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| Reviews Summary for Spiderbeam 18m Heavy Duty Telescopic Fibreglass Pole |
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Reviews: 3
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $184 Euro (approx $276)
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Description: Especially developed for successful portable low-band activities on 80 and 160m
Built very similar to the 12m HD fiberglass pole, yet carefully designed to maintain low weight and perfect balance.
The pole starts out very rugged at the bottom (73mm diameter / 2mm wall thickness) and still has 40mm diameter / 1.5mm wall thickness at 10m height! The upper sections are slim and light (1mm wall thickness), preventing the pole from becoming top-heavy and keeping it perfectly balanced. A special reinforcing winding technique - several layers of fiberglass are wound in alternating direction (criss/cross winding) - provides greatly increased lateral and linear strength
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.spiderbeam.net
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write your own review of the Spiderbeam 18m Heavy Duty Telescopic Fibreglass Pole.
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F5VDM
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 7, 2011 01:35
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Heavy Duty - should last a while
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a great fibre glass pole, very very substantial and cannot even be compared to your average 10m fishing type pole. Neither can the price however.
This thing is made for job and should last a very long time if put up properly. It will also need a substantial base to keep it vertical.
One very negative point. The base plug should have been taped on. I lifted the pole up, the base fell off due to the weight and the fibre glass just fell out scratching my brand new pole. It could have easily broken if I hadn't been so lucky, for this alone, it doesn't get a 5.
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DL1AIW
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 30, 2010 02:36
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Nearly undestroyable!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I hoisted up this pole during last winter - as always under bad weather conditions during a sub-zero snow shower. It is nearly useless to try this alone but with the help of a friend it took less than one hour to finish the work. Since then the mast was exposed to 2 month of arctic temperatures below -20C, several severe stroms, summer month with tropical rains and one month with temperatures above 30C (nice 2010 in Northern Germany?!) and there was no need to care for the pole again.
Summarizing this experience I think it belongs to the best antenna-poles available. It is not the cheapest, but is absolute heavy-duty for mobile use and for the backyard,
I use it here as an Inverted L for 80m and 160 m with a Coax-Trap in an altitude af approx. 16 m above the ground (similar to the battlecreek-antenna but without 40 m) and the weight of the trap isn't of any importance for the pole. For permanent use in my area with severe storms during autumn and winter I fixed it in 2 different hights with 4 ropes at each level. That means it cannot be fixed in a small garden...
To tell the reality I must say, that this is the second pole I use here. The first one was built up in a hurry (only fixed at one level and also during snowfall) for the CQWW contest. During the first night under stormy conditions I couldn't believe what I saw: above the fixing level the upper part of the antenna was storm-driven to a nearly horizontal direction without breaking. I cannot imagine any of my other mobile fiberglass poles to withstand such conditions. Unfortunately one fixing rope "lost" it's ground connection and the pole went down during the second night and broke by falling occasionally on top of a big boulder, but that was my fault by being lazy as far as the fixation of the pole was concerned. Last thing to tell about this matter is that there isn't any problem in ordering single segements of the pole for replacement.
Maybe I should buy the new 26 m - pole?
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G8JNJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 3, 2007 03:46
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Not your average fishing pole !
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I had previously been using 10m telescopic poles with good results, so I decided to treat myself to something a bit more substantial, that I could use for home and portable operation with a campervan.
The first surprise was the size and weight. I realise that the specifications are clearly stated on the Spiderbeam website, but the reality came as a bit of a shock when the pole arrived.
The construction is very sturdy, with good wall thickness and plenty of overlap between the sections. The length of the folded down pole is 1.7m (5’ 7”) and the weight is 6.8kg (15lbs).
These parameters may seem manageable for portable operation, but both factors require serious consideration, if you wish to erect a pole of this size by yourself. This is because the length of the pole, and the weight of even the lightest sections, result in a lot of force being transferred to the base, if you try to raise it from a horizontal position. Imagine trying to lift a 1kg (2.2lb) bag of sugar at the end of a 3m (10’) pole, then imagine trying to use one which is 18m (60’) long, it would appear to weigh six times a much. This problem should have been obvious from the start and I now realise that I should have paid more attention during my physics classes !
My first attempt at raising the pole was not particularly successful. I placed the pole horizontal on the ground, and pulled out the sections one by one, twist locking each in turn. I then tried to raise the pole to the vertical position and found I couldn’t. Wedging the base against a wall and walking the pole up to the vertical was more successful. However moving it around once vertical was quite difficult, and the resulting wobble on the top sections caused them to unlock and the whole pole to telescope down. This was somewhat frightening as the top sections fall from a height of 18m (60’) so they have a fair amount of momentum to dissipate in the process.
I was concerned that this mishap may have caused some damage to sections of the pole, but I needn’t have worried as the base cap absorbed the worst of the impact.
Spiderbeam supply some hose clamps, rubber strip and heat shrink sleeving to use as a locking mechanism for each section, if you intend to use the pole as a semi-permanent fixture. However for temporary use, something like self amalgamating or duct tape may be sufficient.
Clearly I required a different strategy, so my next attempt was to try and raise the pole vertically section by section in its required end location. Once I had found a method of securing the base, I found this to be a much easier method. Although trying to fasten hose clamps at each section joint is somewhat fiddly and time consuming.
When fully erected the pole looks spectacular, the top sections do sway around quite a lot and it needs guy ropes to tame it.
My long term plan is to replace the supplied hose clamps for some with wing nuts, so that you can fasten them with one hand, without having to use a screwdriver, and make up some suitable guy ropes for free standing use, when not secured to the campervan.
The whole pole can be used to support a wire vertical, or a few sections used to support dipoles or VHF / UHF antennas at lower heights. However care must be taken when clamping antennas to the pole in order to prevent crushing the tube wall.
You can also use two halves of the pole separately, which is sometimes useful if you need supports for the middle and end of a wire dipole for example. I was also able to use a few of the middle sections as a handheld pole which allowed me to get a rope over a tree branch at a height of about 15m (45’). In fact it’s surprising how many different uses can be found, such as pushing draw wires through ceiling voids etc. when you have access to a pole of this length.
Highly recommended.
Martin – G8JNJ
http://g8jnj.webs.com
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