I just posted an update a few weeks back here: ua-cam.com/video/-k82TURncCI/v-deo.html Almost 2 years since it was installed and everything is holding up fine.
All of my masts have been top rail masts. I learned it from my dad. He used it to install all the CB/scanner/shortwave stuff I asked him to put up when I was a kid back in the early '80s. As a matter of fact, I recently visited my childhood home and was floored when I realized that those masts are still standing around that house. Two of them still have the remnants of an old discone and CB ground plane. I was even more shocked when I realized that my Radio Shack 55ft(?) long wire antenna was rolled up and tucked up under the roof eve outside my old room. Brought back some memories. And reminded me of the things my father did for me .... Thank You, Dad
I wonder if they might would let you have some of that stuff. You nay not care about it now though. Stuff like that has sentimental value to me if me and Dad did it.
I also use steel pipe for my masts. Each has several feet cased in concrete below the ground and about 25 ft above ground. Each joint is covered by a larger pipe and bolted in place to make the joints stronger. My 40 and 20 meter dipoles all work very well mounted that way, as does my 70 cm, my 2 meter, and my Imax 2000 antenna mounted on a steel mast that I shoved up through an old Oak tree. All masts have guy wires for wind support and All masts are grounded and my equipment is grounded as well.
@Hassan Baloch I use steel pipe for the mast and where two sections of pipe come together I slide an approximate 18 inch piece of slightly larger steel pipe over the joints, then I bolt that pipe and the joints together.
@@TwoAcreHomestead I plan using the compression collars instead of drilling holes for bolts, which I feel could weaken the 16 gauge toprail, to secure the sections of pvc. I also plan spray painting the pvc with Carolina blue paint and doing a camouflage pattern with white and a light grey. Then after sealing it up I will top coat that with Plasti-Dip M5749 UV clear coat to protect the project. I will be mounting this on chimney mounts, free standing, about 20' from the ground which would put me around 36-38' from ground, to base of my Comet CX-333 tri-band. I will come back and post picture as the project comes together. Again, thank you for a great idea. ~ KJ4RNV
finebusiness...have run something like that for a bit and it will do good for you. three suggestions 1. PAINT the PVC. PVC losses strength fast in the UV...and after a year or so will lose a lot of it... 2., be sure and run a ground wire from the pole in the ground and the mast to a ground rod...other wise you will have some lightening issues 3. you want to keep water OUT of the pole in the ground as much as possible. what I do is use some PVC to slip over the ground pole, with hose clamps and screws through the two poles...and then a rubber reducing gasket on the top where the PVC connects with the stick good hamming and well done. Robert WB5MZO
I might have to give this a shot for a small vertical. Thinking of guys tied off at the PVC joint. Have a 30ft mast near the house and at the bottom I ran a large rod into the ground followed by a post like you did with a bolt going through to keep the mast off the ground (prevent rust). The mast base is 2" so it slipped over the 1.5" pipe
Can't say I planned it that way, but seeing how it was such a perfect fit it seemed like a good idea. It did take out some of the wobble and tightened things up nicely. The mast has been up for about 9 months now and is still holding solid with no guy wires other than the dipole itself. The flex of the PVC topper takes a lot of the strain of the metal posts too.
Thanks for the video. I tried pvc for a 20' mast. Put an Ed Fong j-pole clamped to the top section. BUT at even 20' there was too much wobble. What you did is interesting. I think this would work nicely for me to get the 20' I want.
I made a 30' mast the other day, the 1st 15' was with steel poles then 15' of pool poles lol. It didn't last long to say the least. Gonna try this tmrw, I probably only need 25 so this should work just fine, thx.
Mine has been up since the first of the year and made it thru a few storms. The PVC top gives it some nice flex so it bends instead of breaking. Good luck with the project.
Use the grey PVC conduit (in the electrical section at the store). It's the same dimensions as the white pipe, but it's UV resistant and will last decades without getting brittle. Looks better than a bright white pipe too.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Unless it's some kind of thin wall stuff, the schedule 40 electrical conduit is the same sizes as the schedule 40 PVC DWV pipe. I ran two-inch conduit out to my mast about six inches underground for a coax chase, and I was about two feet and one coupler short. Instead of making another trip to Lowes, I used a white coupler and a short section of white pipe to finish the job.
I like my A1 Blue sky mast system from a company in Florida. The mast sits in a hd tripod. Each section of the mast 3ft. It's a push up mast mine is 31.5 ft. 2in outer diameter each section. It is pricey because it military grade. Ask for the reconditioned A1 a little bit cheaper and looks brand new. Will last for ever. Using in the Philippines no rust problems.😊 Also great for field day and at 30ft it will hold a 30lb antenna.
