Telescopic Fiberglass Poles
another great product from
The Mast Company
P. O. Box 1932
Raleigh, NC 27602
(www.TMastCo.com)
e-mail - k4tmc@aol.com
BREAKING NEWS: The Mast Company announces the arrival of a new 32 Ft Heavy Duty Fiberglass Telescopic Pole suitable for supporting vertical wire antennas and light-weight dipole arrays (see Special Notes below). The dark-green Heavy Duty 32 ft. pole is very suitable for use in restricted neighborhoods where the green color will blend with background vegetation. Originally designed for windsocks, these are very strong with a heavy-duty stiff large diameter (5/16 inch) top section. The 32 ft pole is constructed of 10 sections with wall thickness of 1/16 inch, and collapses to 46 inches for easy storage and transportation. Other telescopic pole sizes (19 to 28 ft) are also available (see below), and some can be stacked to reach over 40 ft. Introductory pricing of the 32 ft pole is $115.00 shipped anywhere in ConUS, and includes 5 pages of Application Notes. You can extend the height of the pole to 38 ft. by stacking one of the 10 ft red poles ($15.00) over the top.
Note that we offer a special ruggedized version of the 32 ft pole in which it is epoxied inside a schedule 40 PVC pipe with screw-off PVC end-caps at both ends. We call this our X-treme Heavy Duty Pole (reference the top item in the picture below). Although this makes the package heavier, it does make it easier to be less concerned about accidental damage during transportation and storage. We can also provide the X-treme packaging as a protective transport enclosure for our other pole models. Please e-mail for price quote and availability.
General Description:
We had to travel almost to the West Coast to find these great heavy-duty 19 to 32 foot telescopic fiberglass poles. There are 3 versions available, see below. These are much stronger than the South Bend SD-20 and Black Widow fishing poles that the QRP crowd uses for those St. Louis Verticals. The poles we offer were designed for use at the beaches as windsock poles. All of our poles have thicker walls than the fishing poles noted above. The 22 & 32 ft Heavy Duty (green) units have a 1/16 inch wall per section, and the tip section is a sturdy 5/16-inch diameter (versus the SD-20’s flimsy 1/8 inch). The top section includes a one-inch long metal tip sleeve to protect the end and a wire loop to attach items. These units are not fishing poles!
The Heavy Duty (green) version comes painted dark-green with a slick shiny finish. They should make great stealth verticals for use in those “picky” neighborhoods. For temporary use, you can lash one to a deck railing with some bungee cords. For a more permanent setup, get one of those Radio Shack 3-foot tripod mounts (#15-517), or their wall mounts (#15-883, -885, -886, or -891). We have also used patio/deck umbrella stands. These are sturdy enough to safely support the center of a light weight HF dipole and the accompanying feedline (RG-8X, RG-58, 300/450 ohm twinlead (see Special Notes below). Or, use two of them to raise the ends of your Inverted-V dipole.
All of our poles collapse to a length of 46 inches. The sections use a friction fit joint in which you extend the section and finish with a slight twist.
So, if your’re looking for something stronger than those 20 foot light-weight fishing poles that sell for $25+, then consider our 22 foot pole for $47.50, plus packaging ($3.00) and shipping costs (UPS Ground or USPS Parcel Post). We wrap the pole in bubble-wrap and ship in cardboard mailing tubes/boxes. For a more economical pole, then consider our 19 foot Flexible (red) unit at $25.00, plus packaging ($3.00) and shipping (UPS Ground or USPS Parcel Post).
The Extra Heavy-Duty (black) 22 foot pole is available by special order only. Which means we do not keep very many in stock; therefore, it may take a few weeks to get one to you. Price is $75.00 plus packaging ($3.00) and shipping (UPS Ground or USPS Parcel Post).
NEW PRICING goes into effect on JULY 1, 2005. We have held prices the same for a number of years; however, the cost of gasoline, shipping supplies, and other items is forcing us to finally make some adjustments.
