Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Open Roads Radio forum for Ham, Amateur Radio and RV camping


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-10-2010, 07:01 PM   #1
KE5ZRT
Super Swell Guy
 
KE5ZRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 273
Send a message via Yahoo to KE5ZRT
Lightbulb Fold-Over Antenna Mast Mount

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

__________________
Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!

KE5ZRT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2010, 06:29 AM   #2
W9WLS
Senior Blame Catcher
 
W9WLS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oakland City Ind.
Posts: 265
Send a message via Yahoo to W9WLS
Default

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.
__________________
DE: John W9WLS
W9WLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2010, 05:59 PM   #3
KE5ZRT
Super Swell Guy
 
KE5ZRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 273
Send a message via Yahoo to KE5ZRT
Default

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!
__________________
Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!

KE5ZRT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2010, 06:21 PM   #4
K3NOQ/Mobile
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Full Time RV'er, anywhere USA, usually Canyon Lake Tx in winter, SoPark Co. CO. in summer
Posts: 56
Default

Is that a Shakespeare fiberglass HF antenna on the ladder?
__________________
'73 John

2K Winnebago Adventurer 35U
Icom 7000 w/ Lil' Tarheel, Comet B250,6 Mtr Squalo
4wd Chevy Tracker w/FT7800 & TS-60
Fulltimer-Ret'd 2-Way & Brdcst tech.
APCO - OFWA - SKP's - MSP
K3NOQ/Mobile is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2010, 09:15 AM   #5
KE5ZRT
Super Swell Guy
 
KE5ZRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 273
Send a message via Yahoo to KE5ZRT
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by K3NOQ/Mobile View Post
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.
__________________
Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!

KE5ZRT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2010, 09:52 AM   #6
wa8yxm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Mobile, on the road
Posts: 1,139
Send a message via AIM to wa8yxm Send a message via Yahoo to wa8yxm Send a message via Skype™ to wa8yxm
Default

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.
wa8yxm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2010, 10:44 PM   #7
KE5ZRT
Super Swell Guy
 
KE5ZRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Amarillo
Posts: 273
Send a message via Yahoo to KE5ZRT
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by wa8yxm View Post
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.
__________________
Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!

KE5ZRT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2023, 07:53 PM   #8
timosh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 2
Default

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.
timosh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2023, 06:02 PM   #9
kx8xx
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2023
Location: Cadillac MI area
Posts: 2
Default about fold-over mounts

look at mgs4u.com
kx8xx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2023, 12:51 AM   #10
timosh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 2
Default Fold over mount

Thanks for the lead! I'm off to go look.
timosh is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
1.5", antenna, fold-over, mast, mount

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×