keefe007
Premium
join:2004-02-24
Germantown, WI
1 edit | Watertower Mount
What's the best way to mount a cluster of antenna's onto a watertower that doesn't have a railing? I've done installs before on watertowers with railings and they have been fairly straightforward but we're looking at a tower right now that just has a smooth top. If anyone else has mounted on such a surface, please give me any suggestions you have.
Thanks!
[mod edit - title changed to accurately reflect the topic] |
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robbin
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX | Re: Watertown Mount
Heavy duty magnets? |
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Diddy1
join:2003-07-19
Sidney, NE | reply to keefe007
I'm curious about this as well. I see gear mounted on this same type of water tower/structure and wonder how they do it. I just guessed that the stell wall/shell was very thick and you drill into it so far to hold a screw?
Aaron |
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Diddy1
join:2003-07-19
Sidney, NE
| reply to robbin
said by robbin  :Heavy duty magnets? LOL, but seriously. Didn't someone mention a solution like this not too long ago that was actually realistic?
Aaron |
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keefe007
Premium
join:2004-02-24
Germantown, WI
| reply to Diddy1
I have found a heavy duty magnet mount that claims to withstand 125 mph winds with 10 square feet of capacity.
Here's the link -> »metal-cable.com/magnemount.pdf
I haven't called for pricing at all yet. |
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superdog
I Need A Drink
Premium,MVM
join:2001-07-13
Lebanon, PA
| reply to Diddy1
said by Diddy1 :LOL, but seriously. Didn't someone mention a solution like this not too long ago that was actually realistic? Aaron Yes. It has been mentioned a few times here. There are quite a few places to buy magnets, and I have seen some interesting mounts made from them. 
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»www.wavecrazy.net Join WISPA today! »www.wispa.org/ |
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Diddy1
join:2003-07-19
Sidney, NE
| reply to keefe007
Well, do you guys remember the CB radio days? There were a plethora of magnet mounted antennas that went directly on the vehicle and were several feet tall! So, there is something to the magnet thing. Funny how I forget past innovative solutions  The magenet idea sounds very realistic after that. I thought robbin was joking but obviously he is a great deal more enlightened than me on the subject. I wasn't trying to insult robbin 
Aaron |
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robbin
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
1 edit | Thanks, I didn't get insulted. I did a search of this forum for water tower magnets and found this old thread. Searches using water tower mount turn up reasons not to drill or weld. Epoxy may be an option but I would be hesitant as you would probably need to grind down to bare metal. I wouldn't want to be responsible for the paint job and that may just make me responsible. |
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jdmarti1
Jack
join:2004-06-15
Oilton, OK
| We went to a fab shop and had something built that looked like the cell phone mounts, it attached around the vent cap on top. I will try to find some pictures of them. The legs are then epoxied down to the tower. The epoxy works very well, this is what it is designed for. You only have to clean the area where you are actually putting the epoxy - so you do not damage the paint on the tower. DO NOT DRILL HOLES IN A WATER TOWER TOP!!! You will be opening a can of worms that you can't close.
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»magicwisp.com |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON
| You still need a good grounding point and for that, you need to go down to bare metal. If there is a vent that you can get even a single guy/ground wire to, you could use it as a hold-down for a tripod.
There is available, green thermoplastic stuff used primarily in the pipeline industry as a dielectric anti-corrosion coating that you apply over jeeps with a torch. The stuff works better than hot glue and can be resoftened if need be. It is also marketed for boat repair. You can use it to cover the grounding point, probably best cad-welded. If you have a centre hold-down guy, you could hot glue down the tripod legs. |
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Airplane777
join:2004-06-20 | reply to keefe007
Are there any preferred places that you run the CAT 5 down the tower? I assume you might run the CAT 5 down a railing of the ladder that you use to climb up the tower? |
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John Galt
What...me panic??
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
| said by Airplane777 :I assume you might run the CAT 5 down a railing of the ladder that you use to climb up the tower? NO attachments to ladders.
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A is A |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON | Could you post a photo of the top of the tower? Also, how do you plan to ground the mast and how do you plan to run the cabling? |
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keefe007
Premium
join:2004-02-24
Germantown, WI
| said by LLigetfa :Could you post a photo of the top of the tower? Also, how do you plan to ground the mast and how do you plan to run the cabling? I don't have a picture of the top yet but I'll get one soon. For grounding I was looking at a .012" thick x 2" wide copper ground strap made by the same company that makes the magnetmount. Link -> »www.metal-cable.com/page7.html The cables and grounding strap will be ran down the center column. |
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Airplane777
join:2004-06-20
| reply to John Galt
said by John Galt :said by Airplane777 :I assume you might run the CAT 5 down a railing of the ladder that you use to climb up the tower? NO attachments to ladders. Bummer...lol.
It seems like it would be pretty difficult to run cable down a water tower leg. Like...how do you do that? Seems next to impossible. Do you lower yourself down the water tower leg with a rope and attach the CAT 5 along the way? |
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Diddy1
join:2003-07-19
Sidney, NE | That's one of the reasons we bought an old bucket truck I couldn't come up with a solution to that very type of problem other than a bucket truck etc.
Aaron |
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Airplane777
join:2004-06-20
1 edit | But bucket trucks aren't even that high. |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON
| Tying to the handrail would create a safety hazard but there is no reason why you could not work from the ladder to attach sections of conduit that does not impede the use of the ladder. Just don't do one long straight section or else the tension on the wire at the top with all the weight hanging from it would do it in. |
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slipstream1
Premium
join:2005-11-15
Jacksonville, TX
| reply to keefe007
We have found that you can attach to the climbing ladder of a watertank if you keep it on the back side of the ladder and use some sort of standoff so as not to impede climbing. If you have to go on the legs you will have to figure painting and a banding system of some kind. We would normally use a crane with a man basket to install coax on the external surfaces of the water tank legs. The two part epoxy will hold whatever mounting system you would like to put on the top of that tank. |
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keefe007
Premium
join:2004-02-24
Germantown, WI | I found out that the pricing for the magnetmount is about $1200. That's a little more than I thought it would be. It doesn't seem like it would take all that much to build one of these things. |
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