Painters Pole Antenna Support

Living in a Homeowners Association is understandably problematic for ham radio operators on the antenna front. I would love to have a robust, dedicated antenna mast to hang wires from but I have the added issue that I have to move every few years with my current job. This forces me to keep my setup tactical and limited to simple wire antennas. Here is a simple hack from the home improvement store to aid the deployment of your next antenna.

One of the first things I found myself doing when I got into ham radio was looking at all the material things around me differently. More specifically, I was looking at everything and asking how could I use this or that in ham radio. I became a tinkerer. For instance, I once had a plastic soap dish for my shower become damaged and would not stay mounted to fill its intended purpose. Rather than throw it away I drilled three holes in it and turned it into the center feed-point for a home brew dipole. It worked. My point is that ham radio encourages re-purposing. I do not condone hoarding, but too much repurposing can lead to a chronic case of “ham-itise” wherein the sufferer never throws anything away.

For the past five years I kept an old painters extension pole sitting in the corner of my garage, hidden behind a lacework of cobwebs and waiting to find a new purpose. In those five years I had moving companies pack that pole with our household belongs in two moves; from Hawai’i to Colorado and again from Colorado to Utah. Originally purchased for a home brew trapped dipole (that didn’t work too well), I recently found a new purpose for the extension pole to raise the end of my End Fed Half Wave antenna cut for 40 to 6 meters.

You can find these extension poles at most big box home improvement stores in various lengths and quality. Mine cost me about $30 for a 16 foot extension. With the purchase of a can of spray paint you can camouflage the pole to blend in with your surrounding landscape. You can also find adapters for the threaded end of the pole to match PVC fitting of your choice. One pole works great for and EFHW, but two could be used to support the ends of an inverted-V antenna, or any random length wire antenna if you do not have the luxury of trees or other support structures. They could also work great for Field Day or any portable operating.

I typically only setup my antenna for a few hours on the weekends to chase SOTA activators. This also limits my concern of being nabbed by the HOA police. I use a 31’ Jackite fiberglass pole attached to my fence as the main lift of my inverted-L EFHW. The extension pole is also secured to the fence at the corner of my yard. In less than five minutes I can step outside to set up or take down my antenna.

Extension pole secured with 550 cord.

Extension pole fully extended.

Jackite mast (green) attached to the fence.

Antenna deployed.

MyAntennas EFHW

73 and happy tinkering!
KH7AL