2 meters was wide open this morning....

[SR385]

I use hurricane (chainlink) fence top rail. Two sections of 10' each sleeved and bracketed against a gable so about one section is unsupported.....that is as far as I would go without guying myself. I have a 17' vertical on there and in high winds, it's nice and steady, but put a rotor on the end of that and the moment arm would add up fast.

You can get away with a lot if you guy it though, I've seen them up in the cities with four sections, but guyed at each joint.

My master plan keeps coming back to a proper roof tower with a shelf mounted rotor and thrust bearing...do it once and do it right I figure.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

My 9 element Gulf Alpha beam is set up Horizontally for 2 meter SSB
Works really nice (far better then using my Vertical GP-9 )

However...if i ever need to replace it..
I will get the huge beam M2 makes for 2 meters

 

[doctor]

I use to work 2 meter ssb from Indiana , running 150 watts, would work Fla, and Alabama in the evenings with a 11 ele beam, lots of fun at that time., rig broke<KLM 2700> and the antenna, got damaged in a wind storm, so never tried it again... did it for a few years. FM seems to be the in thing now, but I have noticed the new techs, loose interest in radio after a year or two using h/t's on 2, never hear them again...

DOCTOR/795

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

A good way to switch polarity is to keep an eye out for a cheap used elevation rotator used for satellite work. You can get just the elevation unit separate from the azimuth unit and use it to rotate the boom 90º to switch polarity.

 

[Beetle]

I'm guessing he's doing that by hand?

Yep. That's the meaning of the term "Armstrong".

 

[74IN]

use hurricane (chainlink) fence top rail. Two sections of 10' each sleeved and bracketed against a gable so about one section is unsupported.

I use the same stuff, comes in 10'6" sections or a 21' section. You just have to check for straightness due to how it's stored.

The kind I get needs no sleeves, has male/female ends.

 

[WX2MIG]

The band was open again this morning.

I was standing next to my Jeep while fishing, and had the radio on memory scan, it kept locking up on the simplex frequencies I have programmed on it, mostly stations from coastal North Jersey and New York coming through.....

 

[SR385]

I use the same stuff, comes in 10'6" sections or a 21' section. You just have to check for straightness due to how it's stored.

The kind I get needs no sleeves, has male/female ends.

Yeah that's what I have too, should have said mated rather than sleeved..they slide into each other.

What I did was drill two hole pairs staggered in 1/3's around it while they were slipped together and ran sheet metal screws through the joint. Made it very solid.

I picked them up at either Lowes or Home Depot.

After a year or so in the air the galvanized finish is still 100% too.

 

[WX2MIG]

After a year or so in the air the galvanized finish is still 100% too.

Move closer to the beach and see what happens to that galvanized finish.....:blink: