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wired antenna mast anybody?


RadoStefanov

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Tried a painter's pole for mast for brief time and felt it wasn't robust enough, nor would it attach as strongly to the cart as I preferred. Been using a light-weight Manfrotto extension pole since 2009 since it can attach at bottom to a 750 spud (strong).

 

546540.jpg

 

Here's the B&H link:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546540-REG/Manfrotto_099B_3_Section_Extension_Pole_35.html

 

 

Use this stereo mic bar at the top with some adapters: 

http://www.amazon.com/23500-Stereo-Microphone-Mounting-Microphones/dp/B0047YPX9I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1365160418&sr=8-6&keywords=stereo+mic+bar

 

I think it was Wyatt Tuzo who was trying to find coiled RF cable for an internally-wired mast, but think he found it a no-go for various technical reasons.

31m17OQCtIL.jpg

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Tried a painter's pole for mast for brief time and felt it wasn't robust enough, nor would it attach as strongly to the cart as I preferred. Been using a light-weight Manfrotto extension pole since 2009 since it can attach at bottom to a 750 spud (strong).

Here's the B&H link:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546540-REG/Manfrotto_099B_3_Section_Extension_Pole_35.html

I've been using this Manfrotto pole as well. Works great, relatively inexpensive and easy to set up.

I use the Manfrotto triple microphone holder bar to hold the Sharkfins.

http://m.bhphotovideo.com/mobile/detail?R=503258_REG&title=154+Triple+Microphone+Holder+Bar+(Black)

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Hey guys,

 

I looked into the possibility of making an internally coiled rf mast for my cart a couple years back.  After a couple months of researching, I decided it's more trouble and more expensive than i thought.  Here's why:

 

1. all rf cable types we use have a minimum bend radius that is larger than the diameter of most masts.  if you were to coil or wind an rf cable around in smaller loops than it was meant for, you risk breaking the shielding inside the cable, rendering it more likely to receive interference.  you'd need a mast that was like 3 inches in diameter to house the cable, and that would be just a tad clunky on a cart i think.

 

that said, there are some unsheilded or less shielded varieties that would be able to coil that small safely, but it would be more prone to interference.  this lead to a very short lived idea of turning each section of the mast into a faraday cage to keep other rf out of the mast.  

 

 

2.  if you were to not wind or coil the cable, you'd have to feed is straight down to the bottom and collect the excess there and tie it up.  that could work, but i'm not sure it'd be any less work than just extending a regular mast and recoiling with the cable on the outside.

 

this lead to me considering a fishing rod approach using slip rings rated for rf.  it would allow a self retracting spool of rf cable to rotate, but maintain a non moving contact to run to your receivers.

 

basically, i would re spool one of these with 50 ohm bnc: 

ttp://almarkenterprises.com/audio/video-retractable-cable-reels/d201081-bnc-retractable-cable-reel

 

then swap out the slip ring in that for one of these rf rated slip rings:

ttp://productfinder.spinner-group.com/web/DOCUMENTS/153146-DS.pdf

 

 

i abandoned this idea once i got a quote for those slip rings.  they were the only rf rated ones i could find, and they are very expensive.

 

hopefully you guys have better luck than i did.  the quest for a cleaner sound cart never ends.

 

joe

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I already own two c stands that I use for boom pole holders for interviews. So when I added an antenna distribution system I grabbed an inexpensive mounting bracket for it and threw a t-bar on top. The t-bar goes to two baby pins and I have baby pin to 3/8" adapters on top of those.

I paid $60 for the tbar, adapters, and mount. This is a great way to repurpose a c-stand...

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I wired internally a KTek 152 and removed the bottom xlr module and rubber cap. It works good and it is very clean. I have 3 cables: antenna left / right and zaxnet amp. Will make some pictures when I get a chance.

Rado,

What ifb amp are you using? Do you have one in your bag, or are you using the l-com just on your cart?

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On 4/16/2013 at 3:24 PM, RadoStefanov said:

I wired internally a KTek 152 and removed the bottom xlr module and rubber cap. It works good and it is very clean. I have 3 cables: antenna left / right and zaxnet amp. Will make some pictures when I get a chance.


Rado, curious if you ever posted pictures of your internally cabled antenna mast anywhere? I'm searching around the forum for inspiration, looking to do a similar build to yours, I think. I have a spare K-tek Aluminum boom pole and will be getting a K-tek KAMT mast bar for 2x LPDA's or dipoles, plus a Comtek Mini Mite 1/2 wave antenna to the cold shoe mount. Plan to attach this to my PSC EuroCart, maybe with an Ambient Quick release at the top to pop the KAMT mast on and off for easy transport with my station wagon.

How are you finding the cable management at the bottom of the pole with those 3 runs of 50ohm inside the mast? 

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On 11/5/2019 at 6:50 AM, lazajamsonic said:


Rado, curious if you ever posted pictures of your internally cabled antenna mast anywhere? I'm searching around the forum for inspiration, looking to do a similar build to yours, I think. I have a spare K-tek Aluminum boom pole and will be getting a K-tek KAMT mast bar for 2x LPDA's or dipoles, plus a Comtek Mini Mite 1/2 wave antenna to the cold shoe mount. Plan to attach this to my PSC EuroCart, maybe with an Ambient Quick release at the top to pop the KAMT mast on and off for easy transport with my station wagon.

How are you finding the cable management at the bottom of the pole with those 3 runs of 50ohm inside the mast? 

I will show you pictures. 

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