# Antenna mounting ideas **URL:** \ **Category:** ADS-B Flight Tracking\ **Created:** [January 24, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947 "2016-01-24T18:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rjankowski](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/rjankowski/32/128888_2.png) [@rjankowski](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/rjankowski)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/1 "2016-01-24T18:08:18Z")
Hey guys, finally thinking about moving my antenna outside (been holding off due to the fact that I didn’t particularly feel like messing with all the grounding that comes with a proper install). My plan is to put the Pi in a wall mounted (and weatherproof) box outside, running off of PoE from my main switch. Coax from the box to a mast mounted box for the HABAMP and FA filter, then ending up at the antenna. I’m trying to figure out where I should put the antenna. I have a chimney but it’s not brick. It’s some sort of metal with a faux brick paint job. My initial plan was to get a chimney mount with a 4" standoff from the chimney, but I figure that would likely be an issue being so close to the (sheet metal/aluminum). The other option doesn’t give me quite as much elevation (a difference of maybe 10’) if I were to bolt a mount up to the sewer exhaust pipe and stand the antenna off of that (which seems to be a popular option for ham operators). I don’t particularly want to put the antenna on the chimney with a mount that raises the antenna past the chimney height, don’t need any more chance of catching lightning here. Ideas? [http://theonlyski.com/Roof.JPG](http://theonlyski.com/Roof.JPG) That’s the chimney and the exhaust vent pipe in the background. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![usafpride](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/usafpride/32/131725_2.png) [@usafpride](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/usafpride)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/2 "2016-01-24T20:36:20Z")
Mount it on the end of the house off the gable end. Significant Other approval required tho. ---
**Author:** ![anon26942074](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@anon26942074](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/anon26942074)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/3 "2016-01-24T21:04:13Z")
I’d say mount it on the faux/metal chimney - it should be well grounded anyway - no? Nigel. ---
**Author:** ![TomMuc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/tommuc/32/113358_2.png) [@TomMuc](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/TomMuc)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/4 "2016-01-24T21:06:36Z")
mount it in every case 90 degree to your chimney as this is obviously anomaly horizontal built. ---
**Author:** ![anon26942074](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@anon26942074](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/anon26942074)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/5 "2016-01-24T21:20:52Z")
Stop lying down and sit up - looks alright to me 🙂 There, see, that’s better now 😆 [http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj54/Devonian20d/Roof\_zpsfo29zlts.jpg](http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Devonian20d/media/Roof_zpsfo29zlts.jpg.html) ---
**Author:** ![mgunther](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/mgunther/32/78172_2.png) [@mgunther](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/mgunther)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/6 "2016-01-24T21:32:29Z")
> [@usafpride](#): > > Mount it on the end of the house off the gable end. Significant Other approval required tho. Like this: ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/6/4/642e19599a7051ac4063818980f83e4afd80af3e.jpeg) Significant Other approval was obtained 🙂 5m cable with filter/amplifier/Pi in attic. ---
**Author:** ![TomMuc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/tommuc/32/113358_2.png) [@TomMuc](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/TomMuc)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/7 "2016-01-24T21:36:28Z")
> [@Devonian](#): > > Stop lying down and sit up - looks alright to me 🙂 > > There, see, that’s better now :lol: perfect - helps my neck much 🙂 so - back to reality. i had/have the similar problem - and my solution for now is an antenna in the attic. maybe in spring i’ll overcome my lazyness and mount it on the roof. my first idea was the same as yours - placing on the chimney. but i did some photoshop mockups a few weeks ago and decided that this looks extremely ugly. if/when mounting my antenna i’ll use a short pole (1-2 feet) very near to rooftop and with max distance from chimney. edit: better place amp + filter + dongle + pi in the attic. 3-6 feet cable in front of amp costs nearly zero performance and helps much if there is something going wrong one day. kinda this way: [http://cdn.pollin.de/article/xtrabig/XE571208.JPG](http://cdn.pollin.de/article/xtrabig/XE571208.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![usafpride](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/usafpride/32/131725_2.png) [@usafpride](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/usafpride)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/8 "2016-01-24T21:49:22Z")
