Antron or similar support

Hi again

As much as I enjoy playing with wires, i'd like to put up a vertical.
Now, I cant put it high on my building so I have a heavy cast iron parasol base and I can put one wall bracket for support about chest level.
I am thinking of putting a pole in the base, secured to wall bracket with an antron or similar attached to that.

What size and type of pole and where would I get this?

Thanks

Tam

Hi Tam,

I love your tenacity and ideas in getting an antenna erected but might be worth thinking about it a bit more.

Most antenna/aerial poles or masts can be obtained from various outlets such as DIY stores and the usual CB/Ham radio outlets with diameters ranging from less than 40mm to above 50mm. You pays your money and takes your choice really with the thicker walled poles obviously being more expensive than thinner types and also dependent on the length you want to purchase.

The usual cast iron garden parasol bases can accommodate a range of diameters with sleeve adapters as well as with the screw clamp fixing but I have to question the wisdom of using such a fixing at the base.

Although the whole pole/antenna arrangement may not be very heavy overall you still have the principle of the 'lever' to contend with. With 18 foot of antenna atop a pole and only clamped in one low place that parasol base at the ground end may not be as secure as you might think. (I've seen 9/10Kg bases skip merrily across a patio with an extended parasol and stiff summer breeze!)

For a simple analogy hold a long broom/brush midway up the handle with the brush end in the air and your arm extended out, then tilt it left and right and you'll be able to easily control it. Repeat the exercise whilst only holding the very end of the broom handle and any slight tilt will see you struggling to hold it upright. Simple physics at play right there.

It might be worth rethinking your idea and using at least two clamps/brackets attached to the wall, one high and one low to counteract the inevitable swing of an antenna at the end of the whole shebang. 

Other examples I've seen is where a shorter pole is driven well into the ground then the mast attached to that with an appropriate wall fixing higher up and then the antenna which will be a lot more stable.

Also a typical antenna such as the Antron is a half wave type of antenna and shouldn't have too much trouble when mounted so low to the ground as far as your signals getting out go but the old adage of "height is might" comes into play with HF/CB antennas. If you put a 5/8ths type or add the Antron 'upgrades' you may well find out that all your signals head upwards instead of outwards and won't perform very well. (I won't get into all the effects of ground, soil type and all that malarkey but worth remembering that higher up is better.)


I know, I know, my usual 'waffle' with answers to such questions but worth thinking about it all first than being left disappointed later with a fallen/broken antenna or it not performing as expected.

I could've simply left an eBay link or some such for a 'pole' and left you at that.

I wish you the best with it all there Tam.  

73 and Season Greetings.

Victor

Thanks again Victor, I totally get your point and you make a lot of sense.
Years ago, i'd have been up ladders and done all this myself.
I could get a pole on T&K brackets higher then mount the antenna on that but I'd need to get someone who could do that, my idea was to have something I could do at ground level to enable me to carry out future maintenance, without calling on someone all the time. I will look into my options further as that was my first thoughts.

I know how you feel Tam mate and if it wasn't for my glorious wife braving the attic I wouldn't manage any antennas at all with my disability.

I'm sure you'll come up with something, even if only driving a pole into the ground for extra rigidity. (A 1/2 wave antenna does work quite well low down too and much better than a 5/8ths would.)

Victor wrote:

I know how you feel Tam mate and if it wasn't for my glorious wife braving the attic I wouldn't manage any antennas at all with my disability.

I'm sure you'll come up with something, even if only driving a pole into the ground for extra rigidity. (A 1/2 wave antenna does work quite well low down too and much better than a 5/8ths would.)

It's a pain Victor however, I might just scrap the idea and stick with wires, I can play about in my loft as when i'm up there , i'm up .
Up there, I have 3 magmounts and a dipole, 2/70, 4m, 11m and the dipole for 10m but as always, I always think the grass is always greener.

Ha! Ha!

Yes, exactly right mate and you're doing a marvelous job with what you've got squeezed in the loft.  

Despite my tangled lawnmower lead doublet in the loft I've <ahem> pushed the missus into more antenna shenanigans in the past (EFHW down the garden and centre-fed-inverted 'L') but each time they didn't improve my setup.....she did say she isn't going to help me anymore and I should be happy with what I've got!

Any antenna is better than no antenna and we must work within our limits of floor-plan/ground-size....but there's always that niggle isn't there?