@@TwoAcreHomestead have you ever had to re-raise or lower your mast? I live in an area with high wind. I'm just afraid the wind will break it at this height. And I'll have to lower it
It's been up for 2 years and I've never had to do anything with it for storms or weather. Not sure what your wind situation is, but with just the wire dipole strung on it, I've had no issues with occasional near hurricane winds here.
At the top of the pole I have an Eye Bolt which I ran paracord thru before lifting the pole. I used the paracord to lift up the balun and raise the antenna. To lift the pole into place, basically I just walked it straight upright, then lifted it straight up into the larger receiving pole that was in the ground. It was a bit awkward, but the whole thing only weighs about 30 pounds. A helper might be a good idea, but I did mine solo.
Maybe I am over ambitious, but I bought 3 top rails to hold the end of a 130’ end fed wire antenna. If my son and I can manage to get all three sections to standup vertical, I will support it using several guy ropes. Thanks for making this video (showing your grounding block was helpful also). 73’s ki4esk
I ended up with 3 vintage (thicker metal) 20 foot top rails made in the 60's when I re-fenced my yard. Been having dangerous thoughts about what to do with them. If you brace the junction points, it might be fine. Hope you share the results on UA-cam.
As a follow up, I succesfully installed my antenna in May, 2021. I am very happy with it. I have made contacts from San Fransisco to Maine. My farthest contact was Sau Paulo, Brazil! Photos of my antenna are on my qrz.com page. 73’s KI4ESK
Thank you for the good ideas. I had thought about PVC in the ground to put the fence top railing. Or something that was really close to the size of the top railing. I don't know how much rain you get where you are. I have found that pipes in the ground rust out fast if there is no way for the water to get out. If there is no way for the water to get out then the end of the pipe is always under water, and will rust faster. Just some of my thoughts. If you can't use my ideas then flush them. I live in South Florida and get a lot of rain and have my fence posts rust out all the time. I have a part of my fence almost on the ground now because the posts rusted out.
Thanks for the input. We are at a good elevation and both of my fence made masts are on high ground so hopefully standing water will not be an issue. Time will tell tho.
interesting problem. I'm going to be doing this in the next month and hadnt thought about water causing this to rust out while in the ground. Was going to do pvc base in the ground held with cement around it. Then have the top post go into that. I'd guess that at some point water can and will get in it. You ever figure out a solution for this problem?
@Keith Cevasco I used a standard fence post cemented into the ground to support the mast. Pretty sure fence posts are designed not to rust out for a real long time when installed in the ground. Near ground level I drilled a hole and ran a bolt thru, so when the mast was inserted in the fence pole it stays a few feet above the bottom of the hole. This was done mainly to increase the height, but it probably also helps with water exposure to the top rail sections. Hope this helps, K4RZM
@@keithcevasco2827 put some rocks, sand below the end. Trust me you will not keep the water out! You just need to make sure it has a good way to get out the bottom. I set my in cement and they rusted out. Then replaced them but put rocks and sand in the hole below the posts so the water can get out. So far, they have not rusted. Still can put cement in just not under the pipe. Just around it! Water trapped in there works on the pipe 24-7-365. If it can get out the water isn't on the pipe all the time. It is an easy thing. Just some rocks to keep the cement from blocking the bottom from letting the water out.
Enjoyed this video. I’m going to give this a try for my 20 dipole that’s only about 10’ off the ground. I think I’ll use some 2” angle iron from Menards or Lowes. Set that in concrete and strap top rail mast pipe to the angle. 73 from WV.
That tree is significantly higher than the mast. I took off the limbs that were close to the wire, but it's the main shade tree for the house so the rest of it will remain. Will see in the summer if it effects anything.
If you look at the video I made when I set up my VHF/UHF mast, it was pretty much the same method, just this was lighter weight pipe and easier to deal with.
The mast has been up since December 2020, has been thru multiple storms and a couple of hurricanes, has had branches fall on the wire antenna, and is still standing strong. If I was using a vertical antenna I'd agree with you 100%, but with the long wire dipole, and the flex of the PVC, it seems to be self supporting a lot better than I anticipated when I put it up. Don't worry, if it ever does fall over, I'll post an update showing the failure, but for what I paid and how long it has lasted, I'm very happy with this build.
The pipe you have in the ground before you stuck your antenna in it you could have took an hack saw and cut down through the pipe in the ground and then put the antenna into it and put a clamp around it ,it would have squeezed together and it would have tightened it.
Its been up for almost 2 years with no issues, and we've had a bit stronger than just a breeze in that time. If your hanging a rotatable mast antenna on this setup, it might be a bit sketchy. The wires for the OCF Dipole I'm using, plus the flex of the PVC on the end pole add a bit to the stability of my setup. Let me know how your project turns out, love seeing other adaptations of this idea.
@@TwoAcreHomestead this will be a fairly light weight dipole with 17' telescoping whips but even then I imagine it will need to be pulled down in any real weather. Thankfully CA doesn't have real weather lol. I will for sure let you know. Thanks for the insight.
