Self deploying antenna mast
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:29 pm
Well, my antenna setup for Warscout works a charm.. The Omni doesn't flop about and the directional is stable enough AND when the guylines are nice and tight, has handled windloads of over 70 MPH with nary a complaint. One big snag, though.. THe stowing process takes FOREVER! I have to loosen the guylines, wrestle the mast from it's socket, lay the mast forward and secure it with the forward guyline then tighten all the others while ,all the while, impersonating a freeclimber attempting Yosemite's El Capitain. Few climbing walls offer the challenge of a Chrystler minivan.
Another of my passions is Halloween.. I love setting up my yardhaunt with homebuilt attractions. Many of these 'effects' are pneumatic, using modified storm door closers as pneumatic cylinders (air rams).
http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Pneu ... loser.html
So I thought, perhaps I can use a closer to raise the mast with a gravity gate latch to secure it down.
http://www.hooverfence.com/woodfence/gravitylatch.htm
Version one will be manual where all I need to do to erect the mast is pull on the latch to release the mast and the closer pulls the mast up. haven't figgured how to latch it securely in the upright position just yet, but I am working on that.
Version 2 will have the mast raised under spring pressure and lowered pneumatically.
How kewl would that look???
---mystic
Another of my passions is Halloween.. I love setting up my yardhaunt with homebuilt attractions. Many of these 'effects' are pneumatic, using modified storm door closers as pneumatic cylinders (air rams).
http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Pneu ... loser.html
So I thought, perhaps I can use a closer to raise the mast with a gravity gate latch to secure it down.
http://www.hooverfence.com/woodfence/gravitylatch.htm
Version one will be manual where all I need to do to erect the mast is pull on the latch to release the mast and the closer pulls the mast up. haven't figgured how to latch it securely in the upright position just yet, but I am working on that.
Version 2 will have the mast raised under spring pressure and lowered pneumatically.
How kewl would that look???
---mystic