For total price, contact us via e-mail at k4tmc@aol.com and provide your Zip Code. Money Orders, Bank Cashiers Checks, or PayPal are the ONLY payment method accepted. Sorry, NO direct Credit Card transactions. Note that you can use a credit card through PayPal. Aditional questions may be answered via e-mail (k4tmc@aol.com). PLEASE, do not send payment until you have received correspondence relative to stock availability, total price, and payment details.
If you have a need for other lengths (10, 13, 16, 19, 26 or 29 ft.) of any of these, then contact us for a special purchase.
How to Reach Greater Heights – Stack’em!
Here is how you stack them. You take the 19 ft. Flexible (red) pole and stack over the 22 ft. Heavy Duty (green) pole to reach a height of 29 to 31 ft. The difference here is based on how you make the joint. If you just drop the red pole over the green pole until it reaches a larger bottom section then you are limited to 29 ft. If you shim the joint, you could raise the upper pole another 1-2 ft. You then take this combination and stack over the 22 ft. Extra Heavy Duty (black) pole for another 9 ft. By doing this in the above fashion, you have upper sections of the green and black pole that are not used. Just remove these extra sections and save them for when you may want to use the poles separately. So, you could achieve a maximum height of around 41 ft; however, you may need some light guys (see below). It is not very practical to stack two of the same type poles. You would only gain the extra height of the base section (46 inches). One person can easily raise the 3-pole stack, just by walking it up.
If you just stack the green pole over the black pole, you can get a height of 31 to 33 ft.
Note that to stack either the red or green pole over the black pole, you will need to permanently remove the black pole’s top section metal attachment assembly. The swiveling threaded ferrule is too wide to allow the base section of the other poles to drop down over the top of the black pole.
If you use the 32 ft Heavy Duty green pole, you can only obtain an extra 6 ft of height by stacking any of the red poles over the top. As a result, we only recommend using one of the 10 ft red poles ($15.00) to reach 38 ft. The 32 ft. pole does not stack over the 22 ft. black pole
As for guying. In a no-to-low wind environment, assuming that the base of the bottom pole is firmly attached to a solid foundation, you probably would not need any guys, if you are only supporting a vertical wire. In a windy environment, you should only need one set of light-weight guys around 12 to 15 ft up.
Specifications:
Model Name: Flexible 19 ft.
Extended Length: 18 ft. 6 inches to 19 ft. 3 inches (varies according to production run)
Collapsed Length: 46 inches
Pole Weight: 2 lbs (shipping weight is 3 lbs)
Number of Sections: 6
Tip Section: solid fiberglass rod tapers to 1/8 inch at top, with metal eye-ring
Base Section: 1 & 1/4 inch OD with screw-off plastic end-cap; metal clip for attaching wire/string end; and soft rubber plug for top end
Color: red
Price: $25.00, plus box ($3.00) and shipping cost (request quote via e-mail)
Reference the red pole in the picture below.
Model Name: Heavy Duty 22 ft.
Extended Length: 22 ft. to 23 ft. (varies according to production run)
Collapsed Length: 46 inches
Pole Weight: 3 lbs (shipping weight is 4 lbs)
Number of Sections: 7
Tip Section: hollow fiberglass tube tapers to 5/16 inch at top, with metal eye-ring
Base Section: 1 & 1/2 inch OD with slip-off plastic end-caps; metal clip for attaching wire/string end
Color: dark green
Price: $47.50, plus box ($3.00) and shipping cost (request quote via e-mail)
Reference the lower dark green pole in the picture below.
Model Name: Heavy Duty 32 ft.
Extended Length: 31 ft.6 inches to32 ft. (varies according to production run)
Collapsed Length: 46 inches
Pole Weight: 5 lbs (shipping weight is 6 lbs)
Number of Sections: 10
Tip Section: hollow fiberglass tube tapers to 5/16 inch at top, with metal eye-ring
Base Section: 1 & 7/8 inch OD with slip-off plastic end-caps; metal clip for attaching wire/string end
Color: dark green
Price: $115.00 (includes box and shipping within ConUS)
Reference the upper dark green pole in the picture below.
