KC8AON's QRP PROJECTS

A GROUND MOUNT FOR TELESCOPIC FISHING POLES

A QUICK SIMPLE WAY TO GROUND MOUNT A CRAPPIE POLE FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FIELD ANTENNAS

Need a way to stand that crappie pole antenna up in the middle of an open field with nothing to tie the pole to ? Here's what I use ! First, cut a 12" length of 1" wooden dowel rod and drill a 5/16" hole in one end to about a 3" depth to accept a 5/16" steel rod about 15" long for the ground spike. Then slip a large flat washer on the steel rod and coat the top 3" of the rod with epoxy glue and then push the steel rod up into the wooden dowel letting the excess epoxy squeeze out the bottom. Then push the flat washer up against the bottom of the dowel sandwiching the excess epoxy between the dowel and the washer. The washer and epoxy will prevent moisture from seeping into the wooden dowel and doing damage to it. Next, give the wooden dowel a couple of good coats of varnish to further protect it from the elements. Finally, using some wide electricians tape, build up the diameter of the dowel in 2 places, one near the top and one near the bottom to get a loose slip fit inside the bottom section of the crappie pole. Then grind the end of the steel spike into a point to make it easy to push into the ground. To use the ground mount, simply shove the steel spike into the ground and then slip the crappie pole down over it. The crappie pole can then be used to support light weight wire antennas like doublets, end fed wires, or even wire verticals. Lay out a few radials around the bottom and tape a vertical wire to the pole and use a coil at the bottom to resonate it on different bands for a no tuner needed ground mounted vertical ! Now you can stand that crappie pole up almost anywhere !

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