I was at Aldi this evening and spied a pile of "Extendable Painting Poles" discounted from about 20 bucks each to around $16 apiece. What caught my eye was the fibreglass bottom section, which is about 1180mm long and 32mm OD with about 2.1mm wall thickness, making it aaaalmost long enough to use a pair as a cross boom on a small to medium 2m or 70cm array of 2 horizontally polarised yagis with a suitable length aluminium centre piece through the elevation rotator. My other thought is that I could use these on a smallish x-pol array for EME work.
Removal of the unwanted bits is achieved by undoing 2 screws, then all the fittings just lift off.
The OD of the poles is just right for a clamp from an old Diamond vertical antenna to clamp nice and snugly on. I expect it won't take a whole lot of rotational torque to twist it, but for a small, very lightweight antenna on the end, this could work well for a quick and simple 2m portable array.
Anyways, I thought I'd post this as a heads up for anybody else that might be looking for a cheap source of (apparently) reasonable quality fibreglass poles. I've been hunting for some recently and have been quoted some hideously expensive prices, so thought this was worth splashing just over $30 on as an experiment.
Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross booms
Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross booms
Alan VK3DXE
QF21nv
QF21nv
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
Good find Alan,
Considering the nonconductive 3m cross boom that I bought a few years ago (and still haven't used) was $360
Considering the nonconductive 3m cross boom that I bought a few years ago (and still haven't used) was $360
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
I was on the verge of buying an M2 one before ATRC went belly up. I've been looking for an economical solution ever since.
Alan VK3DXE
QF21nv
QF21nv
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
I picked up a sailboard/windsurfer mast for cheap from eBay today. I plan to do a bit of testing and see whether a couple of these might make a decent heavy duty cross boom. Total length is 4.8m so the bottom half should work quite nicely and be quite strong.
Alan VK3DXE
QF21nv
QF21nv
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
I use a windsurfer mast for field day activities, vety strong and squid pole fits nicely on top too..........
Paul VK3IH / G3ZDR South Gippsland Victoria
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
I bought a 43mm x 3 meter fibreglass heavy wall tube, which I use as a crossbeam for my long yagi's from Excel Composites for $127 delivered,
considering the quality of the tube I thought it was pretty good value.
considering the quality of the tube I thought it was pretty good value.
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
Similar experiences with Excel composites.
Cheap, designed to your dimensions, wall thickness.....
They actually made a mandrel for my job (tapered tubing)
Delivery included came out very reasonable indeed
Wayne VK5APN
Cheap, designed to your dimensions, wall thickness.....
They actually made a mandrel for my job (tapered tubing)
Delivery included came out very reasonable indeed
Wayne VK5APN
Re: Cheap source of fibreglass for non-conductive cross boom
Excellent, thanks Wayne and Russ. I'll give them a shout.
I may still end up going with the sailboard mast idea as I already have it, but I can always use it as a mast for HF wire antennas.
I may still end up going with the sailboard mast idea as I already have it, but I can always use it as a mast for HF wire antennas.
Alan VK3DXE
QF21nv
QF21nv