Thanks, JP! Yeah, I'd seen that. That video is part of what got me thinking about making something tilt-over. (If I do the tetherball pole base, I could probably just tip the whole thing over without any hinge mechanism, but it might be easier to keep it leveled without moving the base around.) I'm trying to avoid digging or putting concrete in the ground, which would probably also get me in trouble with the HOA.
Not sure I trust fiberglass with the weight of the LMR-400 and the antenna itself, which I failed to mention will have a gutted weather station mounted on top of it, because "no antennas allowed." Hey, it's a weather station, not an antenna! Maybe a piece of fence post, a piece of top rail, and then some thicker (bottom sections) of a fiberglass telescoping pole would work. I just want to be sure the thing won't blow, bend, or break over without guy lines... ________________________________ From: JP Pritchard <jppn...@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022 3:37 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: Jeff Greer <gree...@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Jeff If you haven't seen it, here's a very good implemation of combining steel fencing polls and a fiberglass in a crank up configuration that would be totally invisible if left in the down position during the day. It's a very clear explanation of his design. JP. k5JPP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mynik3R4ySU On 03/30/2022 3:01 PM Jeff Greer via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote: Hi, BVARC! I'm curious as to what others are doing for masts/towers. I'm in an HOA ("no antennas") with a tiny little yard. Nobody has complained so far about my homebrew "DX Commander" style fan vertical, which looks like a 31' jackite pole (because that's pretty much what it is, with some 3d-printed wire spreaders). I was holding that up w/ a 5' piece of 3/4 copper water pipe driven halfway into the ground. Worked for several months, but the wind finally bent the pipe. I have some 5' electrical conduit that looks a little tougher, but I may resort to guying. The metal inside the bottom of the fiberglass pole, I suspect, interferes with my 10m element, anyway... I'm also wanting to put my Ed Fong DBJ-1 (which looks like a 5' PVC pipe) up with the feedpoint 25-30'. I picked up a couple of old tires, and I'm thinking of filling one with concrete (think tetherball pole) and mounting a couple of pieces of angle iron in the concrete, so I can drill holes, put some sort of mast between them, and make a "tilt over" base/hinge for the mast. Has anybody built a self-supporting (non-guyed) 30 foot mast out of, say, some sort of stock from Home Depot/Lowe's? The internet has lots of stories about using chain link fence top rail (10' sections), but most say that 2 of those (20') is all you join before it gets super wobbly. Would love to use some sort of square tube - maybe nesting sections - but not sure where to get 10' sections, and not sure aluminum would be strong enough or steel would be light enough... Anyway, that's where I am. I thought I'd float this out there to benefit from the experience of those who have been there and done that. Hope y'all can help me come up with something that will work while avoiding poor choices that could cause damage or hurt somebody. Thanks! -Jeff, W5JEF ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/
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