Subject: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: thomaskd@.... Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:17:43 +0000 (UTC) There have been a lot of discussions about using a 20 or 30 foot fiberglass pole to setup a vertical or an inverted V. I have a 30 foot fiberglass pushup pole in the garage that I got a couple of years ago. I have not used it yet for an antenna...but these discussions have me very interested in trying it once all this snow melts. How are people securing the poles in an upright position? Are you using guy wires etc? Is there a device or something you plant in the ground at the base to stabilize it? When I picture myself out in the woods trying to get a 30 foot pole up with an antenna attached.....I wince. I picture the top swinging wildly and taking down nearby trees and the antenna wire snagging everything in sight just as I get it to the right height. This is based on my attempts at other antenna raising activities in the woods. I can see myself using it at home to operate in the backyard as well as taking it camping with me. Any thoughts or experiences or warnings? 73 de Keith KB3ILS --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: jess gypin Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:28:05 -0700 Just use the down legs of the inverted V to hold it up along with a couple of fishing line or twine or whatever you have to guy it. I have had mine set up with a 120 foot inv v and then string another wire for an 80 meter inverted L. Jess --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: Lew Paceley Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:48:28 -0700 Hi Keith, There's a number of options for supporting the 31' Jackite poles both temporarily and permanently. I bought a couple poles from Hamsource.com and N1OLO has some good suggestions in his instructions. A piece of 2 foot long 1 1/4" Sched 40 PVC pipe provides good internal support to the base section. The PVC can then be slipped over a fence stake of appropriate diameter driven into the ground. I bevel the top edge of the PVC pipe with sand paper to reduce the wear on the inside of the lower mast section due to wind movement. Alternatively, you can do what I did and build an "X" base with a 24" piece of 1" black steel plumbers pipe threaded into a 1" pipe flange. The flange is then attached to the X base with wood screws. Note that the 3.5" width of a 2x4 just fits the flange which will hang over the edges of the 2x4 a little. The two foot 1 1/4" Sched 40 PVC pipe then drops right over the black pipe. No guys needed if you make the "X" long enough or if you weight or otherwise secure the base. I've got lots of rocks on my property so I use rocks to weight the legs. I use almost the same setup with the black pipe and flange on a piece of 4x4 attached to my 20' 2x4 (permanent) tilt-over mast. With the 31' Jackite pole my wires are up 50 feet. Lots of choices! 72, *Lew* K7GO MT --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: James Shrum Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:55:03 -0600 For my 20' pole, I use a tiki-torch stake used for sticking torches in the ground. I put a 1' piece of 1"pvc into the stake, and the rest into the base of the pole. The stake slides easily into the ground and holds it nice n steady. This is what I did for FYBO and it worked out pretty well.. Jim - AB9LM --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: Norm Klieman Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:07:45 -0800 (PST) Last summer I had a 30 foot extended rod and put it inside a PVC fishing rod holder that had a spike on the end for ground mounting. The holder is about 3 feet long and easy to carry anywhere. It worked great with an inverted vee that I used in the woods. 73's -- Norm K9NK --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: david gauding Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:24:00 -0800 (PST) Hello Keith, I have not found it necessary to guy fiberglass pole assemblies up to 30'.or so. I have slide-over bases turned from sealed hardwood or delrin (preferably) and fitted with a long sharpened spike. This alternative works just fine unless you install near trees and wind flex causes the upright or attached wire antenna to catch in branches. For a metal vertical I now use a three guy wire assembly on the tube set originally designed for the Random Wire Vertical. I no longer have a copy but my article was reprinted in QQ sometime during the early 90's. The tubing starts at 1.25" OD (.058 wall). Six 6' tubes produce 33.5' using a 6" overlap between sections. My three guy lines are 8'9" long and installed at the 6' level. I arrived at this dimension by trial & error. The guys are pinned down with long screwdrivers preferably a philips-head to assist in hard ground insertions. This set-up easily supports the tube set at 33.5'. I have tried shorter guys but they tend to pull out in strong winds and/or soft earth. The current guys also served a few times as supports for a homebrew tent during overnight portable ops. The tube set can be extended to about 45' by adding two additional tubes while still using the the single guy set. Keeping in mind my early caution about nearby trees. Above 45' or if it's windy I prefer a second set of guys installed at the 17' or 22' level. The highest usable extension is then about 55'. Note that upper body strength is needed to install this version more than one time (pant) so get it right on the first pass. I also find nut drivers are preferred over screwdrivers for hose clamp adjustments under slight duress. The 55' tube set works well as a support for a lightweight wire antenna like the NorCal Doublet. Ditto for #24 stranded and light-duty twinlead. I am currently running the tube set as an Inverted-L for 10-80M. It's 33' up and 33' out to fiberglass pole at 20. The design was recommended to me by KB7MII and works well over thirty 33' ribbon radials and a couple of 66' wires. I have also run the tube set as a Top Loaded Vertical this winter - initially for 10-80M and later 10-160M. This vertical still uses the single guying assembly at 6' and a tube set extended to 40'. One neat thing about the tube set is it can be easily extended/retracted to achieve a decent match. So probably more here than you wanted to know but I have spent a lot of time weighing guying options over several decades. With a good mounting base well fitted inside your 20' or 30' fiberglass tube it really isn't necessary to use guy wires. Good luck, Dave Gauding, NF0R --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: Craig D. Smith Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:49:50 -0700 Believe it or not, the most elegant solution is available from - are you ready? - Jackite! Check out their website and look for the pole supports, or whatever they call them. I have several and use them often. Each one comes with a cushioning foam rubber ring that has an ID compatible with the OD of the lower section of the 31' pole. The pole then snuggles nicely down into the supplied steel tube and makes for a very stable and rugged mount with strain relief for the fiberglas in the pole. They come with a variety of mounting arrangements. I have three different kinds of mounts. One has a section of steel angle iron on the bottom that can be driven into the ground with a mallet. This is plenty strong enough to hold the pole and antenna center or end in all but the very loosest of soils. Another option is a bracket mount suitable for bolting to a vertical surface such as a 4X4 element of a deck or the side of a wall. With this, your 31' pole can become effectively taller, depending upon where you mount the bracket. A third variety is what they call a "ladder mount". I think it was intended to mount to a ladder on the side of a RV or something. But it has an alternative usage that is quite nice. Get yourself one of the inexpensive U-Channel green and yellow steel garden fence stakes at your favorite hardware or garden store. The ones I use are about 5' long. You can drive this into the ground and then the ladder mount is sized to clamp around it. A very slick way to end up with a 36' pole instead of a 31' pole. These products are quite rugged and well made. They will outlast you. The finish is a white paint of some sort which can be sprayed any color you like - i.e. green/brown for stealth purposes. If I recall correctly, they are about $20 each. Maybe too heavy to carry a long distance, but ideal for around the house and for portable use. 73 Craig AC0DS --- Subject: Re: [QRP-L] Securing a portable vertical or inverted V From: Gary \"Joe\" Mayfield Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:34:16 -0600 I've used the ground mount at Field Day for years. http://www.jackite.com/index.php?cPath=49&osCsid=2d5affcc3c73753d531e7e4819efebc3 Standard Disclaimer 73, Joe kk0sd