Telescopic masts

[Heavy Metal]

CK, down here in FL it does not matter much what you use within reason, when ( not if) the hurricane comes it will come down.

Or use a crank up/lean over tower or hazer.
Just a matter of when mother nature decides it is time to bring things down.

Yup someone else may own it down the road or next county lol


Was up in KY and on a ridge were you got 50-70mph winds were in town they got 25-35mph winds. But I was up 1060 plus ft above sea level too here only about 35' above sea level.


And in KY only up 10' 6" fence rail and got Europe ect no problem.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

CK, down here in FL it does not matter much what you use within reason, when ( not if) the hurricane comes it will come down.

Or use a crank up/lean over tower or hazer.
Just a matter of when mother nature decides it is time to bring things down.

Yeah but IIRC HM is not in Fla? Is he? Maybe I have him confused with someone else? In any event a proper mast should stay up unless the supporting structure, like bolted to a house, gets destroyed. Sure you may loose the antenna itself but a 2" steel mast should stay up if properly installed. I have lost count of how many antennas much smaller than mine have been lost throughout the years because they were installed on a small diameter piece of EMT or light weight swagged tubing from Radio Shack without any guys or improper bolting to a structure. My first antenna of any size was a Wilson Shooting Star installed on a piece of 2 inch water pipe telescoped thru sleeves welded to a piece of four inch well casing with the bottom in the ground and bolted to the eve of the house. The boom was about 36 feet high with no guys and a horizon about 12 miles away to the south and east and well over 20 miles to the northeast and east. We got winds strong enough to destroy an Astroplane and it's mounting pipe (thin walled swagged tubing) yet my yagi stayed put. After the Cat 1 borderline Cat 2 hurricane passed everyone was stunned to hear me back on the air long before others because dozens and dozens of groundplanes and three element beams in the area were down.I was 15 years old at the time and decided even then to do it right. Now, 37 years later, I work too damned hard to put antennas up so I don't want to have to do it any more often than absolutely necessary. LOL

Edit: Yeah OK I just checked his IP and he is in Fla. however there are LOTS of ham antennas that stay up as well as lots that come down too I guess however the best insurance about it staying up is to install it like you want it to stay forever. The extra cost is minimal and the added insurance can't be beat.

 

[Heavy Metal]

Oh it will be guided also mounted up against 9' with @3' in ground of 4x4 or 6x6. So maybe go lower sections up and stay with 1.25" top.

 

[222DBFL]

I get the mount It once and leave it deal but what I had up for antenna wasn't going to be my permanent install. It got me on air and did quite well for what it was. The 1" pipe that I use is well braced and has proved to be strong enough for a light weight antenna like a sirio tornado or A99 without the GP kit at the 27ft. Height I have used them at. I wouldn't go higher without more bracing or having to use some guyed wires. For now though I would just lower my mast if I knew a cane was coming. It handles the summer t-storms here just fine and has for the last 3 summers without any issues. I check my mast often and all seems to be okay still and also currently it's empty and down. If I place a larger antenna up this time, I have other plans.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Oh it will be guided ....................

I thought we were talking antennas and not missiles.

 

[Heavy Metal]

What's the difference when enough wind speed comes through and picks anything up off the ground?

But ya have to say I guess I hope it has a happy landing LOL

 

[wavrider]

Agreed CK, do it once and do it right.

2 inch sch 40 black iron is what i prefer to use for mast pipes.

At today's prices the mast may cost more than the antenna.

I get some drops from work and weld them together, works great, Heavy as hell on the hazer but won't loose the mast in the thunderstorms.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

2 inch sch 40 black iron is what i prefer to use for mast pipes.

This is exactly what I was using for both the 2 inch and the four inch. It serves quite well for antenna masts despite the nay sayers warning of not to use such a weak material. I would not use it on a LARGE HF stacked array but I have and continue to use it on antennas. My current mast is 2 inch inside diameter black iron pipe but is reinforced with a 2 inch OD galvanized mast pipe sleeved inside for 8 feet starting just below the top of the tower and extending seven feet above it which is the most critical point of failure for a mast.

 

[wavrider]

Hell of a mast CK,

I would call that " Heavy Metal"

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Hell of a mast CK,

I would call that " Heavy Metal"

It has to be. Picture an Explorer-14 tribander with the 40m add-on kit at the top of a Trylon T-500 tower @ 62 feet. At about 68 feet a Cushcraft A3WS dual bander for 12/17m. At 72 feet a homebrew heavy duty six element yagi for 6m and at 75 feet a Cushcraft 13B2 for 2m weak signal. I neglected to mention the length of aluminum pipe inside the galvanized inner pipe where it extends out the top of the tower. Mast thickness at this point is pretty much 1/2 inch and extends for eight feet from about a foot below the top of the tower to seven feet above. Just the single 2 inch ID mast extends above that point. I could have spent big $$ for a chromoly mast but this is just as good and far cheaper plus I had the pipe cluttering up the back yard. As for heavy.......yeah. No idea exactly but the mast alone weighs about 100 pounds or more and is 22 feet long in total.

 

[Heavy Metal]

Ok
Bottom line IMAX 2000
NO radials just bare out of BOX.

55' or go 65' and what's the pros and cons of these heights and these are at coaxial input not top of antenna.

I'm going to do it base up stock telescopic pole top 1.25"


I value a lot of what everyone says and also put in what have read, sometimes what you rad is hype and bs and then those who do did and done it works for some other does not. So any input those are heights I'm thinking of. 65' if not mistaken is free space and 55' is @2 wave lengths in height.

 

[loosecannon]

"Check out the electrical masts used for holding up the drop wires from the utility company into your home. They are galvanized and quite strong and comein a few different sizes."

CK, can you link me to the masts you are talking about here?
LC

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

"Check out the electrical masts used for holding up the drop wires from the utility company into your home. They are galvanized and quite strong and comein a few different sizes."

CK, can you link me to the masts you are talking about here?
LC

Not right off hand but they should be in the electrical section of places like home Depot or Lowes. I had my service entrance upgraded a couple years ago and the electrician had to replace the mast with a longer one because of the upgrade from 100 amp to 200 amp service which needed more height clearance. Both the old and new masts were galvanized and quite heavy walled to withstand the strain of the drop lines from the pole to the house.

 

[loosecannon]

Not right off hand but they should be in the electrical section of places like home Depot or Lowes. I had my service entrance upgraded a couple years ago and the electrician had to replace the mast with a longer one because of the upgrade from 100 amp to 200 amp service which needed more height clearance. Both the old and new masts were galvanized and quite heavy walled to withstand the strain of the drop lines from the pole to the house.

thanks.

i would really like to be able to find one of these locally.
is there a certain name they go by so i can google it?

i know that the lowes and home depots out here no longer carry TV masts, but maybe they still carry this.
LC

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

OK this is what I found on the home Depot USA site.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Allied-Tube-Conduit-2-in-EMT-Conduit-101592/100400411

It still seems lighter duty than what I was looking at in the Home Depot up here just a few hours ago. I was picking up faucets and other plumbing goodies for a bathroom reno I am neck deep into right now. I took a little stroll thru the electrical department on my way to plumbing and looked at the masts here. The one linked to above is more like EMT conduit while the ones here are more like heavy galvanized pipe.