mast options

[KB3KBR]

Hi all, just wondering where you guys procure your masts for your antennas from. My last mast came from radio shack back in the early 2000's.

Thanks

 

[pb_lonny]

My local hardware store, just a TV aerial mast.

 

[prcguy]

I use a lot of chain link fence top rail which can be had in 21ft lengths or 10ft lengths of EMT conduit. Here is a project to make a 20ft pushup mast from Home Depot parts and a clamp off eBay.

Home made 20ft pushup mast

I was needing a couple of 20ft pushup masts for a project and I see they are in the $80+ range plus ridiculous shipping charges or eBay has some for $190 shipped. That's stupid expensive for what it is. I did a little shopping at Home Depot and found EMT conduit sizes don't overlap very well...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[spongella]

TN07 Antennas, just bought their 32' mast.

 

[AK9R]

Spiderbeam in Germany has several varieties of friction-lock telescoping fiberglass masts.

DX Engineering, GigaParts, and Chameleon have different varieties of friction-lock telescoping carbon fiber masts.

DX Engineering and Max-Gain Systems have cam-lock telescoping fiberglass masts.

Several outlets sell the old-fashioned, and heavy, Rohn steel telescoping mast.

 

[mtindor]

I've been using the Max-gain Systems cam-lock telescoping masts for well over a decade. Not cheap. And the ones I bought I had to glue the cams onto, which you do have to be careful with if you want the fiberglass tubes to extend/retract properly afterwards. But they are great for wires or verticals or 450/700/800 yagis, depending upon how far you want to raise them up and whether or not you actually use any guy rope/wire. At one location I had one of their 48 footers extended all the way, with a Alpha Delta 160m trapped dipole. I never used any guy rope, depending solely upon the inverted V wire at 48 ft to act as the sole guy. Granted, that only handled guying in two directions, but with the lightness of the load I had on it I never had problems. At another location I used to extend them up to 35' without any guying with a Diamond X500 (or was that 300) and a 700/800 yagi on it. Worked fine, and I could easily bring it all down. Of course, it's easier with 6-foot fiberglass lengths than 8-foot fiberglass lengths since one can then reach the bottom cam easily from the ground.

Not for everyone, or every scenario, but they have always worked great for me.

Mike

 

[k6cpo]

I use a Comet 15 ft telescoping mast and matching tripod purchased at HRO.

 

[mmckenna]

10' rigid electrical conduit from Home Depot for a remote site install with a single UHF folded dipole on it.

For anything at a real tower site, I go with the specific mast products sold at places like Tessco.

 

[KF0NYL]

I am using 1 5/8" fence posts with some 1 5/8" couplers I found on Amazon. My mast is 24 feet long and I have the mast clamped to the house in three spots. I also have it guyed with some Mastrant 1/8" guy rope at the top. My Comet GP-9 and a 10m inverted v dipole are currently on the mast.

It has held up fine through the typical midwest spring storms. I lost a maple tree last year on Easter and the mast held up fine.

I have a DX Engineering 25' telescoping mast that I use for portable setups.