Hi I am new to this but have been following things closely and have been wondering what aerial to use when out on the summits, I will be working mainly on 2m and 70cm for now on a 4watt kenwood handy also whats a SOTA pole and where do you get them, Many thanks Ian (M3OKK)
In reply to M3OKK:
They are just a cheap fishing rods. They are made by Shakespeare and are model 1056-700. Do a search on Google and you will find quite a few suppliers or order from you local fishing tackle shop. They are cheaper if you buy a few in one order - do you have any colleagues that want one?
73 John GW4BVE
In reply to GW4BVE:
They will be back in Aldi on Sunday the 7th of Aug.
In reply to M3OKK:
Ian, Aldi have 7m poles in from this Sunday @ £17.99, however, Mike GW0DSP bought a batch of Italian poles just before we went to Germany and they worked out under a tenner incl delivery. They are ok as I used one in Germany. May be worth contacting Mike for details - probably best via Summitsbase.
73
edit - strange, I get a 404 forbidden error message when I try the sotabeams site
In reply to G1INK:
I had the same 404 error too this morning, must be a glitch somewhere.
Steve…MW0BBU.
All working here.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M3OKK:
Get a small Yagi for 2m or 70cm up at a few metres on a fishing pole and you’ll do a lot better than with whatever came with the handy.
Make your own Yagi - it’s easy using 21-25mm plumbing pipe for the boom and aluminium rods. I use 6mm for 2m and 70cm, B and Q sell them - or used to - in 1m lengths, you can make a reflector slightly longer than 1m by using a bit of metal screw to join an extra bit on.
The elements go through holes in the boom, held in place by rubber hole grommets which are a push fit on the elements.
It’s very satisfying to use your own antenna - cheaper and usually better than the commercial stuff if you use a good design.
Try the DK7ZB designs if you want a simple dipole driven element (join the two metal bits by inserting them into some plastic tube - also B and Q!).
Recently I’ve started using the DL6WU designs; there’s a great Yagi calculator on VK5DJ’s website
which gives you the details of how to make the more complex folded dipole driven element. I’ve found these designs really good, I’ve built an 8-ele for 70cm which performs superbly, a 15-ele for 23cm and a little 12-ele for 13cm - it’s only about 40cm long!
A good way of mounting the boom on a fishing pole is to get 4 of those springy metal round clips used for attaching the round handles of tools to a wall etc. Put two in line on each side of a plastic/plywood plate, the axes at right angles; clip the plate to the pole, clip the boom into the plate on the other side, and it’s trivial to switch from horizontal to vertical polarisation. Simples!
Good luck with your VHF and UHF activations. Hope to work you S2S sometime, and maybe even catch you on SSB one day; if you get a rig that can run SSB you’ll find the batteries last a lot longer!
73
John GM8OTI
In reply to All:
Checking the date on the posts maybe a good idea guys. Valuable info as this may be, this thread was dormant for 1568 days before the current activity.
There’s no M3OKK listed on QRZ.com and whilst there is an M3OKK registered with the database there no activations or chases entered against the call.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to GM8OTI:
A good way of mounting the boom on a fishing pole is to get 4 of those
springy metal round clips used for attaching the round handles of
tools to a wall etc. Put two in line on each side of a plastic/plywood
plate, the axes at right angles; clip the plate to the pole, clip the
boom into the plate on the other side, and it’s trivial to switch from
horizontal to vertical polarisation. Simples!
These are sold in packs of four as tool clips in a range of sizes from various pound shops such as Poundland. I also use them to clip a small tuner for an end-fed dipole to the bottom of the roach pole…a few of the smaller sizes keep the antenna wire close to the pole.
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to MM0FMF:
“There’s no M3OKK listed on QRZ.com and whilst there is an M3OKK registered with the database there no activations or chases entered against the call.”
Looks like Ian is Raynet controller for Gloucester.
In reply to GM8OTI:
Hi John Another good source of materials for making antennas are Noggin End.See internet.ATB Geoff
In reply to GW4BVE:
Hi,
I am trying to find out if these shorter(about 50cm when collapsed)fishing poles are still available. I dropped one last week out of a hole in the side pocket of an old rucksack. I guess I’ll now be getting a new rucksack as well!
Shakespeare website doesn’t seem to stock Shakespeare Spear lite 1056-400/500/700 any more. Any suggestions?
Thanks
MM0YCJ
In reply to MM6YCJ:
I use one of these : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Metre-Travel-fishing-Pole-Whip-fit-in-Suitcase-57cm-/120673963984?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&hash=item1c18ba8fd0
Works well, quite small, quite cheap.
R
In reply to MM6YCJ:
I have one of these which fits in my suitcase easily. However, this supplier isn’t offering any at present but you should be able to use it as the basis of a search.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Thompson EV02 Travelpole £9.99, at Go Outdoors camping shops,closed 50 cm, extended 5mt.M1CNL peter
Stronger poles are available from this company:
I have the 6m one, it is green and folds down to 57cm. More expensive but stronger and heavier than other suitcase poles. I bought this last month but not yet used it. A 4m and 5m versions with the same 57cm telescoped length are available.
I don’t believe these stronger poles are available anywhere else.
73 Phil
In reply to G4OBK:
Hi Phil, do you have a weight for that pole ?
73
Victor GI4ONL
In reply to MM0FMF:
I have one of these poles too, and am very pleased with it.
I have another 5m pole, in the same compact form, but several mm thicker at the base section. It is more flexible, though.
The one Andy mentions will support my 30m inverted V dipole attached to its tip, and remain almost vertical as long as I tape the feeder just below the top two sections rather than allowing it to hang loose (and the wind is low!).
The other pole, which is thicker and heavier, allows the top section to bend over with the 30m dipole attached, losing maybe 30cm of height.
I’m not sure how you would test this before purchase, but it is a useful quality to bear in mind…
Adrian
G4AZS
In reply to G4AZS:
In reply to MM0FMF:
I have one of these poles too, and am very pleased with it.
I have 2 of the poles Andy mentions.
I keep one in GI land as you can’t take them as hand luggage on a flight, and use the other when on my bike in G/GW.
I’ve also found them pretty robust.
The most recent outing was on GI/MM-001 and as you can see there is little flex with a 40m dipole fixed at the top.
I feed my dipoles from the end so feeder weight is not an issue (either to carry or support on a pole)!
I like the look of the 6m lifebreeze poles but I also have an eye on the 10m travel pole that Rich, 3CWI and dxwire sell, although a lot more money and weight.
http://www.dx-wire.de/fiberglasm.htm
Pete