25' painters pole at Home Depot is $40. Just guy it at the bottom of the top section, and good to go. No construction, easy to move @ only 8' collapsed.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Yes of course with a little luck I could perhaps be contacted via ft8 or other. Plus Anderson is not yet on my list. 73 have a nice evening see you soon.
I have two 10’ top rails. I wanna get about 3-4 more. To make 40-60’ off the ground. What is the beat way to make them not wobble though where you stack them? Is that why you put pvc pipe between the sections? Any ideas answers would be greatly appreciated, I want to mount my dipole antenna, I am going to mount one or two. They are light, not heavy at all for my low power station. I was thinking of mounting on the aide of my house. What would be the beat cheap easy way to achieve this. Do I have to guy wire it?
My setup is about 25 feet tall, 2 top rails with about 3 feet of 1.75 inch PVC to brace the connection, and about 7 feet to add another 5 feet to the top. It is pretty solid and the only support wires are the dipole itself. Adding 3 or 4 more rails would definitely make it less stable, and I have doubts that it would stay up for long without significant guy wires or bracing. I'm no structural engineer, but I cant see 50 feet of top rails standing upright for long. Another ham made a 3 rail version using the same methods in my video, he has pics on his QRZ page. Check the comments on this video for his post. Good luck with the project, and please let me know how it works out.
does that new antenna pipe need to be grounded anywhere in order for it to work properly ? I'm looking at doing something like this for a cb. I just don't know if it needs to have a ground.
The metal pipe is driven about 4 feet into the ground, which I would consider sufficiently grounded. The Antenna mounted on the PVC is connected to ground via the Coax to a ground rod.
@@TwoAcreHomestead... The station safety ground and the antenna ground need to be separated (separate ground rods) or any discharge from the antenna arrestor will travel to the station ground bus to the equipment through the common grounding point! The ground rods should be separated by the distance specified in the local electrical code. Where I live it is a minimum of 8 feet using 8 foot ground rods.
I have a question. I was planning to purchase four (4) of the same fencing rails that you use in this particular video The first (of four) fencing rails will go 4ft in the ground (with concrete) and the remaining three fencing rails I planned on connecting them together as they are made to connect to each other. So with all that said here is my question. Is 4ft in the ground deep enough for a 40 foot long fencing rail? I know those fencing rails have a little weight to them so I wasnt sure if all four of the fencing rails (40ft all together) would stay up being that it would only be in the ground 4ft. Would it fall or remain stable? The weigh of each of the four fencing rails is 7.36 lbs.
Howdy, Firstly, I am not an expert. I would have doubts about 40 foot of vertical fence rail being able to support itself, its not very thick, and may fold over under a strong wind. Again, I'm not a structural engineer but it seems a bit sketchy. I have two lengths tied together with a PVC topper. The bottom of the fence rail is at ground level and in about 4 feet of fence post (above ground) which is buried and cemented into the ground. Top of the mast is about 27 feet off the ground (and on a bit of a hill) with my set up, which gets me nearly global contacts on FT8. Anyways to answer your question, I don't think its the depth that would be the issue, but the strength of the top rail and its ability to support its own weight with any sideways wind hitting it. Let me know if you attempt this and how it works out. Best of luck, Eric
@@TwoAcreHomestead Yeah thanks man. i dont think 40ft will be stable. I guess i just needed someone to tell me. I was going to have the G5rv antenna on the fencing rails. I though that antenna had to be at least 30 f0 ft high for it to work properly. In addition to that, the ladder line on that antenna is 30 feet so at minimum the fencing rail would have to be enough so the ladder line does not touch the ground.
Was looking at your plans on your channel. If you can brace the first section off the corner where you are placing the antenna, then I'd be confident in you getting 3 sections high. A 2 by 4 screwed into the side wall, extending out past your first upright, then a muffler clamp to secure the pipe to the 2by4 maybe? Also, I did not want to lose any height by burying the top rail, which is why I used a standard fence rail in the ground, then ran a bolt across at ground level to keep the fence rail from going all the way down the hole. It also makes it removable if needed. With none of the top rail underground, and a PVC topper, you've almost got the same height out of 3 top rails that you were trying to get with 4. Hope this helps, K4RZM
Transmitting on HF pretty much disables the cameras while the mic is keyed. I have a video where I was adding ferrites to try to clear it up, but it only made a very slight improvement. VHF/UHF, which is the antenna where the cameras are mounted, has no (or very little) effect on the cameras.
Nice work. I already have some top rail sections I saved from a fence that was removed in my neighborhood. Would it be possible to sleeve the entire length of top rail in pvc?
I don't see why not. The rail I used was new from Lowes and 1.75 ID PVC fits almost perfectly over it. Not sure if the rails you recovered would be the same dimensions. Only thing I would do is make sure that the connections on the top rail are offset from the ends of the PVC so you get the extra support. Maybe start off with a 5 foot piece? Good luck with the project, let me know how it turns out.
