Ham Radio - The Spiderbeam 18 meter or 60 foot telescoping mast. 

Glad you're feeling better Kevin, great video and gives me some ideas! Take care

Glad to see you up and around, in more ways than one! Another video that stands above all others. I’ll show myself out...

Great video and pleased to hear you're recovering from recent ills...

Great video Kevin, i have the 12 meter spiderbeam and use it all the time portable, great to have very handy and well worth having. Awesome!

Great job, very interesting, the details you shared very helpful. We used the DX Commander, 3 of them at Summer Field Day arrayed together, a little easier deployment

I bought some 18-inch powder coated steel stakes for my military mast (only 32ft+- tall). They were not very expensive and are easy to extract when it's time to tear down. I also bought some military tent stakes that are about a foot long and are a couple inches wide at the top. These are very useful for a variety of masts. I use a taut-line hitch for my portable deployments. It makes it easy to adjust the guys. Then I can throw a couple of extra half-hitches to lock the taut-line hitch once I'm satisfied with the layout. If I need to adjust guys later, it's easy to untie the half-hitches, make the adjustments, and retie the half-hitches when I'm done. Well done, sir!

GLAD YOUR FEELING BETTER.

Great videos Kevin.

Hi Kevin. Good to hear you're feeling better. That is the mast I have on my RV. I transport it in a waste water pipe mounted horizontal to the bicycle holder. To rise it up I just bind it to this holder. It works great. Except the RF coming into the RV...

Nice explanation of how to erect the pole. A very good product from DX Commander M0MCX is coming soon is going to give a fantastic 80m up multi band vertical. Keep an eye on his channel for details. Paul

Another great vid Kevin. I really appreciate your contributions to HAMdom. After watching a few telescoping pole vids by RadioPrepper, I've been planning on a SpiderBeam pole for portable ops. Something in the 30' to 40' size. My intent is to to use one for an end-fed random length areal while Camping/BoonDocking with my SUV. Mr. RP has high regards for SpiderBeam's products and their pricing is reasonable. As always, your vids are inspirational and this one is almost a 'Paint by the Numbers' instruction. Lots of good/practical info. Good Job! Thanks....... BTW: Your video production quality is very good. TaTa.....

Thanks for the video. I have been thinking about getting the same 18m version too so it was good to look at your experiences. Look forward to updates too. Hope your voice gets better soon. Best wishes Kevin. 73 Nick M1DDD

Hope you have a lot of fun with that mast. All the best.

Great video. I had to figure mine out without. But its an awesome pole. I have the 26m. It is WAY to tall.... Hahha. I wish I had gotten the 18m now. My 550 Paracord crumbled with 12 months of sun and weather, but its cheap to replace compared to wire(and the mess with wire twists and knots), i just replaced the rope. Great video!

Thank you for your interesting video. I have the 12m version of this mast and it is interesting to see the difference. Mine only weighs 3.3 kg (7lbs) and I use it portable all the time. Of course I don't need the clamps between sections as it is only extended for several hours at a time. I mostly use the mast to support the center of my OCF dipole, with one arm 15m and the other 25m long. I made a plywood plate with a 1 1/2 inch plumbing pipe screwed on it for the bottom mount, secured to the ground with a sandbag or two until I get the guys secured. The whole setup now takes me about 30-40 minutes, including the two airgun shots to get the far ends of the dipole up into trees. I love my Spiderbeam!

Kevin; I like that antenna, I might give it a try. Thank you for all the information on it! Randy. California. KN6BZG

Hope you are feeling better. I could visualize myself installing that antenna (humor). I think I'll have the kids and grandchildren help, for sure, if I get one. Thanks for the video. It gave me some ideas.

I found your RU-vid video this morning. Strangely enough, I ordered one of these poles last night from a UK dealer. Big brother is defintely watching me! I did hope to erect the mast alone, but it looks like I will need to wait until the lockdown is over so I can ask a friend for help. Eventually, I am going to attempt to put a doublet. 73 de Bob, M0BOB.

