Dipole post

[Mikedp]

OK guys what type of post is recommended for an inverted V dipole? I'm thinking about using the top rail of a chain link fence (2 10' sections), but not sure if galvanized metal is a good idea. Any thoughts?

 

[NDRADIONUT]

That will work fine !

 

[jwt873]

I've got a 80 meter inverted vee with the peak supported at the 35 foot mark of my galvanized metal tower. This is actually a common thing to do. As NDRADIONUT says.. Your galvanized post will work fine.

I would add a stand off insulator, (such as a 1 or 2 foot piece of wooden dowel) to keep the feed point from being right on top the metal.

 

[Mikedp]

I've got a 80 meter inverted vee with the peak supported at the 35 foot mark of my galvanized metal tower. This is actually a common thing to do. As NDRADIONUT says.. Your galvanized post will work fine.

I would add a stand off insulator, (such as a 1 or 2 foot piece of wooden dowel) to keep the feed point from being right on top the metal.

OK thanks, so the feedpoint should be kept away from the metal pole, but is it OK to secure the coax itself to that pole while coming down? FYI this coax will probably be passing within inches of the roof of my metal building. Thanks.

 

[jwt873]

Yes, you can just tie the cable to the metal pole and run it over your roof. That's one of the nice things about coaxial cable. It's not affected by nearby metallic objects or adjacent coaxial cables.

I have several antennas (HF VHF and UHF) on my self supporting tower I run all the coax down the legs and fasten it to them with electrical tape.

 

[Mikedp]

OK thx for responses guys. Another question, my antenna will be in an inverted V close to a small metal building. One of my antenna ends will come down fairly close to the roof of this metal shed. Maybe 2-3 ft. Will that be a problem? Seems I read that IVs radiate more towards the top 1/3 of the antenna(close to feedpoint)-so maybe it won't affect anything?

 

[jwt873]

It will probably have some affect on the radiation pattern, but I wouldn't worry. It's incredibly difficult to construct a theoretically perfect antenna

One leg of my 80 meter inverted vee is fastened to a metal fence with a 4 foot rope and the other leg is fastened to a tree. I'm sure if I measured the field strength around the antenna, the influence of the fence would be seen. But, it gets out OK and the SWR is under 1.6:1 at the resonant point.