@@TwoAcreHomestead was considering doing something similar. For the top rail put 5ft of it in the ground. Then sleeve the top rail with 10ft sections of pvc. By using a 10ft top rail and putting 5 ft of it in the ground this would offset everything by 5ft. If you do this post your results of what you did and how it worked.
@@TwoAcreHomestead I'm putting up almost the same thing and wasn't sure how that fence top rail would hold up without some guy wires. I was thinking about putting a bolt in a ground level like you did and its good to see that hasn't been an issue. I wasn't sure if the stress at that level would bend the pipe there. Thanks for the video.
I'm using an Off Center Fed Dipole, 88 foot on the long end and 44 on the short end. There is a follow up video for the end poles that gives a better view of the antenna setup.
@@RC-Heli835 I got mine off ebay, and the seller (gniklat1) doesn't have anything listed at the moment. This 7 band OCF is about at close as I could find to the version I bought, and it has a lot of details on the website: hamcall.net/7bandocf.html#7band edit: I just looked at the prices on that website. I paid about $60 for mine, they want over $250. I have a 300 watt version. edit: A better option, cheaper and Palomar makes good stuff: palomar-engineers.com/antenna-products/Off-Center-Fed-Dipole-Antenna-80-6-Meters-1-5KW-5KW-PEP-rated-FREE-shipping-in-USA-p74818225
The antenna is on top of the pole. It is an Off Center Fed Dipole. One end of the wire runs 88 feet north, the other end about 44 feet south to the end posts. Its a multi band antenna, 6, 10, 17, 20, 40, 80, 160 meters.
Thanks. Still a noob, and I even mispronounce things that I know how they work. To me its still the PVC doohickey that contains the magic bits that make the antenna work. I'm getting there tho :)
Please Subscribe... Most of the other channels make a 10 second pitch in every video to try and get you to subscribe, which is something I can never seem to remember to do, so I'm pinning this comment here in the hopes that you will subscribe to my channel. As you may know, Content Creators don't see a penny from UA-cam until we hit 1000 Subscribers. Seeing how UA-cam is making money off my content, you can't blame me for wanting my fair share. So if you find any of my videos helpful or amusing, please hit that subscribe button. Thanks, Eric / K4RZM
Great video, and ideas! I'm constantly cooking up ways to improve my antenna setup, and being a new ham this is a great possibility for a direction I may go in. Thanks! de KO4OBR
Glad I was some help. I'm also a new ham, got my General in October, so watching a lot of vids and kinda figuring out things as I go. Congrats on the General ticket, 73, K4RZM
How about an update on how this mast is holding up so far. Im getting reading to do this as well. Thanks and Cheers
I just posted an update a few weeks back here:
ua-cam.com/video/-k82TURncCI/v-deo.html
Almost 2 years since it was installed and everything is holding up fine.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Thats awesome. Ill be sure to check out that update video as well. Thanks
All of my masts have been top rail masts. I learned it from my dad. He used it to install all the CB/scanner/shortwave stuff I asked him to put up when I was a kid back in the early '80s. As a matter of fact, I recently visited my childhood home and was floored when I realized that those masts are still standing around that house. Two of them still have the remnants of an old discone and CB ground plane. I was even more shocked when I realized that my Radio Shack 55ft(?) long wire antenna was rolled up and tucked up under the roof eve outside my old room. Brought back some memories. And reminded me of the things my father did for me .... Thank You, Dad
I wonder if they might would let you have some of that stuff. You nay not care about it now though.
Stuff like that has sentimental value to me if me and Dad did it.
The best feeling in the world is seeing something you made or owned many years later right where you left it
I had a 40 footer built like that. Was up for 6 years till one day a downburst took it out. Worked well
I also use steel pipe for my masts. Each has several feet cased in concrete below the ground and about 25 ft above ground. Each joint is covered by a larger pipe and bolted in place to make the joints stronger. My 40 and 20 meter dipoles all work very well mounted that way, as does my 70 cm, my 2 meter, and my Imax 2000 antenna mounted on a steel mast that I shoved up through an old Oak tree. All masts have guy wires for wind support and All masts are grounded and my equipment is grounded as well.
@Hassan Baloch I use steel pipe for the mast and where two sections of pipe come together I slide an approximate 18 inch piece of slightly larger steel pipe over the joints, then I bolt that pipe and the joints together.
I don’t ground my equipment. Lightning and RF grounds are done outside. Electrical ground is at the outlet.
Just went to Lowe's and bought 2 10.5' sticks of top rail, 2 10' sticks of 1-1/4" schedule 40 PVC and 1 1-1/4 compression collar. 73's... great idea!
Glad I could help. Whats the 1.25 compression collar for? I'd be interested to see what your project looks like when it's complete.
