Base Tram 1498 18' antenna broke internally after a year (internal pics included)

[gamegetter]

JB weld is not supposed to be electrically conductive, it is supposed to be electrically insulating.

either the fiberglas or jb weld can be used in my opinion. likely you will put everything back together and seal well with which ever you choose to go with. then you will sleave with your pvc pipe and likely use hose clamps. although something with bolts would be much better. i have made several repairs with jb weld and splints and bolts that are still holding but was not antenna related and i was able to drill through and use bolts.

something like this would be nice for antenna repair, although expensive.
https://www.grainger.com/product/SMITH-BLAIR-Redi-Clamp-Repair-Clamp-4NWP7

perhaps one could home brew something similar or someone out there knows of some cheaper alternatives.

 

[HomerBB]

I used those redi clamps many times repairing flowlines in the oilfields of LA/MS. They are great solutions to pipe body leaks.

When speaking of using the fiberglass it's not a small patch to which I refer. The fiberglass patch consists of using the fb cloth completely saturated in the fb resin mixture when it is rolled tightly/snugly around the antenna tube recreating the tube, but more thickly than before. Fiberglass tape, similar to drywall seam tape, is another option instead of cloth. Several layers give optimum strength. When it sets up (within minutes) and cures to final hardness (a few hours) it can be sanded to smoothness if desired. I probably wouldn't as that is me thinking the rf doesn't know it isn't as pretty as the original.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-fiberglass-resin-patch-kits-91146.html

 

[darklife]

Thank you all so much for the ideas. The big stick is back up in the air and holding up pretty damn well!

I ended up using the fiberglass cloth and resin and wrapped enough around over the last few days between sanding it until it was as thick as the original.
Also used JB Weld for the cut I made at first so I could get the pole straight before using the fiberglass, then slipped a roughed up piece of PVC over the whole thing filled with JB Weld for extra strength and used a whole containers worth of that stuff like I was putting on/in putty around the PVC and fiberglass.

Pretty sure this is going to hold fine since I had to lift the whole antenna from the ground laid out horizontal to slowly tilt the whole thing up into the air, so it definitely can support its whole weight even horizontally.

Thank you thank you. Happy camper here! Antenna performs just as it did before the break.

 

[HomerBB]

Awesome!
Yo' Mama gone be proud of yew, boy.

 

[darklife]

Little bit of skip earlier today on my repaired antenna that seems to be back to normal..



Sorry first few minutes is some hams, skip ahead when I drop it down to CB frequencies

 

[darklife]

Just want to say after a year now it's still holding up well.
Went with sanding my cut down then cleaning, filling with JB weld around the crack and settle until stiff, then fiberglass kit which I sanded between layers applied until it was snuff for PVC which I mixed up JB weld and slid the pipe section over and let it sit.

Had to take the antenna down today after a year which is a lean over job because of height as I wanted to lower the frequency some and the cured area is still strong as can be, maybe even more so than the fiberglass antenna itself.

Thanks again, just wanted to update and close.
The methods in this thread worked in case anyone has a similar issue.

 

[groundwire]

cheap antenna, no surprise. buy quality and be done!

 

[towerdog]

Patch it and sell it. I don't think Tram has much love for 11m or lowband VHF, or base antennas in general ( i seldom see tram up on the towers ) and Lil Will beats their CB-27 by a longshot, though their NMO mounts are solid.

 

[Rwb]

id try sch 80 pvc pipe and use minimum of 2 ft and really use pvc cleaner and the heavier sch 80 pvc glue n dont go lightly with it. that thick pipe is damm stout

 

[rkb4949]

I'm having the same problem.....purchased a 1498 4 months ago and it has been good but recently I turned on the radio and checked the SWR, it was off the scale so I got to checking with the ohm meter. After checking the coax wich was good did a check on the antenna and the center pin is dead shorted to ground. Called Tram and got no help, told me to go back to the seller so I called Amazon and they told me since it was out of the 30 day return period there was nothing they could do either. So I guess I'm S O L
Is there a way of getting the bottom section off without taking a hack saw to it ???

 

[Rwb]

I'm having the same problem.....purchased a 1498 4 months ago and it has been good but recently I turned on the radio and checked the SWR, it was off the scale so I got to checking with the ohm meter. After checking the coax wich was good did a check on the antenna and the center pin is dead shorted to ground. Called Tram and got no help, told me to go back to the seller so I called Amazon and they told me since it was out of the 30 day return period there was nothing they could do either. So I guess I'm S O L
Is there a way of getting the bottom section off without taking a hack saw to it ???

set screw in bottom the mount sleeve covers.must undo wire at the first threaded joint.it all slips out the bottom