New way to mount antenna

[KMSY]

Well, so far I'm not too happy with the performance of my J-Pole. I've got it as high up as possible, in the attic, well over 20 feet up. I can hear airliners fine in the air for as far out as about 20 miles. I can hear them on the ground most of the time. I cannot hear smaller GA aircraft on the ground. I can't hear GA any farther than 10 miles away in the air. There is no way to mount the antenna on the roof or anywhere on the house really. To get on the roof would require a ladder at least 20 feet high, and I can't find one. I have tried mounting it on a large metal fence, but that doesn't work out well either. What are some alternatives? Could I build a tower? New Orleans is completely flat. I have a clear line of sight to just about anything. I'm afraid that attic just won't do it. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

[KSYR-pjr]

Well, so far I'm not too happy with the performance of my J-Pole.

I hope it's your attic and not the J-pole antenna itself.  Did you build it or have someone build it?   On what frequency is the J-pole antenna centered? 

I am about a week away from upgrading my relatively inexpensive discone antenna to a J-pole and have some expectations for better reception.  The difference is that in my case the current antenna is mounted on an outside-the-house-attached pole, which will then hold the new antenna.    Hopefully your post is not an omen.

[KMSY]

Well. I bought my J-pole from http://www.kb9vbr.com/. It worked for a while, but the connector broke off from the main shaft. So I had to fix it myself and it was a little sloppy. I'm pretty sure I fixed it up just fine though. I asked him to tune it to 120.

I'm thinking I just get a pole and either stick it deep in the ground or put it on top of a treehouse like thing, with a flat roof. And then lash the J-pole onto that and make it as high as possible.

I think the attic is preventing me from hearing stuff on the ground. I'm less than 5 miles from the airport, with nothing in the way, so it should be loud and clear, but it's not.

[KSYR-pjr]

Well. I bought my J-pole from http://www.kb9vbr.com/.

That's where I bought mine.  When I saw how the connector was attached after receiving it I became concerned about it's durability.   Looks like that might be an issue.

At 9nm from the airport, I also don't pick up most small GA aircraft on the ground, unless weather or atmosphere conditions are just right.  However, I have no problem receiving most aircraft in the air within a 50 - 60 nm radius.

Perhaps there is something in your attic interfering with the antenna's reception?  Also, how about the quality of your cable?  What are using to connect the antenna to the scanner?

[Lezam]

I have a KB9VBR antenna, it seems to be doing allright. I hooked it onto my chimney with some radioshack brackets and get pretty good reception. I had to weld another piece onto my jpole to make it longer so it would fit into the radioshack bracket.

It seems like something that would be hard to make, but its actually a simple matter of welding some copper pipes together! If you feel competent welding, it should NOT be a problem to make one yourself.

[KMSY]

Well, I adjusted the cables a little and it sounds better. You know you have to have the scanner in an exact position in the room, with the cable coming out of it at a certain angle 

Ya, the antenna worked awesome before the connector broke off. If I would have been able to fix it properly and had the proper welding/soldering skills, I would have made a J-pole to begin with. But otherwise, it's worth the price.

The attic is completely wood, with a A/C unit nearby. That might be a problem.

I could mount it to the siding, above the brick, but that's still at least 20 feet up and still not as high as it is now in the attic.