| Roof-Mounted Antenna Tilt-Over Base Click individual photos for larger view. | |||||||||
| This is a series of pictures detailing the construction of the Roof-mounted Antenna tilt-over base that I constructed to be able to drop the antenna safely for maintenance. I used 1/4" steel plates (4" x 8") and 1/4" angle iron (and a lot of welding!) The nuts/bolts are all stainless for long term durability. The winch assembly comes off when I'm not using it. I built the whole system for less than $100 total (the most expensive component was the winch which I got from Harbor Freight Tools). | |||||||||
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| This shows the 2 halves of the lower mounting bracket. The left plate is the one that mounts to the mast and the right plate is the 'tilt-over' plate that holds the antenna mast (you can see the bottom side of the 'foot' that the mast rests on). | This shows the outside of the top capture plates. Notice that the mounting holes for the u-clamps are offset such that they don't interfere when the two plates are engaged together. | This shows the inside of the two top capture plates. Lots of welding here! | A view of the two top capture plates nested within each other. Nesting is locked by placing bolts through the top holes located in the angle iron brackets. | ||||||
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| This view shows the bottom set of brackets nested together showing the 'foot' that the tilt-over mast will rest on. | This shows the weather covers I made to slide over the top of the bracket sets when the antenna system is upright and fixed in place. | A view of the insides of the covers showing the rubber feet shock mounts to keep them from rattling in the wind. | A view of the bottom tilt-over assembly with the hinge bolts / washers / nylock nuts installed. You can also see the 'lubraplate' grease used on the surface of the washer to help minimize binding. | ||||||
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| Bottom plate assembly showing the rubberized plastic cover on the support foot (where the tilt-over mast will rest). | Top view of the tilt-over assembly before the u-clamps are added. | A view from the tilt side of the tilt-over plate and the covered foot. | Tilt-over plate with the v-blocks / u-clamps installed. | ||||||
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| Tilt-over back side plate with the v-blocks / u-clamps installed. | Side view of the completed lower tilt-over bracket assembly. | View of both bracket assemblies completed and ready for installation. Right one is the lower assembly and the left one is the upper bracket showing the capture bolts in the top holes installed. | A top view of both the finished bracket assemblies. The capture bolts are very obvious here for the top assembly. | ||||||
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| A completed vew of the entire assembly that include the rain / weather covers installed. | Left side view of the installed tilt-over base bracket in the vertical position. | Right side view of the installed tilt-over base bracket in the vertical position. | Direct side view of the lower tilt-over base plate assembly. Notice there is no need to populate the upper bolt hole positions. | ||||||
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| A view ot the top capture plates in the engaged position (with the 2 bolts installed to lock the two plates together). | Side view of the engaged upper capture plate assembly. Notice there is no need to populate the lower bolt holes (the mast would shear off before the bolts sheared due to wind loading). | A view looking down thru the centers of both the mounting bracket assemblies. The upper capture bolts were not tightened yet (they are tightened to be just snug so as to not allow the upper bracket assembly to rattle in a wind storm [drives the XYL crazy...]). | A closer view of the engaged upper capture plates. | ||||||
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| A view of the base tilted over (without the winch in this picture - the antenna is light enough and very easy to handle so as to not need the winch assembly to drop the antenna). | Closer view of the lower tilt-over plate in the open position. Notice the ground wire connection on the lower left U-bolt on the tilt-over plate side of the assembly. This insures that the tiltover mast is grounded no matter what the conductivity of the bolts is to any of the mounting plates. | View of the opened upper capture plate on the fixed vertical mast. | View of the mating capture plate in the down position. | ||||||
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| Complete mounting system locked in place and almost ready to go... | Complete tilt-over mounting system with the rain / weather covers installed. | Tilt-over base with the winch system installed and letting the antenna down. | Closer view of the winch assembly. The version I use now utilizes an electric winch as it's much faster to let the antenna down! | ||||||
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| Upper pulley bracket for the winch assembly. I welded a smaller diameter piece of pipe that slides into the vertical mast and is held in place (and proper orientation) by the screw just below the assembly. | This is the clamp on bracket that is installed to lower the mast. Very simple but effective. | ||||||||
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