@@TwoAcreHomestead I plan using the compression collars instead of drilling holes for bolts, which I feel could weaken the 16 gauge toprail, to secure the sections of pvc. I also plan spray painting the pvc with Carolina blue paint and doing a camouflage pattern with white and a light grey. Then after sealing it up I will top coat that with Plasti-Dip M5749 UV clear coat to protect the project.
I will be mounting this on chimney mounts, free standing, about 20' from the ground which would put me around 36-38' from ground, to base of my Comet CX-333 tri-band. I will come back and post picture as the project comes together. Again, thank you for a great idea. ~ KJ4RNV
Thank you fellow Ford F150 driver!
finebusiness...have run something like that for a bit and it will do good for you. three suggestions
1. PAINT the PVC. PVC losses strength fast in the UV...and after a year or so will lose a lot of it...
2., be sure and run a ground wire from the pole in the ground and the mast to a ground rod...other wise you will have some lightening issues
3. you want to keep water OUT of the pole in the ground as much as possible. what I do is use some PVC to slip over the ground pole, with hose clamps and screws through the two poles...and then a rubber reducing gasket on the top where the PVC connects with the stick
good hamming and well done. Robert WB5MZO
You did the same thing as I did at the base it makes a sturdy support & anchor. Mines 30 ft with 4 guy cables holding a 20 ft 5/8 wave vertical.
I might have to give this a shot for a small vertical. Thinking of guys tied off at the PVC joint. Have a 30ft mast near the house and at the bottom I ran a large rod into the ground followed by a post like you did with a bolt going through to keep the mast off the ground (prevent rust). The mast base is 2" so it slipped over the 1.5" pipe
I never thought of PCV piping for additional support. What a grand notion! Thanks. de w0vet
Can't say I planned it that way, but seeing how it was such a perfect fit it seemed like a good idea.
It did take out some of the wobble and tightened things up nicely.
The mast has been up for about 9 months now and is still holding solid with no guy wires other than the dipole itself. The flex of the PVC topper takes a lot of the strain of the metal posts too.
Nice! I like it, I need to do the same thing here since my antenna is only about 20' off the ground.
Thanks for the video. I tried pvc for a 20' mast. Put an Ed Fong j-pole clamped to the top section. BUT at even 20' there was too much wobble. What you did is interesting. I think this would work nicely for me to get the 20' I want.
I made a 30' mast the other day, the 1st 15' was with steel poles then 15' of pool poles lol. It didn't last long to say the least. Gonna try this tmrw, I probably only need 25 so this should work just fine, thx.
Mine has been up since the first of the year and made it thru a few storms. The PVC top gives it some nice flex so it bends instead of breaking. Good luck with the project.
Use the grey PVC conduit (in the electrical section at the store). It's the same dimensions as the white pipe, but it's UV resistant and will last decades without getting brittle. Looks better than a bright white pipe too.
I thought the PVC electrical conduit was significantly thinner than PVC water line. I might be wrong tho.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Unless it's some kind of thin wall stuff, the schedule 40 electrical conduit is the same sizes as the schedule 40 PVC DWV pipe. I ran two-inch conduit out to my mast about six inches underground for a coax chase, and I was about two feet and one coupler short. Instead of making another trip to Lowes, I used a white coupler and a short section of white pipe to finish the job.
I like my A1 Blue sky mast system from a company in Florida. The mast sits in a hd
tripod. Each section of the mast 3ft. It's a push up mast
mine is 31.5 ft. 2in outer diameter each section. It
is pricey because it military grade. Ask for the reconditioned
A1 a little bit cheaper and looks brand new. Will last for
ever. Using in the Philippines
no rust problems.😊 Also great for field day and at 30ft
it will hold a 30lb antenna.
Thank you for this. I'm getting ready to build my own mast for my HF rig and cannot find specifics for everything.
Good luck with the project, just give a shout if you have any questions about the build.
@@TwoAcreHomestead have you ever had to re-raise or lower your mast? I live in an area with high wind. I'm just afraid the wind will break it at this height. And I'll have to lower it
It's been up for 2 years and I've never had to do anything with it for storms or weather.
Not sure what your wind situation is, but with just the wire dipole strung on it, I've had no issues with occasional near hurricane winds here.
@@TwoAcreHomestead how did you get this thing in the air? I've got all the pieces but I don't want to bow the metal by putting too much strain on it
At the top of the pole I have an Eye Bolt which I ran paracord thru before lifting the pole.
I used the paracord to lift up the balun and raise the antenna.
To lift the pole into place, basically I just walked it straight upright, then lifted it straight up into the larger receiving pole that was in the ground. It was a bit awkward, but the whole thing only weighs about 30 pounds. A helper might be a good idea, but I did mine solo.
