Questions About Flagpole Masts

[KD9SXJ]

I am a new member here and although I have been a ham for more than four years, I have not put up an antenna tower. I am not planning on staying at my current property long term so I needed a more temporary option, like a telescoping flagpole mast. I looked at the Rohn H40 (36') but DX Engineering wanted to charge me $319 for shipping on top of the $206 mast. I then asked the company that I got my EFHWD from and they said the Rohn mast was overkill anyway. He linked me to a flagpole mast on eBay that was $120. I looked at it and thought it wasn't too bad but it said it could only withstand 40 MPH winds, which at times we exceeded by another 40-50 MPH. Some people that I found said that Vevor telescoping flagpole (30') was a good value so I compared specs and it was the same for thickness and wind level as the one he linked me to and for $40 less I thought I could try one so I ordered the last one they had on eBay and two more off of Amazon. Well, the one from eBay came today and when I put it to its fullest extent and I wiggle on it only a small amount, the metal is so thin the top of it
moves about 3 feet! I still have two more that are supposed to come later from Amazon. My main question really is: is there a way I should be able to make these work or should I send them back? If I do send them back what is my alternative? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Quiksilver]

For semi-temporary use, check out these options:

• TN07
• Buddiepole
• DX Commander

I used the Buddiestick Pro for a few years as my main antenna/mast. Handled the PNW Fall & Winters, no problem. Worldwide contacts logged.

 

[BJ radionut]

First Question I have: What are you trying to support...Dipoles...some EFHW...Tell us more about what bands/ etc. your going to operate. Tall Trees can be your friends!
Gary/ W9FNB

 

[Crawdad]

Guy rings and ropes can be your friend when using telescoping masts............


7 3

 

[KD9SXJ]

First Question I have: What are you trying to support...Dipoles...some EFHW...Tell us more about what bands/ etc. your going to operate. Tall Trees can be your friends!
Gary/ W9FNB

Oh, sorry about that! I meant that it was an EFHW, without the "D". It is supposed to go from 10M-80M. It is 130 feet long.

EFHW-8010-2K-Plus – MyAntennas.com

 

[KD9SXJ]

Yesterday I visited a local Ham operator and he uses a GAP Titan DX antenna. It's a vertical dipole that does not require radials or extensive mast setups. Would this be a better option than a EFHW with masts? It would end up slightly more expensive but not significantly more and this vertical seems to get better reviews and opinions overall than others I have looked at. Another plus is the design has gone (from my understanding) at least 27 years unchanged. Any thoughts or opinions on this idea?

 

[KD9SXJ]

.

 

[KD9SXJ]

Bought a flagpole mast and a 4010 2k plus from My Antennas. Works very well with relatively low SWR on all bands.

 

[Sean -G4UCJ]

I use a fibreglass telescopic mast (50ft/15m at full extension) and it is pretty good. I usually have it up around 7m and 3 guys made from 2mm Kevlar (very strong). The base up to about 3ft/1m is secured to a weighted wheelie bin, so I can easily move it around). At the far end of my garden, I have a telescopic fishing pole (a 10m one but only using the first 6 or 7 sections to give extras strength. I run an inverted L (actually a 20m EFHW, with the UnUn at 1ft/0.3m above the ground. 2.1m counterpoise run at 90 degrees to the pole. Wire from UnUn runs up pole then across to the main mast. There is a bend in the fishing pole but the wire itself has no unnecessary tension, and is allowed a certain amount of line sag. This works really well, even with just 50w I work around the world on all modes (just this week, amongst many Europeans, I worked 6O3T, S01WS, 7Z1AL, C5R, 9Y4DG and 5R8IC on 10m; K1JX on 60m and TF5B on 30m, using a mix of FT4/FT8 and CW; plus 100 stations on SSB over the weekend. Had I felt better I could have worked many, many more on SSB. I would advise you to go for a fibreglass/glass fibre (fiberglass) mast, preferably telescopic as it is more versatile than a fixed metal tower/mast/ Also you can use the mast to run a wire up without worrying about the metal of the mast interacting. 'Spiderbeam' do strong masts at heights up to 18m/60ft. DX-Commander sell good poles too. My mast is a generic one, model number is TMF-3, IIRC purchased from one of the larger emporiums over here. I will try to attach some images of the antenna setup, hopefully it will let me. Let me know if you need any more info and I'll be glad to help. 73

 

[KD9SXJ]

Thanks for the suggestion but I put the antenna up over the weekend. My last post to this thread was over a month ago and got no replies so I went my own direction. Thanks again but right now I'll stick with what I put up. Maybe my next setup will be what you did.

 

[KD9SXJ]

Some pictures

 

[KD9SXJ]