How to mount sat antenna on camera tripod?
Anyone come up with an easy way to accomplish this? I have built a small sat antenna but cannot figure out an easy way to secure it to my camera tripod, which has the standard screw on top of the mount that goes into a hole on the camera.
73, Bill NZ5N
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On Feb 19, 2008, at 9:49 AM, Bill Dzurilla wrote:
Anyone come up with an easy way to accomplish this? I have built a small sat antenna but cannot figure out an easy way to secure it to my camera tripod, which has the standard screw on top of the mount that goes into a hole on the camera.
I use Arrow II Yagis, and they have a hole under the hand grip that's sized and tapped for that screw. You should be able to do the same. Keep in mind your antenna's CG to improve stability when mounted.
This is a simple thing,,
Use a "T Nut"
http://www.woodpeck.com/media/main_tnut.jpg
Joe
Bill Dzurilla wrote:
Anyone come up with an easy way to accomplish this? I have built a small sat antenna but cannot figure out an easy way to secure it to my camera tripod, which has the standard screw on top of the mount that goes into a hole on the camera.
73, Bill NZ5N
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I used a method with an interesting sort of nut...I forget the name of it but the size was 3/18 it was a thicker nut with a thread on one end and the oppsite thread for the other have. I found that I could easily bolt this into the boom and then the other side attaches to the attachment point on the tripod
good luck Steve VA3SAX
Use a "T Nut"
I just tried a T nut here. It pulled out of the wood boom almost as soon as it was mounted on the tripod. Looking forward to plan B. Meanwhile, handholding one and propping the other on the wall.
Scott N1AIA
Scott, how big of an antenna? Was the T nut at the balance point? What's your plan B?
73, Bill
--- Scott Richardson scott@aves-specta.com wrote:
Use a "T Nut"
I just tried a T nut here. It pulled out of the wood boom almost as soon as it was mounted on the tripod. Looking forward to plan B. Meanwhile, handholding one and propping the other on the wall.
Scott N1AIA
____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
Scott, how big of an antenna? Was the T nut at the balance point? What's your plan B?
I just put together a 3-el 2m WA5VJB to go with an 8-el on 70cm, then bolted the two together end to end in the same plane. I put the T nut a little bit off the balance point (silly mistake). But even if balanced, just the aiming of the antenna would surely have pulled the nut out. Maybe my old scrap 1x1 is too soft.
Plan B was suggested by Steve VA3SAX, but I'd still like to find a more rugged alternative.
So far I've sunk less than $10 into the two antennas and would love to keep it below that mark.
73, Scott N1AIA
The little spikes that hold the T-Nut to the boom are pretty short. What about using some other means to reinforce the boom's hold on the nut? Could try supergluing the nut to the boom, but that might not be strong enuf. Perhaps drill a hole in a small piece of aluminum, place the aluminum over the T-Nut with the drilled hole over the threaded hole on the nut, then secure the aluminum to the boom with a couple of wood screws? 73, Bill NZ5N --- Scott Richardson scott@aves-specta.com wrote:
Scott, how big of an antenna? Was the T nut at
the
balance point? What's your plan B?
I just put together a 3-el 2m WA5VJB to go with an 8-el on 70cm, then bolted the two together end to end in the same plane. I put the T nut a little bit off the balance point (silly mistake). But even if balanced, just the aiming of the antenna would surely have pulled the nut out. Maybe my old scrap 1x1 is too soft.
Plan B was suggested by Steve VA3SAX, but I'd still like to find a more rugged alternative.
So far I've sunk less than $10 into the two antennas and would love to keep it below that mark.
73, Scott N1AIA
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You used it backwards then,, it can't pull out through the board,
If you push it in from say the left side, then the bolt goes in through the right side.
Pulling the T Nut even tighter into the wood,
you'd have to pull it completely through the wood,
Joe
Scott Richardson wrote:
Use a "T Nut"
I just tried a T nut here. It pulled out of the wood boom almost as soon as it was mounted on the tripod. Looking forward to plan B. Meanwhile, handholding one and propping the other on the wall.
Scott N1AIA
participants (5)
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Bill Dzurilla -
Joe -
Rick Mann -
Scott Richardson -
Steve Attfield