Maybe I am over ambitious, but I bought 3 top rails to hold the end of a 130’ end fed wire antenna. If my son and I can manage to get all three sections to standup vertical, I will support it using several guy ropes. Thanks for making this video (showing your grounding block was helpful also). 73’s ki4esk
I ended up with 3 vintage (thicker metal) 20 foot top rails made in the 60's when I re-fenced my yard. Been having dangerous thoughts about what to do with them.
If you brace the junction points, it might be fine.
Hope you share the results on UA-cam.
As a follow up, I succesfully installed my antenna in May, 2021. I am very happy with it. I have made contacts from San Fransisco to Maine. My farthest contact was Sau Paulo, Brazil! Photos of my antenna are on my qrz.com page. 73’s KI4ESK
Just checked out your QRZ page, that mast is impressive (and a bit scary looking).
Glad I was of some help with your project,
73 K4RZM
Thank you for the good ideas. I had thought about PVC in the ground to put the fence top railing. Or something that was really close to the size of the top railing. I don't know how much rain you get where you are. I have found that pipes in the ground rust out fast if there is no way for the water to get out. If there is no way for the water to get out then the end of the pipe is always under water, and will rust faster. Just some of my thoughts. If you can't use my ideas then flush them. I live in South Florida and get a lot of rain and have my fence posts rust out all the time. I have a part of my fence almost on the ground now because the posts rusted out.
Thanks for the input. We are at a good elevation and both of my fence made masts are on high ground so hopefully standing water will not be an issue. Time will tell tho.
interesting problem. I'm going to be doing this in the next month and hadnt thought about water causing this to rust out while in the ground. Was going to do pvc base in the ground held with cement around it. Then have the top post go into that. I'd guess that at some point water can and will get in it. You ever figure out a solution for this problem?
@Keith Cevasco
I used a standard fence post cemented into the ground to support the mast. Pretty sure fence posts are designed not to rust out for a real long time when installed in the ground.
Near ground level I drilled a hole and ran a bolt thru, so when the mast was inserted in the fence pole it stays a few feet above the bottom of the hole. This was done mainly to increase the height, but it probably also helps with water exposure to the top rail sections.
Hope this helps,
K4RZM
@@keithcevasco2827 put some rocks, sand below the end. Trust me you will not keep the water out! You just need to make sure it has a good way to get out the bottom. I set my in cement and they rusted out. Then replaced them but put rocks and sand in the hole below the posts so the water can get out. So far, they have not rusted. Still can put cement in just not under the pipe. Just around it! Water trapped in there works on the pipe 24-7-365. If it can get out the water isn't on the pipe all the time. It is an easy thing. Just some rocks to keep the cement from blocking the bottom from letting the water out.
Enjoyed this video. I’m going to give this a try for my 20 dipole that’s only about 10’ off the ground. I think I’ll use some 2” angle iron from Menards or Lowes. Set that in concrete and strap top rail mast pipe to the angle. 73 from WV.
...Yep..The Base Makes A Great Water Trap ...Should Freeze Up Just Enough to Split The Pipe!
Its been up for almost 2 years with no issues.
Very nice. But it looked like the tree was higher than your mast? Either way, nice installation.
Barry, KU3X
That tree is significantly higher than the mast. I took off the limbs that were close to the wire, but it's the main shade tree for the house so the rest of it will remain. Will see in the summer if it effects anything.
I would have liked to see the way you got it up in the air.
If you look at the video I made when I set up my VHF/UHF mast, it was pretty much the same method, just this was lighter weight pipe and easier to deal with.
ua-cam.com/video/xzXm1j0kBzc/v-deo.html
You should add guide wires at least three but really nothing for it to fall on but just three guide wires makes a MASSIVE difference, be careful.
The mast has been up since December 2020, has been thru multiple storms and a couple of hurricanes, has had branches fall on the wire antenna, and is still standing strong.
If I was using a vertical antenna I'd agree with you 100%, but with the long wire dipole, and the flex of the PVC, it seems to be self supporting a lot better than I anticipated when I put it up. Don't worry, if it ever does fall over, I'll post an update showing the failure, but for what I paid and how long it has lasted, I'm very happy with this build.
The pipe you have in the ground before you stuck your antenna in it you could have took an hack saw and cut down through the pipe in the ground and then put the antenna into it and put a clamp around it ,it would have squeezed together and it would have tightened it.
Where were you 3 years ago :) Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for the video.
Was thinking of something like this for a mast with a rotatable dipole I am working to put together. How well does it hold up in a breeze?
Its been up for almost 2 years with no issues, and we've had a bit stronger than just a breeze in that time.
If your hanging a rotatable mast antenna on this setup, it might be a bit sketchy. The wires for the OCF Dipole I'm using, plus the flex of the PVC on the end pole add a bit to the stability of my setup.
Let me know how your project turns out, love seeing other adaptations of this idea.
@@TwoAcreHomestead this will be a fairly light weight dipole with 17' telescoping whips but even then I imagine it will need to be pulled down in any real weather. Thankfully CA doesn't have real weather lol. I will for sure let you know. Thanks for the insight.