I bought a set of metallic gold and silver Sharpies for making marks on dark things. They work really well. The SlinkTenna I got on Etsy is essentially a helical antenna. The maker put some kind of balun or autotransformer inside the center mount. I wish I knew what it was, so I could make my own such for other Slinky antennas. It tunes up perfectly. For the guy lines on my portable antennas, I use either stakes, as you do, photographers' sandbags full of (fresh) kitty litter, or hammock straps if I'm tying down to a tree. The sandbags are great in locations where I can't put stakes in the ground. Some parks really frown on poking holes in the ground. The hammock straps are great for anchoring to a pole or a tree, and it won't damage the surface. Last, but not least, when I buy paracord for guy lines, I like to use glow-in-the-dark fluorescent paracord. It costs a little more, but it announces itself to keep people from clotheslining themselves on it. I also make my antennas with silicone insulated wire in bright colors for the same reason...unless it's a stealth antenna. I also bought aluminum cord tighteners, wonderful little gadgets of flat anodized aluminum with a hole punched in each end, but the hole at one end has been cut through the side to make a sort of hook. You put the end of the cord through the hole and tie a knot to keep it from pulling through, then pull the end up the downward leg like you did with the knot, and hook the open end over the paracord. When you let go, it tilts and locks tight on the downward leg. To adjust, just tilt it back to perpendicular to the paracord and slide up or down, then let it go again to lock it down. They're cheap and durable, and I leave them on my guy lines for my various antennas permanently.

Very good, very thorough, very well done. One note, if I were to do this -- and I might, but with a 10 or 12 meter mast -- I would consider using a U-post instead of a T-post. Menards sells U-posts in seven foot lengths. I think it would be easier to clamp the round mast to a U-post. (But before anyone tries this they should evaluate the U-posts to make sure they are stiff enough, don't just take my word for it.) Now, speaking of desert wind -- when I lived in Idaho the spring winds were fierce, 40 mph and higher. I had a Butternut HF9V vertical, and the wind would lay it over so that the top was HORIZONTAL! And yes, it survived. (Same antenna didn't survive an ice story in the Midwest though, and had to be repaired after that event.)

Morning Kevin. Great video and glad you are feeling better. For the past year I've been using 3 12m Spiderbeams to hold up my lightweight OCF dipole in my smallish backyard. They are wonderful and require very little maintenance. I use 25lb mono to guy the center and nothing on the sides. I've been thinking of using an 18m for the center, keeping the 12m for the ends for an inverted v. Hoping the extra height in the center will give me a lower radiation angle. On WSJT-X FT-8 I have all 50 states this year and 55 countries. Only wish the poles came in grey instead of black for a more stealthy look. Keep up the wonderful videos. JJK N6NRO

Thank you. Enjoyed your video. N0QFT, Glen

I have mounted masts like that on RV's and trucks. Its easier to get on top and pull rather than push. Also, one can set up a gin pole with crank and chinese finger gripper for a heavy load like a VHF beam at 20-30 feet or so.

I used the same natural hammer method of holding down the guy stakes when I was in Ehrenberg this past winter. The "soil" is just so fine and powdery that it really doesn't provide a great deal of support for the standard tent stake. I'll be curious to see what your ultimate solution is for this, because you're right, something long is going to be required for any "long-term" installation in the winds that can whip up out there. The knot I use is called a "taut line hitch". I usually tie two of them, one a few feet ahead of the first, to prevent that guy rope slippage problem. WTG on the 630m work!

taut line hitch works nicely on guy lines.

Hi Kev, I use one of these for supporting my doublet here in the UK, just let the top section flex in the wind and she'll be fine. You put it up just fine, I use a section of 3#3 angle iron in the ground and then fix the pole into the corner of it with 2 ratchet straps, works just fine. 73, carl g0lka.

I have 12 meter Spiderbeam poles. I often extend it all the way out on the ground, tape the vertical wire to it and then walk it up to vertical position. It is clamped to either a T-post or to a 4x4 wood timber - depending on what the project antenna array of the week is. For the 12 I do not guy them.They are standing up most all the time. No problems so far. They do wave in the wind. For the 18 I might be tempted to put one guy set on.

Hi Kevin, On their website they show an extended pole being walked up by one person. I've had two 12m poles outside for nearly two years now with no problems and have withstood gusts of 70 mph without any guying. You should have fun now that the antenna is up. :-) 73 WB3BJU

Morning K!

You live in the desert You are so lucky.

Cool video and it looks like it went great with the RU-vid Double, Stand in Stunt man !! We're all familiar with James from his Newsline posts, maybe time to put him in front of the camera for a video on what he does in ham radio and how he got started !! :)

Hey Kevin.....fb on the big pole. Not to worry about wind. I've had one bent right over at 90° in a 70 mph wind.....no problem. On the other hand, don't ever let it drop inside itself. As strong as the fiberglass is to resist breaking when bent, it'll shatter very easily, if it falls in on itself.

instead of coiling around the telescoping pole, you can linear load the wire... for example, you need 68’ but your pole is only 59’. if you go up to 59’ and the straight back down, you will want approximately 3x the downward length. in other words, that additional 9’ will need to be approximately 27’ to start and you’d trim to tune

