TV antenna on mast top or spreader height

transmitterdan · Apr 22, 2013

I would put it below the top. Also, make sure it isn't going to interfere with sails on any point of sail or tacking. The few feet/meters less height will not make much difference in signal strength. Get an antenna with built in amplifier powered over the coax as that will help weak signals a lot. The HD quality will be better than satellite or cable.

duality · Apr 22, 2013

ok, maybe its just me... but since the signals went digital my reception with the mast top flying saucer antenna, the pictures pix elates alot on a windy day. i am sure the mast top is swaying a few feet. i am in chicago and only about a mile from the source. i am thinking of mounting one off my stern pulpit. will repost when i do

mike

tkanzler · Apr 22, 2013

duality said:
ok, maybe its just me... but since the signals went digital my reception with the mast top flying saucer antenna, the pictures pix elates alot on a windy day. i am sure the mast top is swaying a few feet. i am in chicago and only about a mile from the source. i am thinking of mounting one off my stern pulpit. will repost when i do.

Being that close to the transmitters, you may be having a multipath problem, with the signal bouncing off buildings, terrain, or even your or others' masts. Where a little ghosting may have been an issue in the past, it can wreak havoc with digital signals, at least with the standard used in North America.

stephen Penny · Apr 22, 2013

My antenna is installed in front of the mast just above the radar and picks up great reception.

Benny17441 · Apr 22, 2013

It would really depend on your sailing area. I have seen omnidirectional antennas work real well installed just a few ft above the stern pulpit in metropolitan areas where the network broadcast antennas are fairly close. In remote areas where reception may be more difficult you can benefit from additional height. There is no snowy pictures with digital transmission, you either get it or you don't. Reserve the mast top for the anchor light, wind instruments and the vhf antenna as their function will have priority. If you have a fractional rig, above the headsail night be a good location. Have not experienced any problems with having the antenna in front of the mast. If you place it near the spreaders you run the risk of knocking them off when tacking in a stiff breeze. Check reception at various heights before committing to a particular location and then choose the more convenient for your sailing area.

onecoolair · Apr 22, 2013

Star Trek

I have one of those Star Treky Antennas mounted in front of mast just below mast head. Looks pretty cool at night with that little red light ....When boat is in slip and facing north I pick up maybe one or two stations. When boat is backed into slip facing south TV loses reception to those stations and I have too let TV recalibrate were I may or may not get a station. The Mexico Stations always come in clear as day no matter what direction !!! To bad I do not speak Mexican.
Fancy antenna...Big waste of money !..... Have better luck with Cheap Wabbit ears from Wally Mart.

Delezynski · Apr 22, 2013

We are now using a simple roll-up type of antenna. I pull it up my flag halyard when we want to watch TV, and lower it for sailing. Seems to work good for us and no cultter or extra weight aloft. It's also good for a short wave radio.

Greg

This one sort of looks like the one we have.

damauney · Apr 22, 2013

I put my Glomex 10 above my Garmin 18 radar at the spreaders (see photo). Works fine. I wanted deflector ring around radar to also protect Glomex. The included amplifier seems to help.

Goodwinds
DaveM

windward54 · Apr 22, 2013

The PO had one mounted on top of the mast, actually on top of the anchor light. Works great, and is out of the way. But having said that, most mount the TV antenna right above the radar if the radar is mounted to the mast, and the reception is the same as mine.

djplatt · Apr 22, 2013

I have a couple of HD antennas on my house and can offer some observations.

In theory, reception is supposed to be more or less line of sight so the higher the better.

Many HD antennas are directional so pointing them in the direction that the signal is coming from does improve reception.

I find reception is poorest on windy days. I attribute this to the fact that the antenna is moving which in the context of a boat, might mean that locating the antenna lower where there is less masthead roll might be an advantage.

My 2 cents worth.

Cheers

transmitterdan · Apr 22, 2013

duality said:
ok, maybe its just me... but since the signals went digital my reception with the mast top flying saucer antenna, the pictures pix elates alot on a windy day. i am sure the mast top is swaying a few feet. i am in chicago and only about a mile from the source. i am thinking of mounting one off my stern pulpit. will repost when i do

mike

You may be too close. Try turning off the amplifier in the antenna by removing power from the DC injector. If pixelating gets better then you can leave it off.

transmitterdan · Apr 22, 2013

Philip_Oceanis 361 said:
The few feet/meters may not be a problem but what about the fact that it is in front of the mast (or the mast behind it!). Does this affect/reduce its performance?

This is not much of a problem. The mast shadows the antenna a bit but it's not a very big part of the 360 degree view of the antenna. And the mast is not a very good attenuator of UHF frequencies. And there isn't much you can do about it anyway. The height gained more than makes up for the little bit of attenuation.

TV antenna on mast top or spreader height

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