Buddipole Guy Bearing

thingiverse

This is a clever solution for the Buddypole amateur radio portable antenna system using AirSoft BB's as bearings. I love taking my Buddipole into the field and enjoying "portable" radio operation. However, I get frustrated when I try to change the heading of my dipole or beam antenna because the supplied guying system gets tangled when I turn the mast. This design solves that problem while providing a very secure method of attaching the guy wires to the antenna mast. I set the guy lines before assembling the antenna parts. Having the guys set first makes it less likely that the mast will fall while raising the antenna. To use this bearing: 1. Put the mast in the tripod and raise the top mast section 10-20 cm (~ 4-8 inches). 2. Snap on the bushing halves with the wide portion at the bottom. 3. Slide the bearing onto the bushing with the wide part at the bottom. 4. Make a knotted loop ~30cm long in a bearing line and pass from the bottom to the top of one of the eyelets. Then pass the loop of line over the top of the antenna and around the bearing. Pull taught. 5. Repeat step 4 with the other two lines. 6. Raise the top mast section all the way and pull the bushing and bearing down to the bottom of this mast section so that it sets on the lower fitting. 7. Now raise the antenna mast all the way and set the guy lines and anchors. 8. Lower the mast and install your antenna WARNING: Do not tie (or clip) the guy lines to the eyelets. They are not strong enough to stand the force and will break in a stiff wind. The magic of this design is that the guy lines wrap all the way around the mast for strength. If you don't want to build this yourself, it's available for sale at: http://stores.ebay.com/N0WL-Radio