So, tall as a 6 story building. Impressive. 👍

Very informative video.. thank you for making it available. . . Question please: Based on your hands-on experience, do you think the 18 meter Spiderbeam mast could support an 80 meter dipole configured in an inverted vee? Specifically, the antenna I want to hang on the Spiderbeam mast is an Alpha Delta DX-80. The issue I see is whether the Spiderbeam mast is stiff enough in the upper sections to support the weight of the dipole and coax without excessive flexing. Would it be feasible to secure painters poles to the upper part of the Spiderbeam mast to stiffen it sufficiently to support the weight? Thank you

Hi Kevin, I've seen Callum M0MCX the DX COMMANDER GUY Push walk one of those 18 Mtr/60ft poles up on his own, after laying out all of his guy cords in position first. It walked up with no problem what so ever m8.

Hope your insurance covers your neighbors lol. Nice video

A well done and informative video, Kevin! I've wondered about using this mast as a support for the midpoint of an endfed inverted V. I've heard it is very "whippy" at the top (much more so than the 12m pole, so it may not be suitable for that application. Any thoughts about this? 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.

Just a note. Heat guns are just $15 (USD) at Harbor Freight. Less if you catch a good sale.

Need a windless day to put it up? Not for Kansas! I would suggest that you use some T-posts as guy anchors. You've got enough height that there will be some relatively significant forces to restrain. Also, air flow over a cylinder tends to spall vortices off alternate sides of the cylinder, which leads to alternating side forces and vibrations. Hope to hear some updates on this installation. 73, AD0UY

Juliette, I am ham. I haven't done CW in years, Used to copy 25 WPM

Military surplus fiberglass camo net poles. They are 48 inches long and connect to each other with an overlap coupling about 4 inches deep. I'm thing of going that route. I'm going to either repaint them with an epoxy paint or give them a coat of gel coat. Gel coat is actuall fiberglass resin with a color agent. I'm thinking of painting each section with alternating white and black color scheme. Each section is about $10 each. There are rings that fit between the sections to attach the guy ropes. I'm going to build a pivoting base which can be staked to the ground about two feet deep.

Greeting Kevin ....What a life style! Bet lawnchair astronomy is enjoyable at your current location. Are you doing any consulting work on the side? Glad you're on the mend, take care. Love your videos. Steve KZ5MSE

Thanks for the great video, Kevin. Was that TX station, on 600m, ground-wave or sky-wave, do you think?

If there was a place where others would send code like you were the first time you called CQ, more of us might give code another try!

Great video, good job getting that thing up in the air. What is that Wispr app/site you used? Are you still liking your Zachtek Wispr beacon?

cal is making a dx commander on a pole that large.

Great video Kevin. You should look at how Calum has made his base plate (radials) & radiating plate (Antenna's) and see if you could get something similar made up somewhere. you could then have an 80m - 10m/6m Vertical and LOTS of radials. You could 3D print some antenna wire holders for several places up the pole, but you would need another method of raising the loaded pole.

Great demo on this sleek beauty. Nice installation and thoughtful explanation with good details. KE5TJ

Thank you for this video....I am a new arrival in CT7 from ZS1 and staying in rented accommodation for a few months. I want to erect my 80m horizontal loop ( I have space so why not?) but the corner supports need to be semi-permanent and strong enough to support 80 metres of D10, but easily removable for when we move. I have been thinking about telescopic fibreglass masts attached to existing fence posts, but had lots of questions about preventing collapse and attaching to the fence posts. Your video answered those questions very well. I don't have space to guy them but I was thinking of the 12 metre masts and hope I can get away with not guying them. I need to find out about historical max windspeeds out here. By the way, the terrain around your site is very similar to that in the Tankwa desert in ZS-land where we annually do our version of Burning Man...I love it there. Best regards and thanks again....73 de CT7/ZR1XZ

instead of hose clamps i drilled a 1mm hole through the pole and inserted a 1mm stainless steel welding rod pushed through to prevent a section dropping into the section below

maybe use aquarium tube around those clamps Kevin, AKA DXCommander? also will be interested to know if that paracord breaks down in the sun, I use it on my DXCommander ABV, great video thanks. 73 Julian VE7URL

That mast does look like a beast. Would it support a dipole / inverted V ? You could run the antenna wires for the V along the guy lines ?

sinus infections are no joke. Glad to hear you are feeling better. Ive been wanting one of the spider beams for a while and wondered how well it would do. Will the tip top be strong enough to hold up a dipole without bending over too much?

