Fence Top Rail Antenna Mast

I used two 15 or 16 ft top pipes for a tv antenna mast.

Fence top rail antenna mast.

I used 3 d rings like on a dog s collar and a hose clamp for the top end mounts for the guys. Components for chain link fencing are inexpensive. Emt thin wall conduit works just fine for small antennas. For the sizes you mention the strengths might be close mainly because the emt diameter of 2 inches versus the top rail which is probably 1 315 inches.

Made from galvanized steel this top rail connects to terminal posts with rail ends and brace bands. Our yardgard 1 3 8 in x 10 ft. Creating antenna masts using chain link fence top rail. It is still up and my wife s aunt still has tv 4 years later.

My main mast is 1 5 8 ss 40 industrial top rail. 17 gauge galvanized top rail is part of the fence framework and helps support the chain link fabric horizontally. I bought 3 screw in anchors and some wire line for the guys. The half and three quarters inch are too small so i d suggest staying away from that.

Three 10 feet sticks of top rail are used as the mast so the base of the antenna will be at 30 feet. Lmr 600 will be used for the feed line. Lew showed me how one end on each is tapered to fit into the next pole. These posts are used at the top of a chain link fence to allow the chain link fabric to attach.

The so called top rail is the horizontal runner across the top. This is a bit overkill but the feed line and connectors are already on hand. Lew french kcã uer gave me this idea. One inch or one and a quarter inch works well and is stiff enough for a small tv antenna a discone or a small vertical.

It goes into a 10 foot tripod though and uses two sets of guy wires. Strength goes up rapidly with increases in diameter. I also found out that 1 3 8 top rail comes in ss 40 but the fence company next door doesn t carry it. It is good to try to minimize the mast diameter in the vicinity of a yagi antenna particularly uhf.

In your case the ss 20 would be minimal. Just don t use tubing it is thin.