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Anyone know where I can find a cheap piece of fiberglass 2" diameter rod about 2 feet ought to do it. Maybe 18"

thats short.... Whats it for?

Part of a 5/8 wave antenna to isolate the vertical element from the mast

I used the white schedule 40 PVC with a piece of vinyl closet rod stuffed in it. Our local Home Depot doesn't carry it anymore, so a piece of wooden rod could do it. The 1 1/4" PVC proved weak alone, so I split a section of 1 1/2" Sch 40 PVC for about 3/4 the length of the section and wrapped it around the smaller using PVC cement and a hose clamp around the bottom. The top was drilled through passing also through the vertical to secure the top of the section.

reinforced 5/8

another photo

This has stood up to incredible winds

Fiberglass shovel replacement handle from Home Depot. Won't be 2" but check them out and see if you can make them work for you.

It's about 1 1/4"

Got a pair of them from a posthole digger. Hollow in the middle.

Well, if nothing else works, wanna make one?
- 'Doc

MAX-GAIN SYSTEMS, INC. : Fiberglass Price List

I bought some from these guys a while back. They have every size, type and length. You don't need 2" in diameter for your project...I bought some 1" diameter solid stuff that is unbelievably strong

BTW, these guys also have fiberglass push up masts.

How much stuff did you get mole? Any 8 foot long stuff? Was shipping very high?I ask because I plan to make a purchase from them this fall/winter to build an HF quad and was wondering what shipping costs are like. I figure you on the west coast and me on the east coast should be comparable except for the fact I have a border to deal with.

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Front/back ratio comes from the antenna. Forward gain comes from the wall socket.

I was just thinking of the ID size of the pipe.
It's actually 1-1/2" but I thought I could turn down some 2" part of the length and let the rest stick out.

Last night (while not sleeping) I figured I could shove a piece of 1-1/2" something down the inside of the mast and let about a foot stick out and then get some kind of plastic pipe that was 2" OD, slide the plastic over the whatever and clamp the vertical element to that.

I think Marconi and the others that suggested I had induction problems between the mast and element hit the nail on the head. I think the increase of SWR with the increase in power suggests that too

From an earlier experiment I have a piece of 1-1/2" wooden closet rod (4') that I can slide inside the mast and lag bolt. Now I just need to find some plastic pipe that is 1-1/2" ID and 2" OD (apprx) so I can use my original ($) u-bolt mount for the vertical. But I can always figure out some shims if nothing else

Thanks for the link to the fiberglass rod place. Wish they sold less that 8' chunks. Probably a third of that would do me