[amsat-bb] pole mounting az-el system

[Scott Townley]

I was planning on pole-mounting an az-el system:
 > KLM CP yagis (the shorter ones)
 > TekSharp 1.2m dish with dual-band patch feed
 > 8' fiberglass boom
 > G-5500 az-el rotator with mast brackets.

The G-5500 can accept a 2-1/2" mast.  And the 2m KLM is about 13' long so I 
need to get it up at least 7' in the air.  So I was thinking of using a 
piece of electrical conduit.  Not EMT (the thin-walled stuff), but rather 
IMC, which is thicker walled (0.095" vs. 0.065") and readily available at 
home improvement stores.  2" trade size is 2.36" od so it will fit the mast 
brackets on the rotator fine.
There is an even thicker electrical conduit GRC which is 0.146" wall, but 
at twice the price and a trip to Grainger (not out of the question but not 
convenient either) I can't help but wonder if that's overkill.

The conduit comes 10' long so I'd put 3' in the ground, say a 12"x36" hole, 
filled with concrete.  Maybe filling the conduit with concrete as well.

I'd appreciate any comments as to the feasibility of doing 
this...particularly the conduit size and hole size for concrete fill.


Scott Townley NX7U
Gilbert, AZ  DM43di
mailto:nx7u at cox.net
http://members.cox.net/nx7u