Model Name: X-treme Heavy Duty 32 ft.
Extended Length: 31 ft 6 inches to 32 ft. (varies according to production run)
Collapsed Length: 47 inches (with end caps)
Pole Weight: 7 lbs (shipping weight is 8 lbs)
Number of Sections: 10
Tip Section: hollow fiberglass tube tapers to 5/16 inch at top, with metal eye-ring
Base Section: 2 & 3/8 inch OD PVC tube with screw-off PVC end-caps at both ends; end-cap OD is 2 & 3/4 inch
Color: base section is white PVC; pole sections are dark green
Price: $135.00 (includes box and shipping within ConUS)
Reference the white PVC enclosure in the picture below.
Model Name: Extra Heavy Duty 22 ft.
Extended Length: 22 ft. (consistent production runs)
Collapsed Length: 46 inches
Pole Weight: 5 lbs (shipping weight is 6 lbs)
Number of Sections: 7
Tip Section: hollow fiberglass tube tapers to 5/8 inch at top, with swiveling metal threaded ferrule that accepts two separate threaded eye-rings
Base Section: 2 inch OD with slip-off plastic end-cap; metal clip for attaching wire/string end; and soft rubber plug for top end (see Special Notes below)
Color: black
Price: $75.00, plus box ($3.00) and shipping cost (request quote via e-mail)
Reference the black pole in the picture below.
Another view...
SPECIAL NOTES:
End caps:
The heavier poles are now being supplied with slip-off plastic end caps. There are pros and cons to this. From an appearance standpoint, the screw-off end caps look much better than the slip-off caps. However, the screw-off base end caps are more fragile and tend to crack when the pole is dropped. As a result, they are sometimes damaged during shipment, especially with the heavier poles. The plastic slip-off end caps do not fail when the pole is dropped. We still like the appearance and functionality of screw-off end caps. Thus, the X-treme packaging we offer for the 32 ft Heavy Duty pole.
Light Weight Dipoles:
When we say “light weight”, that is exactly what we mean. Although these poles are heavier duty than other similar poles, they are still not a substitute for a metal mast, tower, or tree. For example, do not expect to support a Sterba Curtain array or multi-trapped all-band dipoles. In fact, a review of several ham radio catalogs noted that there are no “light weight” commercial dipole arrays available. So, plan on home-brewing your own.
First, if you are trying to install your dipole at the highest point on these poles, you need to consider the following carefully.
The types of dipole construction that are suitable for these poles involve the use of small gauge wire (#18 to #28). The longer the wire length, the smaller size you need to consider. In other words, you could support a 28 MHz dipole made of #14 wire (total length = 18 ft); however, do not attempt to support a 1.8 MHz dipole (total length = 240 ft) of the same size wire. When designing your dipole, you also need to consider the wind and ice loading that the wire presents to the top of the pole. Do not even think about using a dipole that has traps along its length. They are physically heavy and present a significant wind load.
Now, let’s talk about baluns. We do not recommend using most of the commercial baluns at the top of these poles. Here again, the physical weight and wind loading present a large stress on the upper section. You might consider a small bead balun that you construct from a kit, basically, ferrite beads slipped over a length of small coaxial cable. Ideally, the best option is to use a resonant dipole with properly matched feedline, which then does not require the use of a balun. Or, use a twinlead feedline and match the array at the base with a matching network (antenna tuner).
What about center and end insulators for your dipole, you ask. Here again the physical weight and wind loading needs to be considered. Use the smallest center insulator piece that you can get away with. In fact, consider using no insulator; just solder the antenna wires directly to the feedline wires. If this is a temporary installation, and the wire size is small enough, then the stress on the feedline may not be a significant factor. Dipole end insulators can be just a piece of fishing line or a button.
Second, if you can reduce your height needs to a lower section of the pole, then you can start to make some compromises on the above recommendations. And the use of supporting guy lines is a strong recommendation if you expect your array to stay up for an extended period.
The Application Notes that come with each pole provide guidance on erecting the poles, and support guying.
Updated 7/14/2005; web page hosted by AkornHosting.com