It’s probably not new to some people… but maybe it will help one
Sometimes, especially on longer, steeper hikes, I don’t want to carry an antenna mast to the summit.
Then I take my hiking poles and turn them into an antenna mast, which I stick into a bush or between stones.
I put it together with the handle loops and fix it with the Velcro straps that I use to hold the antenna wires and coax cables together. If you tighten the Velcro straps properly, it is quite stable. It’s about 2.50 m high.
Here is a UK supplier of walking pole “links” that could work for joining together existing walking poles. I haven’t tried them out but they do look useful for SOTA.
I have been messing with this for awhile as I often use my poles to get the radio side of the antenna elevated. I started out just lashing them with paracord, but that was too tedious. I tried the 3D printed coupler that was in QST but only managed to get my poles stuck together. Moved on to twist ties and a strap/twist tie combo.
@ DL6GCA I like your idea. It’s simple and elegant.
Precisely my thoughts Armin. The only difference is that I will be using reusable tie wraps rather than velcro straps.
I am planning to use this on summits where a lighter and more stable load is required for the ascent. At the moment I carry a pole and a 5 element 2m yagi strapped to the side of my backpack which being over 1m long can make it somewhat unbalanced. I am constructing a new lighter beam with a sectional boom so the antenna can be carried inside the backpack. Used in conjunction with the walking poles, it should make tackling the more difficult summits easier.
Interestingly, I have searched the websites of various hardware and plumbing suppliers in the US and have not found anything like your clamp sold here. Too bad, it looks like a great solution. In fact, it looks so good that I may try to cobble together something similar from the clamps that are sold here.
When out for the day, I carry a collapsing fishing pole as a 7 meter mast. When backpacking overnight, though, I use the hiking poles to cut down on gear weight. I just use an equipment lashing strap to fasten the poles together. It’s not as stable as I would like, and the pipe clamps might be just what I need.
That would be a possibility, of course. I have already used these parts to build antennas. You could screw them together back to back.
But on the other hand, I don’t need any special parts. I hold my antenna wires and the coaxial cable together with Velcro and then I always use these to hold the walking sticks together. That works perfectly.
