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Page 54
Preparing the telescoping pole tips for the 40/30 loop elements
Extend the telescoping poles to full length by firmly “locking” each section of the pole in place. A good meth-
odology is to position each half of the joint so that they are several inches apart (while still within each other),
and then pull quickly and firmly. Do this for each pole. There are rubber plugs inside the base section of each
telescoping pole. These make it easier for handling, but they
MUST
be removed before measuring the pole
lengths. They also need to be removed permanently when attaching the poles to the EHU’s.
With poles fully extended, trim the end of the tip element of each pole so that the pole is 212.75 inches (540.4
cm) from the tip of the pole to the butt end, as shown in
figure 6.01
. You need to trim ONLY the poles used
for the 40/30 loops—if your antenna has 20m-6m straight elements, those do not need trimming. Use a hack
saw or similar cutting blade that is suitable for fiberglass. Circular pipe utters used by plumbers work well too.
Using the included conical drill bit, chamfer the ends of the 40/30 poles as shown in
figure 6.02
. The drawing
in
figurer 6.03
shows the proper angle to chamfer to. Be sure to clean out the interior of the fiberglass poles
before continuing. Debris inside the telescoping poles can lead to failure of the EHU.
Secure polyolefin heat shrink to the telescoping pole joints
On all the telescoping fiberglass elements we now include double wall polyolefin heat shrink (PN 03630). Each
telescoping pole uses 3 of the polyolefin heat shrink pieces,. Once finished, the seal is secure and waterproof.
This product requires a heat gun for activation of the adhesive. Do not attempt to use a hair dryer for this
task.
When positioning the heat shrink, place it so that the joint of the telescoping pole is centered in the middle of
the heat shrink.
Figures 6.04, 6.05, 6.06 and 6.07
below show how this is done.
Using a heat gun (hair dryers will NOT work), apply heat evenly around the entire area of heat shrink. Note:
There are 4 blue colored lines imprinted on the tubing. The joint is considered done being heated and water-
proof when the lines change color. Each line needs to change in color to ensure even adhesion temperatures
.
TRIM THE TIP OF EACH POLE FOR AN OVERALL LENGTH OF 212.75 INCHES
CHAPTER SIX
SECTION 6.0
ELEMENT SUPPORT TUBE (EST) PREPARATION
PREPARE THE TELESCOPING POLES FOR LOOP ELEMENTS (DIR & REF)
FIG. 6.01
FIG. 6.02
FIG. 6.03
FIG. 6.04
FIG. 6.05
FIG. 6.06
FIG. 6.07
