Home Brew Tilt Over Antenna Mast Repair
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- You are watching me replace a bent pole on my home-brew tilt-over antenna mast for ham radio. Thanks for watching!!!
This mast is constructed from electrical conduit, chain link fence top-rail, and some quickrete all found at Home Depot or Lowes. Total cost for this was about $60 for all materials except the antenna of course.
Hard hat and eye protection. Thanks for sharing.
I built a mast, and used a toprail piece for the last segment. The wind bent it all the way over. Luckily I was able to salvage the antenna. I replaced it with the thicker wall conduit. Pipe is cheap compared to an antenna, so I won't use top rail any more for a permanent mast.
Good vid
Finally got to see how the poles go together. Thanks
Makes life a lot easier if you hold the power drill at the correct angle!
Drilling all those holes through the bottom sections will definitely weaken them. I would have used large U-Bolt clamps to secure the bottom sections. They also make things called guy wires that help support the mast during high wind loads. 😎
Guy wires won't work here because of the terrain. Besides, they add cost and complexity and aren't really necessary. The u clams are a good idea but the holes seen to have a negligible effect on the strength of the pipes. If I ever do this over I might use hose clamps or u bolt clams like you suggested just so I don't need to drill.
Good job, biggest TV antenna that I have ever seen.
that is a ham radio antenna that's why its so big.
The fence pipe rail is not designed for the type of stress exerted on it by winds. Also, the weight at the top of the pipes, your antenna, is enough to catch the wind that bent your pipe. Why you have not considered guy ropes, minimum of three, below the antenna is puzzling. You should expect to replace the pipe again when the wind blows hard in the future.
I am fully aware that top rail is not designed for this type of application. I had considered guy wires but the added complexity due to uneven terrain at the site of the mast rendered them impractical to implement. In other words, the cost and complexity of adding them outweighs the benefit. The top rail poles last about 2 years in this application which is also roughly the maintenance interval for this type of antenna. The top rail poles can be thought of as consumables since they are relatively inexpensive, and as you saw in the video, easy to replace. In other words, they can be replaced every time the antenna is serviced and the cost to do so over the life span of this mast is equal to or less than the cost and maintenance of dealing with guy wires. Call it redneck engineering if you'd like but its just another way to skin the cat.
@@SevenFortyOne tie the guy wires to those trees! Move them up the tree so they are all the same height / angle. Plus you can get them above head high instead of anchoring them in the ground. I bet 3 would keep you from having to fix it again.
The trees move in the wind. Guy wires tied to them would cause more problem than they would solve. Also, I only have trees on 3 ish sides, the guys would be uneven which is also a problem. guys are not needed for this application
@@SevenFortyOne lmfao! Yeah that's obviously way to hard for you to figure out how to make that work! No guy wires needed on this even though it bends everytime a strong wind blows!
Have fun fixing it on a regular basis and have a nice day!
Pretty slick. I’m going to be doing this myself but thinking about adding guyed wires to keep from being bent if we get high winds.
In high winds, something is gonna bend, if it be the mast or the antenna itself.
Another idea s to use a more flexible mast, without wires so it can swish in the wind.
Un lavoro fatto per tribolare, ad è fatto alla rovescia il fulcro rotante deve essere creato nella parte superiore così fa un po da bilanciere e bloccato nella parte sotto. Oh, io la vedo così poi ognuno tribolare come più gli piace.👍👍👍
I think I'm going to go with a little larger diameter pipe and use a hand winch on mine, but you look like you're good to go for another couple years. I'm seriously considering the HiGain multi-band vertical so guys and the winch will be needed for mine.
Hope I can get a chance to work you when I get back to Maine and set the shack up. 73
Sounds like the setup you are planning will work great for that antenna. Let me know when you get set up and we'll try an on air contact. 73 and good luck!
@@SevenFortyOne Will do! Can't wait.
That is EMT . It is made to be easily bent and flexible. Make the same thing out of a less flexible pipe. All that pipe is very easily bendable. Good idea though
hey guy, once you placed the middle bolt you could have slid the hose clap down to the lower bolt holes .... if you wanted ... or needed!
I was looking at some 2" conduit today. I noticed a 2" trailer hitch ball fits nicely inside for a ground pivot point. The ball goes at the bottom of the mast will set inside an upside down trailer hitch tongue section secured to the ground. A ball and joint connection. The lever locks it in. I don't think I will have any problems leaning it up. Experimental at this point.
great idea!
