Constructing an Amateur's Aerial 



By K. B. ^\'aI•ner 



The following contri- 

 bution won the first 

 prize in the Popular 

 Science Monthly's Ra- 

 dio Prize Article Con- 

 test which closed on 

 June 15th. We would 

 call it to the attention 

 of our wireless friends 

 because both in subject 

 matter and in method 

 of presentation it is the 

 kind of radio material 

 that we want to en- 

 courage. The article 

 that won the second 

 prize will appear in the 

 October issue. Its sub- 

 ject is " Cures for 

 Trouble in a 200-Meter 

 Wave Outfit. ' '—EDITOR. 



THE construrtion of ama- 

 teur radio apparatus 

 has been very fully 

 covered in the past few- 

 years, but there is a notice- 

 able dearth of data concern- 

 ing the erection of amateur 

 masts. 



Fortunate, indeed, is the 

 amateur who is located so 

 that a mere "2 x 4" on house 

 or barn will furnish a pole of 

 good height. There are many 

 of us not so located, how- 

 ever, and the design and 



i-.-. ::■.:■.-.:: :: 



erection of an eighty- foot 

 pole which the writer put up 

 at a moderate expense are 

 here set. forth in hopes that 

 the information will prove of 

 value to amateurs whose 

 range would be greatly in- 

 creased if their aerials were 

 swung higher. 



A sketch of the complete pole 

 is shown in Fig. 2, from which 

 it will be noted that it consists 

 of a timber. A, and three sec- 

 tions of pipe, B, supported by 

 guy wires at each joint. The 

 timber is pro\ided with an 

 iron collar at the top, through 

 which the pipe is raised; and 

 a small platform 6 feet from 

 the top, from which the 

 work of erection is conducted. 



Details of the Timber 

 In Figs. 7 and 3 are shown 

 the details of the timber, 

 which is preferably a 6-inch 

 by 6-inch, long enough to 

 stand 28 or 30 feet out of the 

 ground. The length imbed- 

 ded in the ground depends on 

 the nature of the soil. If 

 good hard ground, the ideal 

 way is to imbed it in con- 

 crete. In the writer's case, 

 hard cla\' was struck at about 

 4 feet, and a buried platform 

 3 feet square, as shown in 

 Fig. I, provided ample bear- 



Fig. 1. The Foundation 



Fig. 2. The Mast Complete 

 439 



Fig. 3. Top of Platform 



