20 foot pole,collapses to 40 inches,for support of wire antennas $22

[Carl]

  Yes,a good antenna support for wire antennas when trees are just not handy. Easy to make a base for it or even hitch hardware to hold the lightweight pole and you can even use it to fish with . OFF season product ,repurposed for Ham portable antennas.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFQOSW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[idelphic]

Nice find,..

I have a Jack's kite pole I use a good bit.. might have to add to the gear list.

[Carl]

The 40 inch collapsed size is a tad long for backpack but this is a nice support and pieces can be used for shelter support and fishing so it has many uses...I just ordered one and I can barely walk.

[mountainmoma]

dont you have to have guy wires or something to use this for antena ? ANd tuner ? I am still looking for ways to use my base station that I can set up with my physical limitations. My latest thought is that I should try and get it to work in portable mode ( ie., bug out mode, HAM field day mode) from the trailer or car ?

[Carl]

dont you have to have guy wires or something to use this for antena ? ANd tuner ? I am still looking for ways to use my base station that I can set up with my physical limitations. My latest thought is that I should try and get it to work in portable mode ( ie., bug out mode, HAM field day mode) from the trailer or car ?

You can use an easy to make base with a board and pipe flange with a 2 foot or so pipe where you drive your auto on the board and it's weight will support the pole. The wire antenna goes up the pole and then to a tree or even a tent peg. You only need a pole when a tree is not available for the antenna support and shade/cover. But I plan it to also support a tarp for shelter as needed . I use a pipe flange as it can attach to a wood or metal plate or even a milk cvrate ,made pf good plastic and the battery will weight the crate or toss in some tools for ballast and you have a good base. I have a speaker tripod I use as it is low cost and 6 feet or better tall. I am not going anywhere on foot so the auto can carry plenty stuff.

[idelphic]

dont you have to have guy wires or something to use this for antenna ? And tuner ? I am still looking for ways to use my base station that I can set up with my physical limitations. My latest thought is that I should try and get it to work in portable mode ( ie., bug out mode, HAM field day mode) from the trailer or car ?

The kite pole I use is about 31' fulling extended and about 40"(ish) collapsed.  I used a Par Electronics End Fed ZEPP on 40/20/10 as my main antenna right now. 

I have it as a sloper with the feed point at ground level.  While this antenna is only rated at 20watts, I generally am using my Yaesu 817, so not an issue there.

Other than the kite pole, it will all fit in a small camera bag.

[armymars]

I think these poles would make a great rotatable dipole.

[mountainmoma]

I would need pictures, I guess. I cant visualize any of this, like sloper ?

I have only seen a few HAM antennas in person, large poles with antennas hanging on them. The one installation is the repeater station by me, and the other is at the home of a dedicated HAM operator, he has different ones, and some horizontal wires spanning distances higher up --

At the GOTA field day, The only 2 I saw were temp poles with guy wires and it took quite a few people to help take down. maybe there was a simple one there that I didnt notice

[Carl]

I would need pictures, I guess. I cant visualize any of this, like sloper ?

I have only seen a few HAM antennas in person, large poles with antennas hanging on them. The one installation is the repeater station by me, and the other is at the home of a dedicated HAM operator, he has different ones, and some horizontal wires spanning distances higher up --

At the GOTA field day, The only 2 I saw were temp poles with guy wires and it took quite a few people to help take down. maybe there was a simple one there that I didnt notice

Simple has a certain elegance for me. I like simple antennas as they are about the only part of current technology that a person can economically build and have pride in using something that works so well made by hand. First question is ...do you want to operate on just one band ,or several? With one band ,an antenna can be made that needs no tuner. For multiple bands on one antenna,a antenna tuner is required and the tuner can be manually tuned by hand or you can get an automatic tuner for a bit more money ( new cost $150 - $200 for antenna tuner) Photos will follow once we get a direction that you are headed. We may make a new thread depending on your decision as this may be helpful to others.

[iam4liberty]

dont you have to have guy wires or something to use this for antena ? ANd tuner ? I am still looking for ways to use my base station that I can set up with my physical limitations. My latest thought is that I should try and get it to work in portable mode ( ie., bug out mode, HAM field day mode) from the trailer or car ?

If you have want to operate out of a trailer or car, one of the quickest and easiest approaches is the wheel mast support.  It is a block and tube which you roll your car/trailer wheel on.  Here is a simple example:

http://www.hamuniverse.com/kl7jrvertsupport.html


Then bottom of your expanding mast fits in the pvc support.  Some have thumbscrews to lock it in place.  Then you attach the wire antenna to the mast and expand it.  A twenty foot mast like the one carl pointed to generally wont need guy lines. 