I think I'm going to give that a try. Going to build a mast that will swing down, and put a beam on it.
73s from the cactus patch....the sidewinder
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos
Cool! Thanks for joining in!
Great video
Pretty slick stuff..... I cheated....Found 4' military aluminum poles at a hamfest and hung my G5RV Jr. across my backyard.
Hi just one comment you look as if you have plenty of room there you could put up a lattice tower......Fred in Uk.
I have the room but lack the funds for that type of tower...someday maybe i'll put one up....
I think the damage was done when you first raised it up. Fencing pipe is too light for that load. Nice simple idea but it needs heavier pipe imo.
The pipe is fine for what it costs. The piece I replaced has been in place since this video was published and is still straight despite having been through numerous storms. You can spend more for heavier pipe for sure or use guy wires but this config works for my needs.
Do you ground them/ or is it a sacrificial lamb 🤔
A job well done... Thumb's up!
Thanks bud!
Did you not use the 1" electrical conduit on the inner part because of cost, weight, or some other reason?
The top rails are swaged to fit nicely together. The conduit is not.
@@SevenFortyOne Do you have a clamp holding them together or just gravity? Thanks.
I show how they are attached in the video...just using nuts and bolts
Is that the Sigma 5/8 10-12 meters?
The modern equivalent - a Maco v58...but same idea. It tunes up and works great from 20 - 10 meters. I used to do a lot of 10 meter work but I've backed off on that the last few years.
Great job replacing pole, what kind of antenna on top of your mast?
Maco v58 cb antenna
SevenFortyOne It’s a great antenna! I have the same one. It has served me well for many years!
I use mine on 20 most of the time....it was cheap and does the job.
SevenFortyOne Once this virus is under control I am hoping to take and pass my general. Once that happens I will definitely try this antenna on 20m. Thank you for the great videos! I hope you and your family are staying healthy during this time. 73, KC3EZP
Looks good,,,
I’m going to do something similar. How long is your coax run.
About 100 feet
Good job dude!! Nice KISS method = keep it simple stupid. I'll make mine a copy of yours. Although at 73 yrs. old, cough, I'll add a standard boat trailer winch too mine, for the heavy lifting!!! KO4RTU
i beleve that's antenna is a zero-five antennas rigth?
joao marcos It’s a Maco v5/8.
I went to our local zoning department today. They told me I don't need a permit. I think I should get that in writing.
What band is it you have atop?
It's a cb antenna that I use for 20 -10 meters
did you ever throw away that aluminum ladder? ha
Of course not, it still has lots of life left in it
Hey Rob, I am going to put up the same thing as you did. That will be for my 6meter three ELEMENT Beam. I got a lot of good ideas for you. 73 AE4OY William Peacock EM-81UF p.s. Maybe we can work each other one more time.
This may not hold up for an antenna like that. My antenna doesn't have much side load because it's vertical. A beam will add side loads and may cause the pipes to bend in the wind
What’s the antenna?
Maco v58 cb antenna that I use on 20 and 10 meters
The tilt over mechanical mechanism is too weak and the main mast itself is also too weak. It is only good for 5 to 6 meter height maximum
This is working fine for this application. It has not been touched since this video was made
Hello, if you would have used a better grade of pipe for the support poles , you wouldn't be doing this after a storm goes through. Cheap isn't always best. You just needed to do some homework before you spent your time and money on that project. You should have used 1.25 inch galvanized water pipe.
If the wind can blow down trees with roots , YOUR material was way too thin and weak to have been used in th e first place. Doing the job right to start with is, a lot cheaper than replacing things when you have a storm. You may waan t to consider putting guy lines on the top about five feet.down fron the base of the antenna for added support.
I think you missed the point a little bit here. I agree, cheaper is not always better. I'm fully aware this is "cheap" construction and I'm perfectly OK with it. I don't mind doing maintenance on this periodically and I consider the rails as consumable items. I didn't explain it well in the video but the intent of this when I built it was to use cheap materials I had on hand at the time. This has been up for over 5 years now and the only time I've ever had to replace the pole was what I showed here. I also didn't explain in the video that guying isn't practical here due to the terrain so I opted not to add any to this support. It also would have added cost and complication that would have been out of scope to the build. If this video inspired you to build something similar in your own way that fits your needs and preference then I've achieved part of what I wanted to accomplish when I created this video. Although this support may not be up to YOUR standards, it works for me.
Guy it
Can't due to terrain and obstacles
got it
Looks like somewhere in Ohio.
Ct