Anyone ever used a retractable flagpole to get a vertical antenna in the air?

[highspeed556]

So I'm contemplating setting up a base station in my garage. CB for now, but I'd like to get my Ham ticket soon. But 11m is all I'm worried about right now. I have some locals about 10-15 miles away I would like to be able to reach. But the only experience I have is with installing mobiles. I honestly have no idea where to start in setting up a base. I'm planning on using a mobile radio in the garage hooked up to a power supply, and then I guess I just need to run some good coax up through the ceiling and outside. I figure I should put the antenna somewhere along the side of the house right outside the garage. That should make a really short coax run.

I'm looking at an IMAX 2000, but I'm a little bit puzzled on just how to get it up in the air. I would prefer to be able to get it up and down by myself if possible. Some locals have suggested I could go to Lowe's and get a couple fence post railing pieces, drive one into the ground, and place the next on top, with the antenna attached to the top of it.

I'm assuming if I do that, I would still have to have someone help me hoist the second railing and attached antenna up onto the first post. If that's the case...how do I tune the SWR? Take it back down, adjust, put it back up?

I thought of another idea, and please tell me if this will or won't work. What if I installed a telescoping flagpole on the side of the garage? Would that hold an IMAX 2000 up? I suppose about halfway up, just before it reaches above my garage roof (which is 14' high) I could anchor it to the side of the house for extra stability? Then if I need to take it down, I just need to climb up there with a ladder, remove the ubolt attaching it to the house, and then I could lower it down myself. Plus, I get to fly a flag. I've talked about installing a flagpole for years.


Edit: would something like this work: http://t.harborfreight.com/20-ft-te...600.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

 

[AL567]

So I'm contemplating setting up a base station in my garage. CB for now, but I'd like to get my Ham ticket soon. But 11m is all I'm worried about right now. I have some locals about 10-15 miles away I would like to be able to reach. But the only experience I have is with installing mobiles. I honestly have no idea where to start in setting up a base. I'm planning on using a mobile radio in the garage hooked up to a power supply, and then I guess I just need to run some good coax up through the ceiling and outside. I figure I should put the antenna somewhere along the side of the house right outside the garage. That should make a really short coax run.

I'm looking at an IMAX 2000, but I'm a little bit puzzled on just how to get it up in the air. I would prefer to be able to get it up and down by myself if possible. Some locals have suggested I could go to Lowe's and get a couple fence post railing pieces, drive one into the ground, and place the next on top, with the antenna attached to the top of it.

I'm assuming if I do that, I would still have to have someone help me hoist the second railing and attached antenna up onto the first post. If that's the case...how do I tune the SWR? Take it back down, adjust, put it back up?

I thought of another idea, and please tell me if this will or won't work. What if I installed a telescoping flagpole on the side of the garage? Would that hold an IMAX 2000 up? I suppose about halfway up, just before it reaches above my garage roof (which is 14' high) I could anchor it to the side of the house for extra stability? Then if I need to take it down, I just need to climb up there with a ladder, remove the ubolt attaching it to the house, and then I could lower it down myself. Plus, I get to fly a flag. I've talked about installing a flagpole for years.


Edit: would something like this work: http://t.harborfreight.com/20-ft-telescoping-flag-pole-kit-95600.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

You could rent scaffolding on a Friday take it back on Monday. It's not expensive and you'd have the weekend to put your antenna up. 6 foot bucks with 8 ends would get you 24 feet in the air. (4 levels) you could build it in just a few minutes. Just use outriggers so it won't be top heavy.

 

[undertaker]

You can use the flag pole idea. The imax 2000 will come tuned out of the box for 11 meters.

 

[Road Squawker]

So I'm contemplating setting up a base station in my garage...
I'm looking at an IMAX 2000, but I'm a little bit puzzled on just how to get it up in the air... What if I installed a telescoping flagpole on the side of the garage? ... I could anchor it to the side of the house for extra stability.

just get a push up pole, put the antenna on it while it is "collapsed", anchor it to the side of the garage, then just get on the roof and finish raising it up to full height.

it takes very little arm strength to raise it.
good luck

 

[RatsoW8]

just get a push up pole, put the antenna on it while it is "collapsed", anchor it to the side of the garage, then just get on the roof and finish raising it up to full height.

it takes very little arm strength to raise it.
good luck

Yes, what RS said. The flagpole is thin walled aluminum made to hold up a few ounces of flag material and not a CB antenna. Fence post is a better idea and the push up antenna mast is the best idea.

 

[highspeed556]

Alright all. Tell me if this will work.

