I thought the price looked a little high. Still, though, light is good, if it's still strong. The antenna itself weighs under a pound, and I like the idea of limiting the damage it could do should it fail (structurally). This may be the way to go. ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of JP Pritchard via BVARC <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 12:27 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]> Cc: JP Pritchard <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers
The carbon fiber masts offered by Gigaparts looks really great but they’ve doubled in price over the past year. I think Jason at Ham Radio 2.0 has a YT video on them. JP Sent from my iPhone On Mar 31, 2022, at 10:45 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: I would plead Ingorance to permits. I grew up in "the country " . I never heard of getting a permit to do stuff. I just do it. Are you saying I need a permit to put up a TV antenna? I imagine I will look for direction if that is the case. But not until it seems to really matter. Neal N5EN Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN via BVARC <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 10:17:26 AM To: Neal Naumann via BVARC <[email protected]> Cc: Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Did you permit the project to erect a tower and antenna? On 3/31/2022 9:41 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC wrote: A TV antenna is permitted by law (which was drafted by the advertisers running ads on the over the air television stations). My Hygain TH-3JRS is is TV antenna. 33 feet is a height I require for good reception. A flagpole is permitted by law. If you choose to run a wire to it is your choice. 73, Neal N5EN ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 9:16 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Well, my CC&Rs are not vague - they say explicitly no antennas unless we're required to allow the antenna by law. Having said that, I already have an antenna for HF. There will be one for VHF and UHF. The question is about how to build it... I think I've settled on doing the tetherball base. Now I just need to figure out if it will be a push up mast, a crank up mast, a tilt over mast, or some combination, and I need to figure out what to make it out of... Lighter is better, I think, as it'll be less likely to cause damage should it ever blow over (or get knocked over). I may put this thing between my house and the neighbor's house, and I don't want it breaking stuff. I was looking at carbon fiber telescoping masts last night, and that may be a good option. They're pricey, which I'm not thrilled about, but they are supposedly stronger/stiffer than aluminum. -j ________________________________ From: Neal Naumann <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 7:05 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: masts & towers If you attend any area Hamfest with an ARRL forum, John Stratton N5AUS (ARRL board member and civil trial attorney) will tell you that an HOA is no excuse for putting up an antenna. He can feed you ammunition if there is an issue with your HOA. My HOA has a vague statement about antennas 10 ft higher than the highest point on my house. With that in mind and a "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission " attitude, for the past 20 years I have had antennas up to 20 ft in height attached yp my chimney. This past year I got tired of dealing with my extension ladder and put four sections of Motorola/ Rohn 35 in the ground about 6 feet. So that's about 34 feet above ground. I recently came across a good deal on a Hygain TH-3JRS and I also have a 4 element 2 meter beam side mounted. I have never received a complaint... except for grass growing in the sidewalk cracks. I also converted my 10 meter 5/8 wave Siro Toronado to a 30 meters and it's mounted on a 10 ft pole, so that's also about 35' to the top. My 12 meter diy vertical is also at about 30 feet. I'm working on a 60 meter vertical that will use an insulated push-up pole that will be about 43' high. According to N5AUS, all property owners in the United States are guaranteed the right to display Ol' Glory. That flag pole can be 33 feet tall and have coax attached. I hate stupid rules and enjoy pushing the limits. Some people drive the speed limit - I never have. For those that say "don't buy a house in a HOA" - I challenge you to purchase a (decent and reasonably priced) house in the Houston area, in an acceptable school district, and close to work, that's not in an HOA. 73, Neal N5EN ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 3:02 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [BVARC] masts & towers Hi, BVARC! I'm curious as to what others are doing for masts/towers. I'm in an HOA ("no antennas") with a tiny little yard. Nobody has complained so far about my homebrew "DX Commander" style fan vertical, which looks like a 31' jackite pole (because that's pretty much what it is, with some 3d-printed wire spreaders). I was holding that up w/ a 5' piece of 3/4 copper water pipe driven halfway into the ground. Worked for several months, but the wind finally bent the pipe. I have some 5' electrical conduit that looks a little tougher, but I may resort to guying. The metal inside the bottom of the fiberglass pole, I suspect, interferes with my 10m element, anyway... I'm also wanting to put my Ed Fong DBJ-1 (which looks like a 5' PVC pipe) up with the feedpoint 25-30'. I picked up a couple of old tires, and I'm thinking of filling one with concrete (think tetherball pole) and mounting a couple of pieces of angle iron in the concrete, so I can drill holes, put some sort of mast between them, and make a "tilt over" base/hinge for the mast. Has anybody built a self-supporting (non-guyed) 30 foot mast out of, say, some sort of stock from Home Depot/Lowe's? The internet has lots of stories about using chain link fence top rail (10' sections), but most say that 2 of those (20') is all you join before it gets super wobbly. Would love to use some sort of square tube - maybe nesting sections - but not sure where to get 10' sections, and not sure aluminum would be strong enough or steel would be light enough... Anyway, that's where I am. I thought I'd float this out there to benefit from the experience of those who have been there and done that. Hope y'all can help me come up with something that will work while avoiding poor choices that could cause damage or hurt somebody. Thanks! -Jeff, W5JEF ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list [email protected] http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
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