Thank you.
25' painters pole at Home Depot is $40. Just guy it at the bottom of the top section, and good to go. No construction, easy to move @ only 8' collapsed.
73 Greetings from Belgium. a quick checkmate for a few tests. any assembly is always good to take. Thank you 👍
Thanks. I've hit Belgium via FT8 a few times. You can find my contact info on QRZ if you want to test hitting South Carolina. 73 de K4RZM
@@TwoAcreHomestead Yes of course with a little luck I could perhaps be contacted via ft8 or other. Plus Anderson is not yet on my list. 73 have a nice evening see you soon.
I have two 10’ top rails. I wanna get about 3-4 more. To make 40-60’ off the ground. What is the beat way to make them not wobble though where you stack them? Is that why you put pvc pipe between the sections? Any ideas answers would be greatly appreciated, I want to mount my dipole antenna, I am going to mount one or two. They are light, not heavy at all for my low power station. I was thinking of mounting on the aide of my house. What would be the beat cheap easy way to achieve this. Do I have to guy wire it?
My setup is about 25 feet tall, 2 top rails with about 3 feet of 1.75 inch PVC to brace the connection, and about 7 feet to add another 5 feet to the top.
It is pretty solid and the only support wires are the dipole itself.
Adding 3 or 4 more rails would definitely make it less stable, and I have doubts that it would stay up for long without significant guy wires or bracing.
I'm no structural engineer, but I cant see 50 feet of top rails standing upright for long.
Another ham made a 3 rail version using the same methods in my video, he has pics on his QRZ page. Check the comments on this video for his post.
Good luck with the project, and please let me know how it works out.
I will let you know what I do.
Thanks. And Happy New Year
does that new antenna pipe need to be grounded anywhere in order for it to work properly ? I'm looking at doing something like this for a cb. I just don't know if it needs to have a ground.
The metal pipe is driven about 4 feet into the ground, which I would consider sufficiently grounded. The Antenna mounted on the PVC is connected to ground via the Coax to a ground rod.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Thanks. nice work
@@TwoAcreHomestead... The station safety ground and the antenna ground need to be separated (separate ground rods) or any discharge from the antenna arrestor will travel to the station ground bus to the equipment through the common grounding point! The ground rods should be separated by the distance specified in the local electrical code. Where I live it is a minimum of 8 feet using 8 foot ground rods.
If you buy a top rail, it is $10. If you buy electrical conduit the same gauge , length and diameter the cost is 4 times as much.
I wish it was still $10 tho, last 10 footer I bought at Lowe's was $25.
You need to get it up above the trees
Really Straight. Good job. How's been holding up since you set it up?
Coming up on 3 years since install and its still holding strong, no issues.
I have a question. I was planning to purchase four (4) of the same fencing rails that you use in this particular video The first (of four) fencing rails will go 4ft in the ground (with concrete) and the remaining three fencing rails I planned on connecting them together as they are made to connect to each other. So with all that said here is my question. Is 4ft in the ground deep enough for a 40 foot long fencing rail? I know those fencing rails have a little weight to them so I wasnt sure if all four of the fencing rails (40ft all together) would stay up being that it would only be in the ground 4ft. Would it fall or remain stable? The weigh of each of the four fencing rails is 7.36 lbs.
Howdy,
Firstly, I am not an expert.
I would have doubts about 40 foot of vertical fence rail being able to support itself, its not very thick, and may fold over under a strong wind. Again, I'm not a structural engineer but it seems a bit sketchy.
I have two lengths tied together with a PVC topper. The bottom of the fence rail is at ground level and in about 4 feet of fence post (above ground) which is buried and cemented into the ground.
Top of the mast is about 27 feet off the ground (and on a bit of a hill) with my set up, which gets me nearly global contacts on FT8.
Anyways to answer your question, I don't think its the depth that would be the issue, but the strength of the top rail and its ability to support its own weight with any sideways wind hitting it.
Let me know if you attempt this and how it works out.
Best of luck,
Eric
@@TwoAcreHomestead Yeah thanks man. i dont think 40ft will be stable. I guess i just needed someone to tell me. I was going to have the G5rv antenna on the fencing rails. I though that antenna had to be at least 30 f0 ft high for it to work properly. In addition to that, the ladder line on that antenna is 30 feet so at minimum the fencing rail would have to be enough so the ladder line does not touch the ground.
Was looking at your plans on your channel. If you can brace the first section off the corner where you are placing the antenna, then I'd be confident in you getting 3 sections high.
A 2 by 4 screwed into the side wall, extending out past your first upright, then a muffler clamp to secure the pipe to the 2by4 maybe?
Also, I did not want to lose any height by burying the top rail, which is why I used a standard fence rail in the ground, then ran a bolt across at ground level to keep the fence rail from going all the way down the hole. It also makes it removable if needed.