> [@TomMuc](#): > > > [@Devonian](#): > > > > Stop lying down and sit up - looks alright to me 🙂 > > > > There, see, that’s better now 😆 > > perfect - helps my neck much 🙂 > > so - back to reality. i had/have the similar problem - and my solution for now is an antenna in the attic. maybe in spring i’ll overcome my lazyness and mount it on the roof. my first idea was the same as yours - placing on the chimney. but i did some photoshop mockups a few weeks ago and decided that this looks extremely ugly. if/when mounting my antenna i’ll use a short pole (1-2 feet) very near to rooftop and with max distance from chimney. > > kinda this way: Are those plastic tiles? ---
**Author:** ![TomMuc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/tommuc/32/113358_2.png) [@TomMuc](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/TomMuc)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/9 "2016-01-24T21:53:30Z")
> [@usafpride](#): > > > [@TomMuc](#): > > > > Are those plastic tiles? don’t know - this is only a picture found on the internet - not my roof. but i guess it is glazed clay … ---
**Author:** ![rjankowski](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/rjankowski/32/128888_2.png) [@rjankowski](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/rjankowski)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/10 "2016-01-24T23:00:14Z")
My only issue is with grounding. I’ve considered the gable mounts but the only gable that I have where I can mount it is on the far side of the house, which means a really long ground from the service ground. I may just bite the bullet and put a ground on this side of the house, tie it in to the service ground and then ground the mount from there, but in Florida, I don’t want to risk catching some discharge and starting the house on fire. (Last year a tree about 300’ from my house got hit and split in two from lightning. ---
**Author:** ![TomMuc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/tommuc/32/113358_2.png) [@TomMuc](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/TomMuc)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/11 "2016-01-24T23:08:42Z")
> [@rjankowski](#): > > My only issue is with grounding. I’ve considered the gable mounts but the only gable that I have where I can mount it is on the far side of the house, which means a really long ground from the service ground. > > I may just bite the bullet and put a ground on this side of the house, tie it in to the service ground and then ground the mount from there, but in Florida, I don’t want to risk catching some discharge and starting the house on fire. (Last year a tree about 300’ from my house got hit and split in two from lightning. absolutely - grounding is mandatory! go for copper wire as this allows the smallest diameter 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![abcd567](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/abcd567/32/113769_2.png) [@abcd567](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/abcd567)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/12 "2016-01-25T04:09:55Z")
> [@rjankowski](#): > > My only issue is with grounding. I’ve considered the gable mounts but the only gable that I have where I can mount it is on the far side of the house, which means a really long ground from the service ground. > > I may just bite the bullet and put a ground on this side of the house, tie it in to the service ground and then ground the mount from there, but in Florida, I don’t want to risk catching some discharge and starting the house on fire. (Last year a tree about 300’ from my house got hit and split in two from lightning. > [@TomMuc](#): > > absolutely - grounding is mandatory! go for copper wire as this allows the smallest diameter 🙂 ARE THESE ANTENNAS GROUNDED? [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Antenna.jpg/360px-Antenna.jpg.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1657/24570377136\_233fefc448.jpg.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1658/24596528195\_87c40a29db.jpg.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Multiple\_Antenna.JPG/330px-Multiple\_Antenna.JPG.http://www.sodac.com/images/3671top.jpeg.http://thumb9.shutterstock.com/display\_pic\_with\_logo/608488/311353772/stock-photo-satellite-dishes-and-tv-antennas-on-the-house-roof-with-a-beautiful-blue-sky-311353772.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Antenna.jpg/360px-Antenna.jpg.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1657/24570377136_233fefc448.jpg.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1658/24596528195_87c40a29db.jpg.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Multiple_Antenna.JPG/330px-Multiple_Antenna.JPG.http://www.sodac.com/images/3671top.jpeg.http://thumb9.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/608488/311353772/stock-photo-satellite-dishes-and-tv-antennas-on-the-house-roof-with-a-beautiful-blue-sky-311353772.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![abcd567](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/abcd567/32/113769_2.png) [@abcd567](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/abcd567)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/13 "2016-01-25T04:52:44Z")
