[TowerTalk] Need push up mast

[Rob Atkinson]

Those push up masts can be tough to source now.  The market for high
up TV antennas has dwindled so the usual vendors no longer carry them.
 the problem is that they are too big for UPS and have to be shipped
motor freight.  That can cost as much or more than the mast.   The 40
and 50 footers are especially hard to find.  A few years ago Lowe's
had the 30 foot masts.   Before you put up another one, investigate
why the first one buckled.  It sounds as if too much was unguyed with
too much of a wind load on top.  Just replacing it with a bigger one
may not fix the problem.   I'd start by hauling out the yellow pages
and calling businesses like two-way radio stores (a.k.a. land mobile)
installation businesses.   I found two 50 footers on closeout a few
years ago at a land mobile/CB place in Memphis, TN, bought them and
hauled them home to Illinois in my car with the ends sticking out a
foot beyond the bumper and a red flag on them.   They were Tessos very
well made.  I paid $90 each with a $30 discount per mast.   Back when
they were retail, Burghardt had H50s but the freight cost was higher
than the mast.   Also, when they get trucked, they get thrown in the
truck usually with no box or crate and the mast, which is not that
thick a wall and prone to denting or bending, can get smashed to the
point it won't extend when you get it, making it unuseable.
Carefully inspect any you find to make sure they are not bent, or
obviously damaged.

73

Rob
K5UJ