[UK-CONTEST] Fibreglass Mast

[cris at gm4fam.plus.com]

Dave

I have a couple of Spiderpoles here - to prevent slippage I wrapped a few
turns of tape at the bottom of each telescoping section then slipped a
suitable sized hose clamp over the tape.  Tighten each clamp firmly (but
obviously not too much ...).

I got the clamps from Halfords who sell them in packs which contain
various sizes.

So far this method has worked fine and survived one Heeland winter.

73 Cris
GM4FAM / GM1F




> I'm currently using a mast of about 38ft to support a doublet. Most of
> the mast is made of a telescopic fibreglass mast bought on eBay. I
> removed the top two sections as they are very flimsy, and attached light
> wires and 300ohm feeder to the top with cable ties, making a lightweight
> structure.
>
> Each joint in the mast was pulled out to a tight fit, then taped and
> finally a cable tie installed over the top. It is guyed at the top and
> middle.
>
> However, in the strong winds of the weekend a couple of sections have
> telescoped and I now only have a 30ft mast for entry in this evening's
> 80m CC contest! This was mainly due I think to wind pressure on the
> wires and guys applying a strong compressive force on the mast.
>
> My question to UK-contest is what is the best way of fixing the
> sections? I'm not too bothered about being able to telescope the
> sections again so I could glue it, what type do you recommend or
> alternatively would it work to use rivets to fix the joints? Any other
> suggestions gratefully received.
>
> 73, Dave G4BUO
>
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