Unused aerial bracket?

The aerial is from a DIY shed. it has two mounting options, the cradle underneath or end mounting. For the latter the cradle isn't used. The person hasn't realised that. It's very common.

Bill

I thought that was the case but I also thought I'd better ask.

The aerials I have seen that come in two parts give you a clamshell type bracket that contains the two ends and bolt up (wingnut?), then you would put that cradle bracket on if you wanted to mount it that way.

I'll mention it when I see / speak to him next (thanks).

Cheers, T i m

Hehe, amazing, but what percentage of all the aerials up there are like that though would you say?

We just walked a couple of different routes though some housing areas and the only one we saw mounted badly like that was the one I mentioned. Ok, some were also laying on the roof or swinging about round the stack but otherwise they were all ok? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

There were lots a few years ago, but I think a lot of them have fallen down. Maybe the instructions are clearer now.

Bill

I've seen VP aerials pointed at WH, the only reason I can think of is that's how they are flat-packed!

Perhaps he is picking up a reflection not the direct signal? Do you mean a U shaped bracket under the aerial as one would use to mount it centrally on a pole? If so then yes, if there is an extension behind the reflector, the bracket or U piece is just adding weight, but if the pole is tall enough that would allow the aerial to be mounted balanced centrally without being exposed to stuff from a chimney, then why not do that instead, as the twisting lop sided stresses are often far more destructive than than a central weight and only side forces in a wind. I have seen this done when somebody wanted to mount another aerial on the top, but normally you would remove the extraneous bracket then. Brian

Sounds like nobody looks up except sad people like us, well you, since I would not see them now. I used to love looking at the aerials when on holiday and wondered in many cases A whether they still worked at all, and B, what on earth they were aiming at! Of course a stacking kit merely contained a strut and associated brackets, since the two U brackets were turned at right angles to make the spacer/mounting part and the strut was used to support the front U for stability. Clever really, but the beam width was very critical of course. The Y cable was of vastly superior quality, but the termination of it for attaching to the downlead was crap and even when smothered in protection tended to oxidise and end up welded in. Brian

The cheap aerials are worse though, using plastic to keep the elements straight and in some cases for the joining bracket and a sleeve on the rear extension of the boom and reflector mounting. Of course if the plastic is good, no problems but so many seem to go hard after a few years in the UV and frost, then things start to fall to bits as soon as the local obese Pigeons sit on them a couple of years down the line. Brian

The loft aerial here was mounted through the cradle with the pole going vertically through directors 4 and 5 (IIRC). An end-mount would have been ok as there would never be any wind force on the aerial.

Out of interest, why does it not appear to matter that the pole goes through the aerial when fixed by the cradle? Does it not affect signal reception at all?

I think I have seen those where the thing comes flat packed but pre-assembled and you just open the reflectors up and they lock into place around the plastic 'hinge'.

I would love to see the look on a pigeons face as an aerial collapsed under it. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

I think if you ever involved in something personally you tend to see (take in) them yourself, like if you get a new car then suddenly see them all over the place when you might not have before.

Other people are just unobservant, not even seeing things that are right in front of them.

Anything odd seems to stand out to me so I can often spot such things even thought I didn't think I was looking ... like a flat tyre or partially open door on another car ... or even when a rear shock absorber has gone on the car in front (and you watch the wheel rebounding on every bump).

The last thing I spotted although I first 'smelled' was a faulty brake on a taxi. I could smell burning brake / clutch lining as I caught up with him and then saw smoke coming of the rear wheel at the lights. I managed to get beside him and tell him and saw him pull over the check it out.

Hehe.

Yeah, they can be a bit of a Meccano kit but even without instructions, as long as you use some of common sense ...

I always liked to have either a view of the picture myself and someone else on the aerial or the other way round, that way *I* could determine that I had the best picture, not just a picture (this is particularly in the analogue days). Even more subtle when fitting a satellite dish of course. I would often take the aerial off centre till I lost picture, noted the position then took it the other way to the same and then split the difference (for both axis with a dish).

Or you saw the outer braid exposed outside of the waterproof cover and loads of exposed inner though the active connection.

Cheers, T i m

I always wondered that and would have tried to avoid doing so if possible (cradle mount on the very top of a pole and rear mount if there had to be any others on the same pole)?

Cheers, T i m

What make are you remembering?

Bill

It does, but not much when the mast is at 90deg to the aerial's polarisation.

Bill

That's the way to do it, as Mr punch used to say.

Bill

I forgot that I removed the yagi a couple of years ago and replaced it with an end-mounted log-periodic.

Anyway, when Ch55 and 56 finally go, maybe I'll get out the Group A yagi again and try mounting it with vertical polarisation (I use Rowridge). There won't be a need to use horizontal specifically as it won't have anything extra that vertical doesn't have. I could also see if putting the vertical mounting pole near to the vertical directors has any effect.

Room for expansion on that pole. And he didn't read the instructions which probably showed how to route the cable out behind the reflector.

'Real' men don't need instructions :-)