Open Field Antenna Mast Mount

In two previous blog posts (Drive-on,  Trailer-Hitch), I shared my heavy duty drive-on, and trailer-hitch antenna mast mount creations. In this post, I want to share a third option, my “Open-Field” mast mount.

There are times when you need to put up a tall antenna mast away from a vehicle. This may be in a park for a POTA activation, or in a remote field as an EMCOMM operator.

Many Hams will stand up a tall antenna mast using long guy wires, connected about 1/2 way up the mast. This setup usually requires two people to put in place. Deploying high/long guy wires is cumbersome, and takes up a lot of space. In most cases, it is not necessary.

I was looking for field mast support to meet the following requirements:
1) Must be portable and easy to deploy in the field.
2) Must be deployable by one person.
3) Must be easy to assemble/disassemble if there are multipe parts.
4) Must be secure – able to hold the mast in place in very high winds.

As always, my solution uses inexpensive parts you can find in a building supply store. In this case, a PVC pipe and a toilet flange.

Below is a picture of the contraption:

The base of the stand is a plastic 3″ toilet flange. This is the thing that sits between a toilet waste pipe and the toilet in your home.

I glued a 30″ length of 3″ PVC pipe to the flange. I next designed and 3D printed a top and bottom collar slightly larger than the diameter of my TN-07 and  telescoping mast.

Finally, I installed 4 (four) screw-eyes evenly around the pipe about 3/4 of the way up the pipe. These hold the guy ropes made of parachute chord attached with ratcheting pulleys.

I sanded the pipe with 200 grit sandpaper, removed the sanding dust with a clean rag and water, and allowed it to dry.  Then I sprayed three light coats of paint, about 15 minutes apart. Then I hung it in the garage and allowed it to dry overnight.

Here is the parts list:
1) 1 – 3″ PVC toilet flange
2) 1- 3″ Schedule 40 PVC pipe (30″)
3) 4 – 1/8″ rope ratchets
4) 1 – Bright colored parachord (5 mm dia.)
5) 4 – 1/4-20 2″ Screw eye bolts
6) 4 – Tent stakes of your choice (Sample-1, Sample-2)
7) 1 – Rustoleum 2X spray paint in the color of your choice

Optional:
To fill the small gap between the pipe and the mast, you may want to 3D print the top and bottom inserts I created.
NOTE: Leave a blog comment if interested in the 3D print files.

Deploying the mast mount is easy, and only takes one person. Place the mount on a solid surface. If desired, you can use small aluminum tent stakes to secure the mount using the holes around the base flange.

Extend the parachords about 5-6′ and stake each end into the ground. As shown in the photo below, I use a taughtline hitch knot to adjust the length of the chord.

Once all the parachords are in place, pull on the ratcheting side of each chord to tighten them up. Make sure the stakes are securely in the ground, since you need to make the chords quite taught.

I think you will be surprised how secure the setup is. I have used it with a fully extended 30M mast in high winds, without a problem.

I now have three options for securing a tall antenna mast in my EMCOMM toolset.

• • A “Drive-On” version for use with any type of vehicle.
  • A “Trailer-Hitch” version for vehicles with a hitch.
  • An “Open-Field” version for use in the field, away from any vehicles.

73,
N1SPW