The problem with the damn things is the poles sliding in at speed and weight and cracking the bottom cup as i did did last month.
It broke the bottom cap and left me thinking
Why not find some leather belt cut hole in it big enough to sit inside the base of the Pole and then tape it off with isolation tape across top and down sides a good 5cm. Good reason for this north to south and east to west. THEN wrap around above the bulge of the remains of the broken cap more tape holding down that first tape you put on. Reason behind this is because your support peg is 50mm holes making base too thick with tape stops it going through the hoops of the support stand.
Whole idea of this even with an unbroken bottom cap is fill that little void at bottom of your squid pole with saylike some thin cork , leather etc this will cushion the dropping of the poles when it does happen as it does. there,s a 4mm gap in mine enough to place some damping field LOL.
What i used in mine was two rings or circles of 40mm Dia flash band roofing stuff and glued it together for my cushion and repair job. Now me poles no longer fall out the bottom of me squid pole effective repair and possible future of less chance of breakage in future .
Also the top bug is well not to clever is it. So wrapped a bit of isolation tape around that on its bung section of the rubber to expand it enough to get a better tighter fit so it not just drop out on you and loose the damn thing.
I have a small pad of foam rubber glued inside the cap on mine.
I think āsquid poleā is Australian, in this country they are sold as āroach polesā and have other names in the USA according to location. It can get confusing!
True Brian
I like using squid pole term. But a simple addition can prevent so many future problems as i have found out having to do my repair job. But end of day if when buy another one i will be packing the bottom cup out with foam etc
I dig the M4 nylock nut and bolt, very professional. I pushed the cord through the cap with a screwdriver and tied it in a knot around an M4 washer on the inside. Not as pretty but it must at least 5 grams less that yours.
Like it, good one but that bottom bit be to big for me loops on me fishing pole stand. But love the idea of the top bit you have done, looks like having to do that myself.
When the base on mine broke, I saved the threaded ring that remained, and gaffer taped a thick plastic bottle top onto it.
This has lasted well, and means that I can still unscrew the end and take the pole apart to dry out
Its essential that this is done. I just fully extend it and wipe it dry with a cloth back at the car. When I get home I then collapse it and use my sisters hair dryer on a modest setting to finish the process.
Can you expand on that? Iāve never bothered, and am not aware of anything bad having happened as a consequence. If itās really wet Iāll leave it upside down with the bung out to drain but no more than that.
I also tape up the base as a precaution against damage. This does mean that I canāt routinely dismantle the pole.
The reason I do it is to prevent the pole freezing up on the next activation. Iām far more relaxed about it in the summer, as I donāt think water will damage the poleā¦
The issue is with the inside of the sections themselves. The outside is gel coated so it protects itself well from water ingress. The inside is the open side of the composite material which isnāt coated. If you do not dry your pole properly the water will absorb through and split the fiber layers apart over time.
Hot air works well I have found and I donāt need to pull the base apart again. The worst thing that can happen is if you get grit or dirt down it.
Done mine now, no bolt required bit of small Kalevala wire taped to pole and other bit passes through the bug with knot inside BUT a metal washer inside to spread the load on that thin rubber in inside the top bung. Can,t loose the bloody thing now
And the Bottom pole fits through the fishing stand hoops again.
RESULT
PS some marvelous ideas being shared here folks.
Thanks again.
So mine does. It costed me 14 ā¬
Current price seen last Saturday at the local Decathlon is 15 ā¬.
Such cost makes all our especial cares pretty senseless, although I admit that after several activations giving us good service, one starts feeling some sort of for it.
But the truth is that one activation and the 15 ā¬ cost of the pole is far amortised. We often spend more tan that just in fuel.
What after +200 or 300 activationsā¦?
Hi Karl,
As you have found already, they are in the fishing section but 7m are the longest theyāve got.
Some time ago, in other cityās Decathlon at the Spanish West coast they showed me one off which reached 8m long, but it required an additional section to be fitted at the bottom of the other telescopic ones and I didnāt like that at all because it required carrying 2 tubes for a SOTA activation: the single bottom section and the regular telescopic ones, so I didnāt buy it.
It isnāt worth it for just one more meter than the regular 7m one.
I have never seen this anymore at that Decathlon in the coast or the local one in Pamplona.
Iām now convinced that, for the GP antenna I like using a 7m pole is better than 8m.
Best 73,
for it.