feels solid. I like this option as I can position it close to the front of the window and have less cable dangling around and it gives me an extra three feet in height.

Verna

PXLated, they work fine for maybe 30 to 45 days and then they will no longer hold. I don't trust them because there is no warning.

Nomad

We'll find out :-)
What happens to them over that time to change things?

The reality though (based on experience to date) is I probably won't use the pole very much if ever - Don't watch TV and 95% of the time I have a decent cell signal. When not, I have absolutely none so the cell booster won't help anyway.

Verna

What happens to them? Even with wetting the rubber surface they won't suction. The rubber doesn't feel any different, so it must be a problem with the air behind the rubber. 

Joe

> Digital TV is line of site and doesn't carry nearly as far as the old analog.

Just a nit, but I believe digital and analog signals are for the most part, both line of site.  The difference is that the digital signal has all of the bits (ones and zeros) compressed and modulated on the carrier wave.  It's mostly all or nothing on the receive end for a digital signal.  If the digital signal is weak you won't see anything, or you might see a pixalated image (No pun intended) if your TV tries to make sense of the weak digital image with some missing ones and zeros.  The analog signal seems to go a bit farther because some of a weak signal can actually make to your antenna in the form of scan lines.  This is when you see snow on the analog signal.

TV signals operate at 50 mhz to 800 mhz and it is rare to see signal propagation in that frequency range.  Not impossible, but rare.  Propagation is essentially RF bouncing off of the ionosphere and coming down somewhere distant (i.e., not line of site).  That is how radio signals can get from one side of the planet to the other side of the planet.  A good example is ham radio and short wave radio on the HF bands.  Propagation is more common on lower frequencies (i.e., 3 - 30mhz).  TV signals operate on VHF and UHF bands.

Of course a pixalated image on a computer is usually due lost packets in a packet switched network, but you will see something similar.

Nomad

I always thought analog bent a little and bounced off things but you're probably right - There is a big difference in distance I know. I have a non-powered antenna and you've got to be pretty close to get stuff. A powered antenna does much better but I'm rarely in campgrounds with hookups and am not going to haul out the generator to power one :-)

ChanW

PXL, that's an even better looking mast system.

Next you need to somehow install it as an internal periscope type of system. There's room behind the toilet, it would just need a good gasket on the outside...

Nomad

ChanW - I'll let you take over and try the internal install :-)

wizard1880

I use the round mounts bolted onto the front tongue (for the bike rack), insert about 6 foot of Gray cpvc and attach our winemann (?) Metro antenna on top of that pole.  Wire then goes into the stock cable jack which I've rewired slightly to accommodate for the power amplifier, and voila.  Everything within 30 miles comes clear.  Antenna looks like a UFO, omnidirectional so no aim needed. The original power supply is 120v but there's 12v versions available for most any powered antenna so picked one up. Let me know if you want more details.

Nomad

My first version was a piece of pvc pipe - grooved out on the front - velcor tied to the jack shaft. Worked but not nearly as stable as the last two versions.

If I was a sports fan I'd probably watch TV - I'm not and I really can't say much good about tv news (no wonder most are so ill informed) - The few entertainment programs I've found worth my time aren't really worth the effort of the set up, channel scan. Much more efficient just to hit the net or download what I want.

Nomad

I'll probably use the pole more with a flashing light fixed on top when boondocking. Come back after dark and it can be hard to get your orientation or know how close you are when it's pitch black.
Last year, when boondocked (BLM) south of Quartzite, there were several lanes back in off the entrance. In some cases you can't cross over because of washes. There was a camper out in my general area with a flashing light on a pole. Ended up being my guide. Have been going to make one ever since.

Photomom

PXLated said:

I'll probably use the pole more with a flashing light fixed on top when boondocking. Come back after dark and it can be hard to get your orientation or know how close you are when it's pitch black.
Last year, when boondocked (BLM) south of Quartzite, there were several lanes back in off the entrance. In some cases you can't cross over because of washes. There was a camper out in my general area with a flashing light on a pole. Ended up being my guide. Have been going to make one ever since.

Get yourself a Garmin.

Verna

"Find My Car" app

Nomad

Photomom - Got a handheld, an iPhone and an iPad. GPS would work as long as you had a reverse track to follow. If not, there are no GPS enabled streets/roads. But even with a reverse track, it better be good down to the yard or you might end up in a washout trench. I find a quick visual and eyes on the road better.

Photomom

The kind for hiking. Doesn't need roads. 

Verna

Garmin Etrex 20x. I'll tell you how it works after my brother and go "hiking" in the woods Friday. 

Nomad

Photomom - Got one of those. Also have a 3D topo GPS app. Same issues as mentioned.

Nomad

Unless of course you're so far back in the only way to find it is to retrace your route :-)

Photomom

Nah, just mark a waypoint before you wander off from your T@B.