Hi Steve that is not unusual for any long pole supported at a clamp with
"line" contact. I presume you were using "U" bolts ?? The rod is very strong
but does not like being bent of a knife edge. Even thin gauge aluminium will
buckle under the same circumstances. I always drive a piece of wood or a
number of separate split canes up inside thinwall Al. tubes at the joint,
and the base where the u-bolts go. I had a very cheap and cheerfull 10m
5/8ths that survived the 1987 "hurricane" because it was treated like that.
You will need to stiffen it at the mounting so that the bending moment is
spread over a longer length of the rod. (Fishermen bend these things almost
double when they get excited !! but the "mounting" is very flexible, and the
bending is spread over the length of the rod.) With your pole the stiffening
will have to be on the outside. I dont know what the outer diameter is but
plastic tubing offcuts of different diameters and tapered (in length) to
stiffen the joint at the clamp but ensure that the stress is spread over a
foot or so of rod. Another possibility is a "soft" mounting of compressed
rubber "doughnut" ....you can sometimes get things like this as suspension
bushes from a friendly helpful vehicle spares store...if you are lucky
enough to know of such a place these days.....failing that some MOT failures
might do the job. If you cant find a plastic tube to sheath it an length a
snug fitting aluminium tube would be better, but split the top and jubilee
clip it so that it can bend a little. Also moving the two support points
further apart will allow it to bow between them more easing the
strain.....chimnet and fascia mounts (abt 9in apart)are probably too close
together for a long whip.. The fishing pole is too good a support to ditch
completely and as you say has minimum visual impact.
I hope that gives you some ideas..... er where did you get the fishing pole
from and how much ??
Cheers de Alan G3NYK
[email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Thompson <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: 25 October 2002 17:10
Subject: LF: Suggestions please
My aerial experiments have come to a halt. I was using a lightweight
fishing
rod (fishing people call them whips) to support a vertical wire. The rod is
neat cosmetically and easy to handle. I had it fixed using a small wall
bracket sold for holding TV aerial poles. In the recent high winds, the rod
has snapped off at the bracket, clearly not up to the bending strain so I
need something a bit tougher, perhaps fibreglass - any suggestions on
products and sources would be most welcome.
Thanks
Steve
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