I take a 1.315-in x 126-in Gray 17-Gauge Galvanized Steel Chain-Link Fence Top Rail (from Lowe's) and bury it a foot or two into the ground. This is 10.5' in length, minus what is buried into the ground, so say to the top is 8.5' off the ground. I add another one on top of this, overlapping (drilling holes and adding a bolt through them to secure them together. At my roof approximately 13.5' off the ground, I anchor the second section to the roof. Assuming I overlap the two pieces 12", and with the 2 feet in ground, that's 21' minus 3' which should put me at 18'. My roof is 14' off the ground, so this should be 4' above my roof line. I then take another one of these fence rails cut down to around 5' (to make it easier to handle while I'm on the roof and also to keep the overall "mast" a bit more rigid) and mount the 24' IMAX 2000 to the top of it. Then I place this third section (with the antenna on top of it) on top of the total 18' of railing and again bolt to the section underneath it after another 12" of overlapping.

So if I'm not missing any calculations, that's 26' in total length of railing, minus 2' in the ground, and two 1' overlaps, so 26-4=22' to the bottom of the antenna. The antenna is 24' tall, so 46' from the ground to the tip of it, which is 32 feet above the roof of my house...

If I bury the bottom section into the ground and then anchor the middle section into the side of the roof at around 13.5', will the rest be okay without guy wires, or am I missing something still?

Here's the fence railing I'm talking about: http://www.lowes.com/pd_103268-215-58910235_1z0wg5m__?productId=50324107&pl=1&Ntt=fence+posts

 

[DainBramage]

Alright all. Tell me if this will work...that's 26' in total length of railing,... The antenna is 24' tall, so 46' from the ground to the tip of it...

with proper guying, it should stand up,but,............. go you have Godzilla arms???? can you erect a 46 FOOT pole?

it can be done, but,...........

should I ask if there are ANY power lines nearby?

 

[highspeed556]

with proper guying, it should stand up,but,............. go you have Godzilla arms???? can you erect a 46 FOOT pole?

it can be done, but,...........

should I ask if there are ANY power lines nearby?

So I was thinking bury the first section. Then add the second section on top. Then get on the roof and add the third section (with antenna attached) to that. I wasn't thinking of putting it all together and THEN erecting it.

As for power, the nearest power lines are approximately 60-80 feet away.

 

[DainBramage]

that should work then 'till you dicide exactly what you want to do

 

[Tallman]

With a little engineering you could make it the radiator instead of just a mast.

 

[highspeed556]

With a little engineering you could make it the radiator instead of just a mast.

Please enlighten me. What do you mean?

 

[2RT307]

HomerBB had plans (somewhere on this site) for a tiltover mast made from 2x4's that would work for you. Or the fence rail works, too. Push up pole is much stronger though, and in Texas winds, I have seen the fence rail bend easily. There have also been some guys that mounted a fence rail to an extension ladder, then they would raise/lower it as needed. Not a bad way to go if you one sitting around.

73,
Brett

 

[DainBramage]

Please enlighten me. What do you mean?

isolate it from ground and then feed it like a metal verticle antenna,..... might be a little too much for you right now

do a google for stuff like : shunt fed tower

 

[firerunner]

One thing you can do is the top rail, then go to the conduit section find the one that the top rail fits into its a pretty good fit. overlap 6-8" drill a hole and pin it with a eye bolt that makes it easy to pull out when you lower it. I like to put some paint on the inner pipe to let you know your close , so you don't pull it out too far and some lines to line up the holes in the pipes. If you ant to go hight the next size conduit fits nicely also and i would put at least 3 guy ropes to help stabilize it. I also buried a heavy tube in the ground about 3' deep and 2-3' above to hold the bottom, you could put a bolt at ground level so you don't loose height and put all three pipes in it and raise one at a time.

 

[Tallman]

If I bury the bottom section into the ground and then anchor the middle section into the side of the roof at around 13.5', will the rest be okay without guy wires, or am I missing something still?

The top rail of the fencing is very flexible and your antenna will sway in the breeze even with some guy wires attached. If you put a decent antenna on top of the fencing pipe it will crash to the ground and destroy your antenna eventually. A good quality push up would be better and use guy wires to strengthen it. Or buy a used tower. Most of the Rohn towers do not require guy wires provided you mount them to a proper concrete base and keep it under thirty feet.
Or you could get some of those military surplus aluminum antenna mast that are four feet in length. They come in ten or twelve to a bag and they are relatively inexpensive. That's what I'm using to hold up the end of my long wire antenna at forty feet. It would need guy wires for an antenna, but not just holding up my long wire.