Yeah, I got the flu, so I too am not feeling very well. I will try to find you on the airwaves. I do get on 3.916 for the Trivia night game at 9PM CST. You will probably need more than a few watts to get one, but we have a lot of fun with the game. Get better Kevin. Hope to hear from you. Larry KI5IBO

Kevin, hopefully your illness passes quickly. Thanks for the mast demo. The 18m model is under consideration here. What is the reason for not putting the carabiner up higher than 25', when much greater heights seems possible?

Someone already beat me to the comparison to a DX commander

Hey, you are using the wrong tool...That is a metric hammer!

Paracord is great for multiple uses for short term. Do not trust it in any long term installation. I've had several uses of paracord distroyed by the sun in the north in a year or so. If you're anywhere with more uv than pretty cold north, it may get brittle quite a bit faster. 73

Helical winding the wire adds capacitance (between the windings).

How does the spider Bean Pole compare to the poles that mfj sells? I can only have a pole 35 ft at my location.

Hey Kevin... wondering if you documented your 630M transmitter? Or did you do a series of RU-vids on that? I'd like to investigate building one is why I ask.

wow...vewry interesting !!!!

Nice presentation. Lookup a tautline hitch and you won't need tape on your guys

Hi Kevin. I have this exact pole along with the guy straps, clamps, and also the radial and driven element clamp on plate. I prefer Cal's setup on the DXC, but the Spiderbeam works. I have a few ideas for you based on how I use mine: 1. The pole is plenty strong enough to walk it up, even on a windy day. However, you need someone to hold the base against the fence you post drove or you need a title over rod you drive in the ground and slide inside the bottom section. 2. I use these on my guy lines for my Spiderbeam and my DX Commander poles: smile.amazon.com/Aluminum-Tightener-Tensioner-Camping-Accessories/dp/B073NFWPKY I just leave them attached to guy ropes in each pole's kit. 3. These stakes are knock-offs of the famous MSR Cyclone stakes. They are super strong: smile.amazon.com/Aluminum-Stakes-Cyclone-Reflective-Pouch-6/dp/B06XHVQNPJ I use them for my poles and even when I strap my awning down.

where do you get this mast? I googled it but can not find it.

Why not use spring loaded pins like the poles in a pop up tent, or just put a carter pin bolt through each section?

60 ft huh ? May have to wait for my move

Would be interested to see if you could take 4 of those poles and turn them into a 4 square.

I see they offer an 85-foot mast too. Looking forward to seeing that up at Quartzfest.

That black tape is going to leave a nasty, gooey mess that will get inside the adjoining tubes and no matter how many times you wipe it off it'll keep coming back.

Nice antenna but here off saint marys bay nova scotia 30 or 40 miles per hour is just a breeze here .i have a hustler vertical with the cord for guys im using stretch when wet..must switch to paracord .rating is 80 miles per hour...as i was watching the 80 meter coil on top sway back and forth have to guy it...or it wont last

How about Inverted Caged Dipool Fed by a 450 ohm ribbon Cable

You mean a "Boy Scout hammer." Glen N0QFT

All this rubber will perish due to your strong UV. You might want to cover it with something.

Kevin, when you get a chance you might want to look into seeing if this inexpensive ($9) Harbor Freight fiberglass wire running kit might make an inexpensive antenna. At 33-feet, two arms arranged in a V-shape could form two sides of a Delta-V antenna for 20 meters. The loop design would probably counter the tendency of the rods to droop. www.harborfreight.com/3-16-inch-x-33-ft-fiberglass-wire-running-kit-65326.html

Does the sun melt the soft bits? G7VFY

What is whisper testing?

73

If only there was a standardized phonetic alphabet to make things easier...

they have 2 more ;-) an 72ft and an 85ft

hope u dont get someone walking up and saying...... you stealing our info over wireless.. had this happen for npota. we tried to talk to the guy and explain and show him.. he called cops anyways.. 2 cops showed up.. the one who came and talked to us.. said ham radio? i was in my head like thank god he knows what we are doing.. turned out good lol ..

you could use the 7300 on 630m if you wideband it. not sure of the power output ... less than a 100w I'm guessing ... I'll take a listen on the endfed and the miniwhip see if I can hear you this side of the pond

Yo Kevin!: Great video. I had a bug over the past few weeks. Coming out BOTH ends! Glad that's done with. Additionally going to send an e-mail likely de seeker/Jeff WA7LFP

Has anyone tried a 60ft Chameleon wire and hybrid up one of these?

Careful, watch those indiginous hammers don't turn on you and start screaming about their rights!!

Hi, check your lights. Light from left and right, u are looking "ugly"

You mean a "Boy Scout hammer." Glen N0QFT