Fold-Over Antenna Mast Mount

[KE5ZRT]

After weeks of Google research, I found this fold-over mount which will hold an 1-1/2" mast. This will work great on top of my RV for the 144/440 beam I have in mind & $70 is not a bad price at all. It was intended as a flagpole mount, but it is a perfect solution for RV use.

http://shop.flagshop.com/index.php/adjustable-bracket-150.html

[W9WLS]

I would STRONGLY advise against top mounting something like this unless you have a good wide "backing plate" under the skin (too much leak potential).
A better place would be on the rear bumper or get an adapter made for the Reese receiver for when your "toad" is not hooked up, yes you will have to carry a few more mast sections, but better that than a roof leak from wind working the seal loose.

[KE5ZRT]

John, I appreciate your candor and you are probably right. I do have a mount made by High Sierra that fits in the receiver hitch pictured below, and you inspired me to dig it out of the basement and put it to use. My dual band copper j-pole was temporarily wire tied to the Winegard TV antenna and that installation was ugly, ugly, ugly! This afternoon, I mounted my j-pole to the High Sierra mount shown below with a 10' section of 1-1/2" EMT.



I had a couple of U-Bolts in my junk box that were not quite large enough to go around the conduit, but anything larger would have been too sloppy around the 1/2" copper j-pole--so I notched out the conduit with an angle grinder and a file.




...I added a quick and simple choke to the feedpoint...




...and here's the finished product. The guy ropes tied to the luggage rack are not necessary for strength, but they do add stability and they hold the mast more vertical.




Eventually, when I purchase the Cushcraft UHF/VHF beam and rotor that I want, I intend to use a similar setup but with a 21' section of chainlink fence top-rail. The guy ropes will definitely be needed for the taller mast and I will probably fit a short piece of pipe between the RV luggage rack and mast along with the guys for added stability. The top-rail inside diameter is 1-1/4" --the same as the O.D. of the vertical bar extending from the High Sierra fold-over hitch pictured above.

John, again, thank you for your advice and experience!

[K3NOQ/Mobile]

Is that a Shakespeare fiberglass HF antenna on the ladder?

[KE5ZRT]

Originally Posted by K3NOQ/Mobile

Is that a Shakespeare fiberglass HF antenna on the ladder?

Nope...It's an Antron-99 11m antenna, trimmed for my Radio Shack 25 Watt, all-mode, 10 meter rig.

[wa8yxm]

You know.. I look at that fold over mount in the original post and look at the price tag and wonder how a piece of pipe and a couple of L brackets is worth anything remotely approaching that price.

Perhaps 20 bucks.. I might even go 30.. But 69.95 No way.

[KE5ZRT]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

You know.. I look at that fold over mount in the original post and look at the price tag and wonder how a piece of pipe and a couple of L brackets is worth anything remotely approaching that price.

Perhaps 20 bucks.. I might even go 30.. But 69.95 No way.

I agree, but since I am a full-timer and don't have a welder, the price doesn't seem so bad. It's at least $25 worth of steel, hardware and paint, and I am certain that a welding shop would charge more than $50 in labor. Not such a bad deal when you add it all up.

On the other hand...if you have a welder and some scrap iron laying around, it would make a fun weekend project that you could sell for profit at the next hamfest! I would put a much larger base plate on it though.

[timosh]

It has been almost 13 years since this was posted, so this is a loooong shot...
The High Sierra tilting hitch mount would be ideal for a small tilt antenna project I'm planning. Extensive Google searching both by name and image don't come up with this item. I've expanded the pic to try to get more info, but it just gets too blurry.
Can anyone give me a lead on the manufacturer of this "High Sierra" tilt hitch mount?
Thx, Tim KG5OUV.

[kx8xx]

look at mgs4u.com

[timosh]

Thanks for the lead! I'm off to go look.