DB-224 for a mast for HF antennas

[KA5ROW]

I am using a DB-224 mast to hold my antennas. For those who actually know what one is, Do you think it is strong enough to hold ? I cut the second part of the DB-224 mast and have a 4ft extension I could use to add a little more space between my Mosley CL-33 and the Cushcraft A3WS. I am getting a lot of interaction on 10M. All of the other bands are just fine, on the two antennas.

You can see the antennas with the mast without the extinction at my web page.

[K9STH]

You should be OK with the larger antenna just above the top of the tower. Although the antennas are not as large as yours, I am using one section of a DB products antenna as the mast on my "short tower".

http://k9sth.com/uploads/Antennas_At_K9STH.pdf

DB Products used some pretty good aluminum in the masts for antennas like the DB-224. There have been thousands of those type of antennas installed several hundred feet above ground in some pretty harsh climates.

Glen, K9STH

[N5NPO]

I use the bottom (just over) 1/2 as a gin pole. It will lift very heavy sections of Trylon free standing tower with out bending much. It always resumes it's shape. Make sure yours is the older mast with the 3 peices of tubing in the bottom, not 2. I think the older db-224s were built better and out of better stuff than the newer ones coming from south of the border.

73 Norm

[NL7W]

I agree with Glen. The mast could be used for a larger yagi, if the antenna is mounted just over the thrust bearing or top of tower. DB-224's have done well over the years, though I have seen the masts bowed due to hurricanes in the South -- along the Mississippi coast while I was in the service years ago.

[K8JD]

how does this affect the performance of the DB224?

[N5NPO]

how does this affect the performance of the DB224?

Adversly, I'm afraid.

[K9STH]

Basically, because you remove all of the elements from the DB-224!

Glen, K9STH

[N5NPO]

You can drill all the rivits out and then slide the top half of the mast down inside the bottom half of the mast. There is some other peices of tubing in the bottom of the bottom half of the whole mast. Depending on the vintage of your DB224, they may be 1 or 2. If you have the older model, it will have 2. You will have to remove them to slide the top half all the way down into the bottom.