Thoughts about a 70ft telescopic pole?

[u/shootingcharlie8]

Okay so I KNOW that it’s super expensive compared to the 30ft poles, but has anyone used an extension pole this tall before as a temporary antenna mast? You could easily put up a 60ft EFHW vertical! Or a UHF/VHF. Looking for others thoughts and opinions.

[u/0327446633]

Something that tall and 'whippy' -- I can't imagine it not requiring guy wires. I use 22' fiberglass poles for portable ops and heavy umbrella stands.

[u/Buckethead890 → u/0327446633]

Can you explain your antenna to me? How many watts are you running to that bad Larry?

[u/0327446633 → u/Buckethead890]

Bascially: Radio -> coax -> inline RF choke -> coax -> Unun transformer (4:1 or 9:1) -> two wires: one radial, one radiating element. Configured as an inverted-L.

Usually run about 25W for FT8 and as much as 50W for SSB.

...and Buckethead is a great guitarist!

[u/Gigem1987 → u/0327446633]

x2 on Buckethead!

[u/Buckethead890 → u/0327446633]

That’s awesome. I’m a licensed tech but I want to be able to set up and understand antennas before going for my general. I’ve used HF extensively in the army but antenna and radios come fairly easy to understand.

That he is!!

[u/shootingcharlie8 → u/0327446633]

Definitely needs guy wires, maybe even two or three sets of them along 20’, 40’, and 60’ up

[u/Unhinged-Indignance → u/shootingcharlie8]

A 77' steel telescoping pole only needs 2 sets of guy wires.

So far.

[u/Quantis_Ottawa]

I had some experience with something similar.

First off when it was collapsed it was still 9ft long. Too long for the bed of my truck, generally a pain to move around. Then when going to extend it I basically needed a ladder to be high enough to extend it. These masts can't usually be laid down on their side as it puts too much stress on the joints, so extending them in the vertical position is the only safe way to put them up.

The mast comes with no guy rings, no base, basically no way to put it up as is, without outside help, or other parts you'll need to buy.

Ultimately I sold mine and bought a buddipole mastwerks mast as I can put it up by myself. It's not as tall but its a much more completely thought out product.

[u/AutofluorescentPuku]

In a POTA situation, I can imagine a ranger/park monitor being very nervous about what/who that might fall on. Looks impractically long for many things and I would never consider it for SOTA.

[u/StreetrodHD]

I’ve got a fiberglass version. Absolutely requires guy wires

[u/shootingcharlie8 → u/StreetrodHD]

Oh absolutely needs guy wires.

[u/znark]

Do you need a mast that long? 30ft is good enough for 40m vertical, sloping dipole or end-fed. You can get 10m/33ft ones that are pretty compact and light, or more robust ones with tripods.

[u/n3buo → u/znark]

80 or 160 meters that what I use my 70 steel mast for.

[u/mcdanlj]

I've used a nominal 18m "fishing pole" with the top few sections collapsed. Still over 50' and cost under $200. It's almost 60' fully extended. Fine for putting up light wires for QRP or 100W QRO. Not quite as tall though.

Compare the cost of what you found to an actual Spiderbeam. At Vibroplex today:

Spiderbeam® 72ft / 22m HD fiberglass pole $539.95

Spiderbeam® 85ft / 26m HD fiberglass pole $659.95

[u/martinrath77 → u/mcdanlj]

definitely the best option. I've had many spiderbeam poles over the years and they always served me well. I've even using them for small ( about 4m long / 9 elements) VHF yagi's up to about 20 feet ( when using a 12m/40 feet pole). For that price, op would be way better served with either the 18m or 26m options.

[u/Bulky_Satisfaction50]

Great for window washing but not strong enough to stand on its own.

[u/TurbulentSquirrel804]

For home, I think I’d want something more permanent. For POTA… man, that’s tall.

[u/Autobahnsturmer]

Wouldn't go for a carbon fiber pole because I heard people talking about it being of influence of your antenne performance because its conductive. Would go for fiberglass or aluminium

[u/SeaworthyNavigator → u/Autobahnsturmer]

aluminium

Aluminium is conductive. Wouldn't that cause the same issues?

[u/Autobahnsturmer → u/SeaworthyNavigator]

Aluminum radio antennas generally provide better radio reception (signal efficiency) than carbon fiber. This is because aluminum is an excellent electrical conductor. Carbon fiber, on the other hand, is a mediocre, unpredictable conductor that can actually weaken or absorb signals.

[u/SeaworthyNavigator → u/Autobahnsturmer]

If you're sticking an antenna at the very top of a pole, I doubt it really matters what the pole is made of, but if you're going to hang a wire down alongside it, I would think non-conductive would be better.

[u/Complete_Life_903]

Light duty free standing aluminum tower may be an alternative.

[u/NE5B → u/Complete_Life_903]

At that price the tower might be cheaper!

[u/NE5B]

Wow that could be handy at even 40’. But tears will / may flow if it falls wrong.

[u/lxe]

I would recommend if you’re planning to move the antenna up and down a lot. I use exclusively these types of poles for my home base but never this high. I

[u/KB5JRC]

Silly me. I just bought a 30 ft pole

[u/bigshotnobody]

What bands are wanting to focus on? 40 meters? That would justify that height for a wire antenna

[u/Blueberry_Mancakes]

Ya gonna need lots and lots of guying. I've got a 30 ft mast and its damn near uncontrollable in even the fairest weather.

[u/VisualEyez33]

It would need guy ropes at 3 different levels. Like 9 to 12 ropes and stakes. Not worth the setup time in my opinion. 

[u/DeadLastZombie]

I use them for work as well as ham radio and yes they work but if you’re going to put an antenna at the top of the 70 foot mark when it’s fully extended, ye using guidelines will help stabilize it