Counterpoise Wire Spool

thingiverse

Hand spool for counterpoise wires. Suggested configuration:1) Crimp + solder a ring terminal to one end of the counterpoise, and mount it to the spool with an M3 nylon locknut and screw using the recessed nut hole. There's spots for 4 counterpoise mounts if case you want to cut different lengths for different frequency bands, but I only use one per spool to prevent tangling, and then label the wire at different lengths.2) Spool up your wire(s).3) Crimp + solder another terminal to the other end; use whatever is appropriate for your antenna setup. This is the end you'll attach near your antenna feedline.4) To keep the wire from unspooling, you can use some winguts (optionally washers) to capture the feedline end into the provided slots. I use a simple set of 2 wingnuts, a nylon locknut capturing one of the wingnuts below a screw screwhead (as pictured above) so I can attach/detach in the field without tools.5) Finally, there is a 4mm hole longitudinally along the spool, and three 4mm through holes. This is to store a cheap metal tent stake; it can be kept in the longitudinal hole for storage or as a hanging hook (give the stake a slight bend if it need some friction to stay put), or it can be pulled out and pushed through a thru-hole in order to pin the reel to the ground.When deploying the counterpoise wire(s), attach the free end near your feedline to the counterpoise attachment point, unspool as far as appropriate, and hang/stake/drape the winder to keep it in place. I added some tape to the wire at about 1/4 wavelength for multiple bandwidths, and start with that length for a given frequency band, and then the re-spool back to where the SWR looks best, and pin it down somewhere.Doesn't need to be particularly hardy, your printer's default settings are likely fine.