Using the Jackite Fiberglass Poles as an Antenna

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Video On how ot use Jackite Fiberglass Poles as an Antenna:

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​I use two 30 foot Jackite fiberglass poles to support a wire loop receiving antenna in the back yard. They have stood up to the searing heat, and bitter cold, and huge temperature swings of the SW Michigan climate, which ranges from 110 degrees F hot in the summer, to 15 degrees below 0 F cold in the winter, with plenty of wind, rain, snow, and humidity along the way. 

James - K8JHR

Very flexible, light weight, and easy to deploy. If I was a QRP guy, I would have one to support light wire antennas in the field. They collapse to around 4 feet in length, and are easily and quickly telescoped to full length. I applied some electrical tape on the joints, for extra grip, and they have been up for nearly 6 years now, with no issues, and no required maintenance, and they still look pretty good with low UV damage so far. 

For around $1 a foot, you cannot go too far wrong with these nice fiberglass poles. 

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KJ5XX

I purchased to construct my own version of the popular "ZeroFive" verticals. I was really pleased with the sturdy construction, and how easily the mast went up and down. It gets pretty windy here in North Texas and the Jackite seems to just flex and take the wind well. As others have mentioned, these masts are designed to fly windsocks, so you wouldn't want to put something up that is going to cause a heavy wind load.

I also live in a CC&R community and plan on putting this antenna up when I'm operating and down when I'm not. I've mounted it to a 3' section of 3" PVC, with a custom sleeve that narrows the 3" down to fit the diameter of the Jackite pole to provide better support at the top of my antenna support. The bottom of the PVC has a 3" PVC end cap with 3' section of 3/8" rod that is then pushed into the ground. The perfect support for portable operation, and gives me the flexibility to easily put the antenna up and take it down - a 30 second operation.

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Tim, AG4RZ wrote:

I bought the orange 31 ft. pole and the 27 ft. platinum pole.  Both will work fine for my antennas. The orange pole is definitely nicer than the MFJ or its equivalent sold by radio gear suppliers. Nice thing about the Jackite 31 ft. poles is that the top section is usable.  The MFJ is too thin.  It (MFJ) is even thinner than the platinum tip, but the platinum tip is thinner than the 31 ft regular Jackite poles, but it seems very strong and usable.

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Used my orange pole today for an antenna just to test its basic capabilities. First, this pole IS much nicer than the MFJ (a friend of mine has one), Second, one person can erect the pole with an antenna and stabilize it. Third the entire length is usable.  The MFJ top is too flimsy so it will not support the antenna. 

I also like my platinum pole, but it is not as sturdy as the orange one.  That was why I bought one of each to see which I preferred.  For amateur radio work the orange one or its black equivalent is my choice.

 

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Loyd AE5MM wrote this

Absolutely you may use these pictures.

The white PVC is 1-1/2 inch PVC.  Zip tied to the "X" is a SO-239 connector with approximately 33 feet of 14 ga stranded wire.

I used two 5 foot pieces of 1-12 inch PVC and one 1-1/2 inch cross. 

 

The green string is to reduce the strain on the PVC horizontal tubes the Jackite poles slip over.  There is about 2 feet of PVC inside the pole. The antenna wire is wrapped a few times along the length of the pole to keep it from sagging.  It could be taped but wrapping and putting the end of the wire through the tip and letting the remaining wire hang works just fine. 

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Some of the quotes here and more details were copied from: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6842

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