Vantage Vue Roof Mount - can I buy a pole locally?

[billunger]

Merry Christmas to me!!  Santa brought a lovely Vantage Vue ( with Weatherlink ) to my house for Christmas!!  Due to various structures and trees, I need to mount the ISS on my roof but didn't not yet buy the mounting poles.  Is that something I can pick up at a local Home Depot or do I need something special?

Thanks in advance!
Bill

[4wd]

It's not much heavier than a TV aerial so anything in that style should be fine.
Just check the diameter carefully though - I was a bit disappointed a useful looking scaffolding pole I already had was a quarter inch too wide.

[billunger]

Thanks!

The manual indicates a pole with a 1" to 1.75" diameter, which seems quite a variance.  I just wasn't certain if a specific size was better....

[wmcatty]

You can pick up a "pole" at any hardware or home improvement type store, but you need to determine how you are going to mount it to the roof and attach guy wires to it before you buy one.  You might want want to check for a tripod type mount, which will give it more stability...these can be purchased online, or ordered from Radio Shack (alot of stores do not keep these in stock).  You might also want to check with a local satellite dish installation company, as they usually have the tripod "RV Satellite kits" in stock.  Congratulations on your new VUE.

[Skywatch]

I believe some hardware or electronic store may also carry tripods for easier mounting. Hardware stores carry a bunch of pole materials. Me, I use the stuff used for fence posts. When using a tripod it's probably not a good idea to exede 10 Ft. Congradulations on the Vue. It will give you years of enjoyment. It's also alot of fun uploading to CWOP and weather Uunderground if you get the station set up on those places. Weather watching is a very fulfilling hobby.

[xykotik]

Go to the "Weather Station Photos" board here at WxForum to get ideas that are in line with your situation.  You'll find a lot of creative solutions there.

The Vue mount has a "V" to cinch against on one side and a U-bolt, which fixes the max diameter of your mast, but you should not get anything too skinny, for stability's sake.  I got a nice anodized 10-foot antenna mast at Radio Shack for mine and used antenna mounts at the eaves which set it away from the building just enough to clear the roofing material overhang.

If you use pipes/mast-poles made to interlock or extend, sometimes the swaged end (male/narrow) of a slightly too-large pole will still fit the U-bolt, like it did for my father-in-laws LaCrosse annemometer and a random pole I found at his house.

Enjoy your new toy!

[Wtronics]

I have seen this question asked a number of times and I wanted to share my finding at Home depot.

Home Depot has a pole they call "YARDGARD 10-1/2 ft. 17-Gauge Steel Top Rail for Chain-Link Fence". It is a cold rolled steel, plated, pole, 1 3/8"  in diameter and very strong. Obviously it is used for fencing but it works extremely well as a mast for weather stations. Each pole is 10.5 feet with a pinched end to take any number of extensions. It is 17 gauge steel and I have two stacked giving me 20 feet from the ground to my station.

The listed internet price is $9.41

Not all stores may have this item.

Here are the store numbers for the item: Model # 328913DPT, Internet # 100322532, Store SKU # 181697

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100322532/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I am NOT connected in any way to Home depot except by the amount of money I spend there weekly! I asked them for an antenna mast and they said they did not have anything like that. I happened to be walking by the wire fencing area and practically did a dance in the isle when I found the mast (sorry - fence rail).

Suggestions:

1. Buy some high grade bare metal primer and a finish coat and paint the mast before installing.

2. They (Home Depot) have a very nice stainless (guy wire) cable selection including 1/8", 3/16", etc for guy wires. I also bought a number of stainless bolt type cable ties, and a couple of 1 1/2 inch adjustable (screwdriver type) stainless pipe clamps to hold the stainless cables on the mast, as guy wires, at the joint and near the top.

3. WARNING - This project can have a very low wife (or spouse) approval factor in some families!!!

[HandyGeek]

Search using http://duckduckgo.com for a local supplier of Purple Martin bird houses.

They will very likely also stock the poles - which should meet the need handily.

Which reminds me, I need to get my Martin-house repaired before they return!

[Skywatch]

Search using http://duckduckgo.com for a local supplier of Purple Martin bird houses.

They will very likely also stock the poles - which should meet the need handily.

Which reminds me, I need to get my Martin-house repaired before they return!

That's what I used on the bottom section of my pole. If you get the pole that has the locking pins, you might want to replace those with actuall screws. Othersize they tend to come lose.

[LFWX]

DO NOT buy the gold colored antenna mast sold at Lowes!!!!!

I made that mistake when I bought a post for my relocated rain collector. The paint was falling off within weeks because of rust underneath.

I bought the antenna mast sold at Radio Shack (I have always had great performance using this) and then cut it to the length I needed. Plus it was on sale!

Radio Shack also sells tripods, which also hold up to the weather very nicely.

[Aardvark]

I have the radioshack mount as well.  It has been in place for geez.. 11 years now.   It hasn't come apart yet.  But I did put in a ubolt and a mast clamp to be sure.    No rust either.   I left the top of the mast open and it hits the ground about 2 inches below the surface.   Whatever they paint their masts with seems to be durable.

I have even heard of iron water pipe.  I'd stay away from copper as it probably will get stolen, or PVC which isn't durable regardless of what it is filled with.  You want to go up only once on the roof.

[billunger]

Given where I want to put the ISS, I just bought this weather mount from Ambient:

http://www.ambientweather.com/amwewe.html

It should give me the clearance and height that I need.  Unfortunately, I have to wait for it to arrive.  <sigh>

Thanks for all of the help!!

[JACK10562]

That's the mount I'm using. If you plan on adding any more pipe onto that, I think you will find it requires some lateral stability. I used 1/2 inch galvanized EMT to brace the vertical mast sections.

I flattened a few inches on either end of the tubing and used stainless steel hose clamps to secure it to the mast, and the lower end is bolted to the rafter at the edge of the roof.

Here are some pictures of my install:
http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=10397.msg99728#msg99728

[billunger]

Nicely done!

The specs show a total height of about 50", so that should get the ISS far enough up.  I hope.    Any higher and I might find entries in the "complaint box" at home. 

[billunger]

Ambient sells an additional 35" extender ( adds 31" after insert ) for the J mount I bought from them. 

http://www.ambientweather.com/amwe35swma.html

Does anyone know:  if I add the extender onto the existing mount, will I need to stabilize it somehow or will the existing mount and relatively light weight of the ISS be okay stand-alone?   

If I have to shore it up, I probably won't get the extender <sigh>

Thanks
Bill

[dalecoy]

Does anyone know:  if I add the extender onto the existing mount, will I need to stabilize it somehow or will the existing mount and relatively light weight of the ISS be okay stand-alone?   

I'm rather certain that nobody knows for sure - particularly since you haven't described how you are going to mount the base, where, how securely, etc. nor have we any idea of what wind and other conditions you expect (i.e., where you are).

So, you'll need to get the extender and try it.  You can always take it off.

[JACK10562]

After installing mine, to my dismay, I discovered that this mount has somewhat limited movement locking capabilities. Tightening the pivot and locking bolts tends to collapse the pivot point, and even then it still can move.

Initially I had my station ISS and anemometer up on 2 sections of pipe (6ft) and it keeled over, even with the bolts tightened down pretty snug. My solution was installing EMT tubing for vertical stabilization of the mast.

When I decided to raise the anemometer another 6 feet, I added a second set of stabilizers.

[billunger]

ightening the pivot and locking bolts tends to collapse the pivot point, and even then it still can move.

I noticed this exact behavior on mine, which makes me pretty skeptical about being able to add an extension without support....