HF Antenna Mast

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K8KPO

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Jun 3, 2019
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I'm thinking about buying this antenna:

MFJ-1836, 300W, 20-6M, SSB/CW, Cobweb Antenna

I MAY want to add on the 40m kit as well, but undecided on that.

I can crawl outside a window upstairs and walk on a portion of the roof. I have a (seems to be) solid antenna mount that I keep when I cancelled DirecTV. It mounts at the base, then has two arms that also mount, so it would be connected to the wall at 3 points. I'm considering using this as a mast:

YARDGARD 1-3/8 in x 10 ft. 6 in. 17-Gauge Galvanized Top Rail-328913DPT - The Home Depot

Mounting the antenna on top of this gives it an extra 10 feet which would put it above the peek of the roof. I'd like to hear opinions on if this is a good idea or not, or if anyone has done anything similar to this. It would allow me to disconnect the two arms from the mount and basically lay the whole thing down to work on it, then rotate it back up into place and refasten the upper arm bolts on the mount (I can take a picture of it later if needed). I've even wondered about putting two of these poles together and screwing them together so they don't come apart which would give me 20 feet and obviously even more distance above my roof peek.
 

prcguy

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So Cal - Richardson, TX - Tewksbury, MA
The Directv 2" mast with outrigger arms is very strong and if its mounted into something solid it should have no problem with a 10ft mast and that antenna. I would use three or four SS hose clamps to join the DTV mount to the 10ft mast.
 

W5lz

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The best antenna mast is always at least twice as tall as what it's possible for you to manage. So, get as much height as possible -but- also practical. It'll almost certainly be less than ideal, but that's okay, really.
 

K8KPO

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Do you plan on being able to turn the antenna or leave it pointed in one direction?

Being a cobweb, my intention was to leave it stationary.

I was on reddit talking to some people about the antenna and to be honest I got so flustered with the whole thing that I'm considering just scrapping the whole project. This stuff is not easy to do when you don't have a mentor and sometimes it seems as though everything you plan to do is wrong.
 
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