With none of the top rail underground, and a PVC topper, you've almost got the same height out of 3 top rails that you were trying to get with 4.
Hope this helps,
K4RZM
@@TwoAcreHomestead Thank you. I so appreciate your help man. I will keep you posted step by step
@@TwoAcreHomestead I actually will be getting some heavier post/poles
Did you bond the ground rod to the electrical panel?
The ground rod is bonded to the ground rod that services the main panel, but not directly to the panel itself.
Nice , how rise the cameras working ? Any interference?
Transmitting on HF pretty much disables the cameras while the mic is keyed. I have a video where I was adding ferrites to try to clear it up, but it only made a very slight improvement.
VHF/UHF, which is the antenna where the cameras are mounted, has no (or very little) effect on the cameras.
Pk
Ok
Nice work. I already have some top rail sections I saved from a fence that was removed in my neighborhood.
Would it be possible to sleeve the entire length of top rail in pvc?
I don't see why not. The rail I used was new from Lowes and 1.75 ID PVC fits almost perfectly over it.
Not sure if the rails you recovered would be the same dimensions. Only thing I would do is make sure that the connections on the top rail are offset from the ends of the PVC so you get the extra support. Maybe start off with a 5 foot piece?
Good luck with the project, let me know how it turns out.
@@TwoAcreHomestead was considering doing something similar. For the top rail put 5ft of it in the ground. Then sleeve the top rail with 10ft sections of pvc. By using a 10ft top rail and putting 5 ft of it in the ground this would offset everything by 5ft. If you do this post your results of what you did and how it worked.
did you use any Guy wires to help stabilize the mast?
Nope, and its still standing after 3 years.
@@TwoAcreHomestead I'm putting up almost the same thing and wasn't sure how that fence top rail would hold up without some guy wires. I was thinking about putting a bolt in a ground level like you did and its good to see that hasn't been an issue. I wasn't sure if the stress at that level would bend the pipe there. Thanks for the video.
I'm honestly surprised it has held up this well too.
Glad I could help out.
I'm just wondering how you stood the mast up to get it in the ground pole?
The weight wasn't bad, just tall and awkward. Just walked it up to vertical then old man grunted and lifted it up into the ground pole.
Greetings! Did you put an inverted V dipole on this?
I'm using an Off Center Fed Dipole, 88 foot on the long end and 44 on the short end.
There is a follow up video for the end poles that gives a better view of the antenna setup.
@@TwoAcreHomestead Ok thx! Ill check it out.
Is this an 80 Meter half wave dipole?
@@RC-Heli835 I got mine off ebay, and the seller (gniklat1) doesn't have anything listed at the moment.
This 7 band OCF is about at close as I could find to the version I bought, and it has a lot of details on the website:
hamcall.net/7bandocf.html#7band
edit: I just looked at the prices on that website. I paid about $60 for mine, they want over $250. I have a 300 watt version.
edit: A better option, cheaper and Palomar makes good stuff:
palomar-engineers.com/antenna-products/Off-Center-Fed-Dipole-Antenna-80-6-Meters-1-5KW-5KW-PEP-rated-FREE-shipping-in-USA-p74818225
@@TwoAcreHomestead That's a lot of bands!
I'm almost ready to take my Technician exam.😀
what is your experience with the fence rails bending with a strong wind?
None yet, thankfully. But they've only been up for about a month
How did you get it into the mounting section?
The whole thing only weighs about 30 lb so I just walked it up straight and then lifted it into the receiving pipe
@@TwoAcreHomestead 👍
Where’s the antenna
The antenna is on top of the pole.
It is an Off Center Fed Dipole. One end of the wire runs 88 feet north, the other end about 44 feet south to the end posts.
Its a multi band antenna, 6, 10, 17, 20, 40, 80, 160 meters.
Swr rating ?
Velocity ?
Basic question: Wife OK with it? That’s my dilemma
If she does, she hasn't mentioned it. It's really no more of an eyesore than a flagpole.
Cannot hear you
Pronounced.... BAL"UN ...BALANCED TO UNBALANCED. But good job ether way
Thanks.
Still a noob, and I even mispronounce things that I know how they work. To me its still the PVC doohickey that contains the magic bits that make the antenna work.
I'm getting there tho :)
Heya! New sub ☘️
73
Thanks Jack, you just helped me hit 300!!!
Hope you enjoy the channel.
😇☘️
WAY TOO MUCH WORK
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Thanks,
Eric / K4RZM
Great video, and ideas! I'm constantly cooking up ways to improve my antenna setup, and being a new ham this is a great possibility for a direction I may go in. Thanks! de KO4OBR
Glad I was some help.
I'm also a new ham, got my General in October, so watching a lot of vids and kinda figuring out things as I go.
Congrats on the General ticket, 73, K4RZM