I am a big fan of verticle "slim jim" antennas made from ladder line. They are cheap to make/buy and easy to deploy without a tuner.  They are heavily used on 2 meters like this image shows:



They can be made for other bands too and are popular in places with restricted space.  They are extremely popular with rv'ers as you can hang them from trees or any sort of mast:



See here for basic calculator which shows lengths of different sections for different bands:

https://m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim-and-j-pole-calculator/


WIth a 20 foot mast one can run all the technician legal voice bands using slim jims.  This includes: 23cm, 33cm, 70cm, 1.25 meters, 2 meters, and 6 meters.  the longest antenna will be 14 foot long which will hang above car minimizing interference if a wheel mast support is used.

[Carl]

  Karma for you Liberty. The under tire support is similar to mine though I use a threaded Pipe flange and 2 foot or longer nipple to screw into the flange. The threaded flange allows more compact transport and storage though not as strong as you version in the photo. I think it is antenna for HF that MOUNTANMOMMA is looking for and the mount will certainly support a wire antenna.You ladder line 2 meter is like the internal of my BIG STICK dual band though measurements are different due to the PVC being somewhat conductive. Thanks for your additional photos too. I will try to post the flange support soon.Though I think a more permanent support was what she is looking for.

[iam4liberty]

The under tire support is similar to mine though I use a threaded Pipe flange and 2 foot or longer nipple to screw into the flange. The threaded flange allows more compact transport and storage though not as strong as you version in the photo. I think it is antenna for HF that MOUNTANMOMMA is looking for and the mount will certainly support a wire antenna.You ladder line 2 meter is like the internal of my BIG STICK dual band though measurements are different due to the PVC being somewhat conductive. Thanks for your additional photos too. I will tey to post the flange support soon.

Yep, almost exactly like your Big Stick.  It is just rollable into a bundle. Not as sturdy or weather resistant but more packable. 



FYI. The 17/12 meter combo slim jim is also becoming more popular but unfortunately too long for easy deployment like this.  For other bands a wire antenna would definitely be more practical.

A couple more images to make it clearer how easy it is to deploy this type of antenna.







And some more wheel mast support examples, lots and lots of ideas here:

[Carl]

  Yes,that shows the pipe flange mount nicely..thanks again.

[mountainmoma]

Thank you so much for pictures ! Now I understand what Carl meant when he said to "drive the car over the flange" I had no idea. But, yes, the weight f the car holding down the base would be easy for physically challenged like me.

I do think these pictures are good for this thread. But, I also think it would be good to put these in a new thread that is exclusively antennas so that pictures and descriptions can be added over time by members.

They are right that a picture is worth a thousand words,

[mountainmoma]

  Karma for you Liberty. The under tire support is similar to mine though I use a threaded Pipe flange and 2 foot or longer nipple to screw into the flange. The threaded flange allows more compact transport and storage though not as strong as you version in the photo. I think it is antenna for HF that MOUNTANMOMMA is looking for and the mount will certainly support a wire antenna.You ladder line 2 meter is like the internal of my BIG STICK dual band though measurements are different due to the PVC being somewhat conductive. Thanks for your additional photos too. I will try to post the flange support soon.Though I think a more permanent support was what she is looking for.

I do not have permanent or portable yet. So, I am beginning to think I should learn to make a dirt cheap portable one first.

What I cant do, physically, is to hold my arm up for more than a few minutes anyways, like the person in the green shirt in the photo. I can to some extent, just cant realy r-e-a-c-h or push that way

I can tack a piece of wire on the wall by my base station. I can also build the 2x4 type base. I even know how to solder and crimp when needed.

Sounds like I should be able to make 6 pieces of ladder wire to cover most channels. Which, while maybe a pain as compared to using a tuner, for switching between channels, sounds like a way to learn in a very concrete way. And, it seems that learning how to do minimal technology could be a good experience, even if I get more equipment later.

[iam4liberty]

I am not an HF guy (doing primarily vhf and uhf digital modes).  But I think they are suggesting something like an end fed slopper using a simple wire and tuner. 

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/qrp/HWdeploy.html


With the wheel mount, 20 foot Crappie pole, insulator, and tuner that would be very easy to deploy.  There are no heavy or bulky components so very easy to setup and move from a vehicle.  It would also work easily at home using a wall, flagpole, etc..

This is even easier than a ladder line antenna.  You just use a wire cut to the appropriate length.

[Carl]

  Great illustration though I usually run the feed to the pole and up and the sloper is the business end of the antenna so I get good vertical action on the high frequency bands and also fair effectiveness on 40 and 80 meters . You did great on the illustration because I may be doing it all wrong.

I did get the linked above POLE today and it collapses into itself from 20 feet down to a self contained 40 inches...very nice though only a support for wire as it is thin and flexible towards the top and  an inch or so diameter at the bottom.