I have done a bit of research on
this subject and will pass on what I recommend from the collective
information. One of the first things to determine is if you have
reinforcement rings around the bottom of your fiberglass poles. Nearly all of my
poles have them but I have seen several that do not. The durability
of the pole is reduced without the rings. Reinforcement rings can be made
from schedule 80 PVC pipe if you have a lathe to cut out the inside of the pipe
to slide over the base of the pole then epoxy it in place.
Max
height: Even with
reinforcement rings I would not recommend extending a fiberglass mast any longer than 40’.
Min guy
(short term): The minimum amount of guy locations for a 40’ mast is two
with one at 20’ and one at 40’. This is OK for a temporary
installation. For a long-term installation or high wind load, the
middle pole between the guys takes a lot of the stress and tends to crack at
the base.
Min guy
(long term): For a long term
or high wind load installation then you should guy every 16 feet and may
not want to go above 32 feet.
Guy ropes
(short term): For temporary installation and low wind load use 3 guy
ropes staked out 120 degrees apart. This setup is also easiest for a single person to put up the mast.
Guy ropes
(long term): For long term or
high wind load use 4 ropes staked out at 90 degrees apart.
Guy ring: Best to have 5 holes
so you can use a 3 or 4 rope guy depending on the above conditions.
Guy rope: Use at a minimum 5/32”
diameter braided poly cord (50lb strength).
Nylon rope is stronger but tends to stretch a lot more. You can get various brightly colored 5/32” x
75’ braided ploy cord on a wind up stick from Home Depot. Rope of 1/4” diameter is a good choice but
harder to get at a good price.
Stake
locations: The
ropes from the first guy spot should have a 45-degree angle between the mast and the guy rope. All guy spots use the same stakes.
Stakes: Use steel “V”
shaped stakes that are a minimum of 10” long for hard ground. For sand you will want 16” stakes.
Guy Elevation
(feet)
|
Stake distance
from mast (feet)
|
Guy ring to
stake distance
(feet)
|
Rope length
(feet)
|
20
|
20
|
28.5
|
34
|
40
|
20
|
45
|
50
|
16
|
16
|
23
|
28
|
32
|
16
|
36
|
41
|
Note: The rope
length recommended is 5’ longer than the minimum distance between the guy ring
and the stake. You can increase if
desired.
Instructions for putting up mast
1. Drive
a 2-3’ length of steel rebar into the ground at the approximate location you
want the mast to be. The rebar only
needs to be driven into the ground far enough to keep one fiberglass pole
section upright.
2. Drop
a guy ring over the rebar.
3. Connect
the end of a 100’ tape measure to the center hole of the guy ring.
4. Measure
out the distance to and drive in the first stake.
5. Then
walk around the circle and drive in the rest of the stakes. Make sure you have 120 degrees between each
stakes for a 3-rope guy and 90 degrees for a 4-rope guy.
6. Pick
up the guy ring from around the rebar.
7. Place
one section of fiberglass pole over the rebar.
8. Place
the guy ring on top of the pole.
9. If
you are experience with this process, connect the antenna to the mast. Otherwise if you are not experienced with
this process and/or you are working alone, you may want to put the mast up
first and get everything adjusted then take it back down and install the
antenna.
10. Connect the
coax to the antenna and tie it off to the mast with tie wraps so the weight of
the coax is not pulling on the antenna connector. I usually put one 6” loop in the coax before
I tie it off.
11. Connect the
top guy location (3 or 4) guy ropes to this guy ring using the quick links.
12. Tie off the
ropes to the stakes.
13. Lift the
pole section up and off the rebar. Do
not use the rebar any longer. Slide the
poles off center so that two of the ropes are tight and holding the top of the
mast as you push it up. Insert
additional sections until you reach the next guy location.
14. Install the
bottom guy ring.
15. Connect
bottom guy ropes.
16. Tie off the
ropes to the stakes.
17. Insert the
remaining sections of poles. The mast
will need to be walked back to center as all of the guy ropes tighten up.
18. Center the
mast and tighten the guy ropes to the stakes.
Do not make them too tight if you have to take the mast down again to
install the antenna. If the antenna is
installed, then tighten up the ropes.