Russian Antenna Installation From Soviet Era: USSR Army’s Very Low Level Flight Detecting Radar at **Chernobyl, Ukraine**. Nick Named as **“Russian Woodpecker”**. Reportedly Russians used to pump into this antenna array **10 Mega Watts of RF Power**. 😮 It consisted of a huge array of center-fed broad-band cage-dipoles. ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/b/7/b76c06440001f6f2f93e1998a97e16ca44cf3862.jpeg) [https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1637/24301226600\_ee86bf8d57\_c.jpg](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1637/24301226600_ee86bf8d57_c.jpg) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/1/5/15522c47c892353bba88f328626fbd0ceeb939b2.jpeg) ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/5/1/51733520dc62af96de75cfbfc3182582f59d6fd1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![rjankowski](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/rjankowski/32/128888_2.png) [@rjankowski](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/rjankowski)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/14 "2016-01-25T12:16:09Z")
> [@abcd567](#): > > ARE THESE ANTENNAS GROUNDED? The electronics in my house are likely worth more than the electronics plugged into those arrays. Having spent a couple years in the middle east, there are a lot of things that I have seen work, but wouldn’t come anywhere near doing myself. ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/2/3/23ffb975d9479c141af62c14157c159a7fd12899.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![abcd567](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/abcd567/32/113769_2.png) [@abcd567](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/abcd567)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/15 "2016-01-25T13:07:11Z")
> [@abcd567](#): > > ARE THESE ANTENNAS GROUNDED? > [@rjankowski](#): > > The electronics in my house are likely worth more than the electronics plugged into those arrays. Having spent a couple years in the middle east, there are a lot of things that I have seen work, but wouldn’t come anywhere near doing myself. This cluster of wires & cables is the 240V 50Hz AC Power Lines & Service Drops 😮 Well in a war-torn country in middle east (like Iraq, Syria etc) this is not astonishing. ---
**Author:** ![antonov124](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/antonov124/32/114086_2.png) [@antonov124](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/antonov124)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/16 "2016-01-30T14:31:57Z")
Here is my mounting idea 😉 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/flightaware/original/3X/7/6/763852998b0ca4b793c053a6b32fa4e17cf20f6b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![PeterHR](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/peterhr/32/114359_2.png) [@PeterHR](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/PeterHR)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/17 "2016-01-31T22:23:40Z")
what’s in the other directions? ---
**Author:** ![fatherdoctor](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/fatherdoctor/32/26590_2.png) [@fatherdoctor](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/fatherdoctor)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/18 "2016-02-01T02:09:34Z")
Make sure whatever you do to push the antenna above or away from the chimney as it will block a huge swath of LOS. I’d probably buy or build an offset mount kit for a satellite dish. Should get you all of the hardware you need. ---
**Author:** ![k5ted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4bbf92/32.png) [@k5ted](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/k5ted)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/19 "2016-02-01T04:00:26Z")
If your faux brick chimney is indeed metal then attach the standoff to it with some sheet metal screws, right up under the screen. Put it on the side toward the roof peak. Use a short piece of metal or PVC pipe to get the antenna above the edge of the chimney top. If you use PVC, then do run a ground wire from the antenna base to the standoff, just for good engineering practice. Unless you live on a hilltop and your neighbors regularly take lightning hits to the chimney, and your house is two or more stories taller than the surrounding structures, I wouldn’t worry about a tiny ADS-B antenna being 6 or 8 inches above the chimney on a side mount. Amateur radio operators routinely put up much larger lighting bait than you are contemplating and never catch a thing… ---
**Author:** ![andrew6721](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discussions.flightaware.com/andrew6721/32/117926_2.png) [@andrew6721](https://discussions.flightaware.com/u/andrew6721)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 8:53am UTC](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947/20 "2016-02-01T08:53:52Z")
> [@antonov124](#): > > Here is my mounting idea 😉 A lovely bit of lateral thinking there!! well done 🙂 [Next page](https://discussions.flightaware.com/t/antenna-mounting-ideas/17947.md?page=2)