Suitcase Buddipole Kit

One of my goals is to make equipment portable by convient packaging. I decided to see if I could repackage a Buddipole into a standard tool attache type case. These are aluminum and plastic and are about 18 inches wide. I have one containing a Yaesu 897D setup, so a matching antenna case would be very convenient.

The standard Buddipole arms come either 11 inches or 22 inches in length, plus the stud at one end. Neither fits very efficiently into a tool case that has 17" of width. The 11 inch arms are very short, and the 22 inch arms are way too long. So I took some 22 inch arms and cut them to 16 inches. This required obtaining new end inserts from Buddipole and installing them into the ends of the shorter tubes. They are installed by first grinding out enough of the anodize inside to get a good electrical connection. I use a small stone on a dremel for this step. Then the new insert is oiled and tapped in with a heavy rubber hammer, being careful to keep it straight. The stud on the opposite end of the arm is protected from damage by drilling a hole in a 2x4 scrap and supporting the pole with the stud safely in the hole. I made seven of these arms since that makes a neat package and gives me flexibility to use 2 or 3 arms on each side, plus a spare. In a vertical configuration more arms can be used, even all 7 could be deployed with proper guys.

I looked at shrinking a Buddipole mast and tripod, and decided to try something a bit easier. The mast and tripod have swaged portions that if cut off would be hard to replace. So I purchased 3/4" CPVC tubing and made a prototype mast from that, with sections each 16" long. I used 7 sections since that packs neatly. This makes a mast a bit over 9 feet tall. It can be shock corded internally, but I decided to use a nylon cord inside the mast with a pushbutton friction lock on the cord so you can 'lock' the mast into place. This mast requires guys.

more later..

AlanB

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CategoryHamRadio