I’m sure that many of you, like me, have managed at some time to lose the bung from the top end of the bottom pole section.
My son, a keen angler, gave me one of these devices.
A couple of photos will make more sense than a thousand words!
and so did I.
On our way down from LA/TM-020, LA1KHA and I went on some slippery pathes. It had been frost for some days and now it was raining a little. Suddenly i were laying strait out in the raod. Well, I didn’t hurt myself, but after a while I noticed that this bung were missing, and I could not find it. I have used some tape after that. But thanks to your notice I now know what to do.
I included a suggestion on this topic in a recent Radcom article. Basically I made a velcro flap using self adhesive velcro and insulating tape. This works well and has the significant advantage that there is nothing to lose as it is permanently attached to the pole.
Mine has been in use for several years and had worked well throughout.
‘…I went on some slippery pathes. It had been frost for some days and now it was raining a little. Suddenly i were laying strait out in the raod.’
That’s exactly how I lost mine Halvard!
I slipped on the ice and the sudden jerking movement caused the bung to shoot out like a bullet, never to be seen again!
Thanks for that one Ron. I never lost a bung from the top of a pole yet, in fact I keep finding them when I do activations. The problem with me is the bottom ends keep getting smashed so I ordered a couple of those Pole End Bungs.
I did find a cheaper alternative and ordered some of these as well. Look at eBay item 310183425175 Pole Caps - Pole Bungs in sizes 30 to 38mm at 2 for 99p. I ordered four of each size to be sure as I have a stack of poles of various sizes with taped ends here.
Regards Steve GW7AAV who is nearly twenty pound lighter after reading this post.
I did find a cheaper alternative and ordered some of these as well.
Look at eBay item 310183425175 Pole Caps - Pole Bungs in sizes 30 to
38mm at 2 for 99p. I ordered four of each size to be sure as I have a
stack of poles of various sizes with taped ends here.
“This listing has ended. Item: Pole bungs - Pole Caps 30-38 mm”
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
P.S. My bottom pole cap - the screw-on one - has disintegrated into 3 pieces.
A temporary repair has been made more than once with Bostik, but it doesn’t last long.
The quality of the poles is variable both between makes and between batches in the same make. I have a unused spare pole here and when I moved it the other day the bottom cap fell apart. It’s never been out of the shack and it’s failed! I think you’ll need a big cob of epoxy ockered over the end and it may stay together!
P.S. My bottom pole cap - the screw-on one - has disintegrated into 3
pieces.
A temporary repair has been made more than once with Bostik, but it
doesn’t last long.
Walt, the ‘Pole skid bung’ is actually meant to be used at the bottom of the pole so will do the job for you.
Walt, if you want to play scrooge and be like me, a plastic milk bottle screw top might just be a force fit to your pole. I use one on the bottom of mine fixed with tape and while they eventually split, the replacement cost is zero and with spare bottle tops and tape taken up the summits I can effect an instant repair.
As for the top of my pole, like most people I too have lost the bung - on the way down Drygarn Fawr GW/MW-003 on 7th December 2008 if I recall correctly. Since then I have used the neck of a milk bottle taped over the outer of the pole using Gaffa tape and the screw top keeps everything in. Using red tops I can see them in low light conditions, so haven’t accidentally littered any summits.
Now if anyone knows where I can get fluorescent yellow O rings to fit the elements on an SB5 SOTAbeam, that would stop the depletion of my O ring stock.
In reply to G4OIG:
'…if you want to play scrooge and be like me, a plastic milk
bottle screw top might just be a force fit to your pole. I use one on
the bottom of mine fixed with tape and while they eventually split…’
I am all in favour of saving money and improvisation but my suggestion was for a permanent cure rather than a temporary fix.
With due respect Gerald, if you are going to a lot of trouble and effort to carry your equipment over rough terrain to operate it at a remote location you don’t want to rely on bottle tops and sticky tape to keep it functioning!
With due respect Gerald, if you are going to a lot of trouble and
effort to carry your equipment over rough terrain to operate it at a
remote location you don’t want to rely on bottle tops and sticky tape
to keep it functioning!
I totally agree Ron, but I would say that the solution at the top of the pole has lasted over a year and more than 70 activations and is as good as the day it was made. The bottom has been renewed twice in the last year and both times purely as a precaution and when I dismantled the pole after it had had a soaking. I have not exactly pampered the pole, especially as I often wedge it in rocks and use bungie cords to support it. My solution may not be particularly elegant, but it works for me.
Bungie cords sounds good, I’ve been using duct tape, and as I won’t leave litter I often have to fish a sticky mess of used tape out of my pockets when I get home. I presume you have short ones and wrap them several times around a fence post?
I started out with 4 the same length Brian, probably around 90cm long - they were from a set that used to keep the cases on the car roof-rack years ago when I had a car full of kids and we went camping in France. Since they have been used for SOTA they have got worn, as I use them to strap the pole to rocks and fence posts which are often abrasive. Cutting out the weak sections, I now have 4 smaller ones of various lengths which I sometimes use in series to get around larger rocks. They are particularly useful when the inside of a summit shelter or a stone wall is used as the operating position.
I bought a pair of velcro straps off Richard (Sotabeams) when I recently bought the MFD, and I would say thay they are even better than bungie cords; lighter and more compact. Perhaps not so good for Gerald’s cairn, but particularly quick and easy round a fence post.