A jury rigged mast
Part of the enjoyment, for me, in my various hobbies is seeing just what I can accomplish with a restricted budget. To be fair, I’ve made my choices in consequence. Hence, no daysailer or glider, no personal rail car. The satisfaction, in large part is a corollary of knowing my limits.
Yesterday, I hit the hardware store, in search of a cheap antenna mast. I have to think about weight, resistance to climate, etc. With a pair of PVC conduit pipes, I now have my two monitor antennas up above the house. Sort of. I accept that getting above the roofline is not identical to above the ridge. But, with the figures to support my choice, my station is now working better. Here, let me show you what $18 will buy.
The two antennas at the top (yes, there are two; the second is hanging down into the tube) were supplied. I just had to figure out how to get them out of the basement and into the air. The coax feeds pass through tiny holes, above the foundation line, and the sealant that I picked up on eBay several years back does a wonderful job of plugging the space around the cables.
I won’t know until next spring if my jury rig mast will stand up to a true Northeaster, or icing, but I’m hopeful. After all, if something comes down, I can “put it back” unlike a commercial solution. No, this won’t win any awards, but from the hobby point of view, my time in the sun this afternoon was efficient.
