Topband: Telescoping Fiberglass Mast

[W2pm at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/8/2006 5:09:16 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
dick-bingham at hughes.net writes:

The  "Hot-Stick" I use here on my PUD activities extends from a collapsed
length  of ~5-feet to about 40-feet. I have no idea how much this assembly
costs  but recommend you opt for the variety that is triangular in
cross-section  as opposed to the circular variety. The triangular version
extends and  locks easily while the circular variety you have to hunt for the
detent  position! Not fun in the dark...



I'm not sure what you mean by the "detent" on the round fibrepoles - the  MFJ 
and the Spider simply employ roughed ends where the inner, smaller tube  
connects with it's "parent" larger section. The holding strength is very  tight.  
 
The big issue I have found with these telescoping masts is that they cannot  
hold much weight up at the top ends and even # 14 wire will pull down the top  
significantly if you are trying to use it in an Inverted L pattern and will  
stress the pole eventually fracturing it.  These are fine for temporary  
installations but I doubt they'd last much longer than year, or less, unless  
efforts are made for strain relief.   
 
You could use a section or two down - Ive found decent strength to avoid a  
pulling down effect can be had about 7 - 9 ft down from the top. But again, 
this  is fibre we're dealing with and not rigid aluminum so you have to think 
about  practical life span. In very cold weather you'll find these things can and 
 do fracture very quickly and are not repairable. But for a straight-up 
vertical  support - a base loaded 60 ft monopole (maybe someone could manage to 
avoid the  top section drooping with a clever arrange of  T configuration top 
loading  wires acting as guys) these are fine even for longer term  use.