Raising the antenna mast in a Kichwa village

We used a hardwood tree as an antenna mast - it will last as long as steel in this climate. It will hold 2 VHF and 2 HF antennas. I put down the camera to help about half way through the process...

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Amazon
• Radio
• Ecuador

[snowbird29803]

This is exactly how real men installed millions of utility poles before specially-equipped trucks became available to assist with this operation. There is noting wrong with this method when man power is all you've got. A back-stay rope would have been a nice safety feature. Curious as to what kind of radio system was being installed; looks like a 2M/high-band yagi, and a similar vertical on top. 73

[charangito]

@snowbird29803 We did not have enough rope handy for a back-stay - you are correct: the antenna was for a 155 mhz system, pointed at the regional capitol- 75 km away - note that there is a cross arm mount with a pulley/lanyard for hauling up an inverted vee broadband HF antenna. I am not able to bring lots of gear with me since I fly in usually - I have to make due with what is there and the considerable ingenuity and tenacity of the villagers. The mast is still there after 5 years.

[agungk]

man...that's not the best approach.

i tried this with only two one-and-half 6 mtrs steel pipes. it weight like a small elephant.

should have used ginpole or at least a helper pole and some ropes.

[charangito]

Heh heh, several of my friends friends have agreed with you. Keep in mind that we were an hour plane ride away from the nearest hardware store and that we were dealing with wood not steel - actually it works better than you would think - the pole slipped into a 3 ft hole once it got to 80 deg or so of vertical, we then packed stones around it to keep it in place. I have been putting radios in remote places for over 20 years from Mexico to Ecuador and the "hole and pole" method always works.

[HerbWalker]

Might have been faster to just grow a tree! LOL Good luck.............