This one turned into a proper three-day station build. I started by measuring the downward load on the falling derrick so I could get a better idea of what sort of force the alloy pole is really seeing, and whether a swap to fibreglass is realistic for the next stage of the project. From there, the tower came down again so I could cut a small coax exit slot near the top of the mast – carefully placed, drilled, filed and smoothed so it would do the job without turning into a stress-riser or a coax shredder.
After that, it became one of those jobs where everything takes longer than expected. Coax runs up the inside of the mast, connectors off and back on again, snakes through the tube, joins where I didn’t want joins, new PL259s, old PL259s, seized threads, soldering in the wind, choke fitting, weatherproofing, cable routing round the rotator, and generally trying to future-proof the whole lot for 10m, 20m and eventually the 160m vertical idea.
There’s also some real-world thinking in this one about temporary compromises versus final installation – using what’s good enough for now, replacing the scrappy bits, checking bend radius, watching rope stretch in the heat, and trying to keep failure points to a minimum. In other words, this is less a polished “how-to” and more an honest look at how these big field jobs actually get done.
By the end of it, the mast is back up, the new coax routing is in place, the chokes are fitted, the system is starting to make sense again, and the next decision is what comes first: the 60m vertical, or the new 15m/6m tower project.
If you enjoy the longer workshop-style videos where you can follow the whole process – including the mistakes, workarounds and muttering – this one is definitely for you.
Software, tools, antennas, rotators, coax and assorted chaos all feature heavily. Enjoy the video, and enjoy your radio.
For reference:
Signature 9 system for future 160m vertical work
Internal coax routing through tilt-over mast
Common mode chokes for 10m and 20m
PL259 fitting, joins, sealing and weatherproofing
Falling derrick load measurement and mast planning
If you like this sort of full build documentation, leave a comment and let me know what you’d like next.
Callum.