***  Emergency Sky-Hooks  ***

There are a number of sky-hooks that can be used for emergency antenna
installation.  This article will point out the two most obvious and
show what can be done when there are no sky-hooks available at the site
from which you need to operate.

The first and most obvious is a standing structure or natural object
such as a tree.  I have found that thin string or fishing line is good
to use to hoist up the antenna (either a foldable J-pole for 2-meter
and 440 MHz or HF dipole antenna.) To get the line up and over a tree I
use an old spark plug.  I have plenty of these because I do the
tune-ups on our cars; ask around and you'll find plenty.  These are
great because they have a good heft and if you bend the spark tab down,
you can tie the string around the tab and it won't come off.  I can
loft this arrangement 20 feet with ease and 30 feet with difficulty. 
(This is why all my antennas are tuned for a height of about 20 feet.)
We used this method during a Red Cross exercise to loft two J-pole
antennas into the rafters of the building we were using.

The second is for the times when there are no natural or man-made
sky-hooks available: the emergency 20' antenna mast.  I recommend
placing a J-pole in 1/2" PVC pipe of 5 feet length.  This gives about
7" at the bottom for mounting and won't change the SWR.  For the MS
Walk-a-thon of 1995, I decided to build one of these masts.  It took
about $25 and one hour of time.  You will need:

 * 20 feet of 1.25" PVC, schedule 40, cut into 5' sections (These come
 in 10' sections; ask the store to cut them for you.)

 *  5 feet of 1.0" PVC, schedule 40
 *  3 joins for the 1.25" PVC
 *  7- 1/4" X 20 bolts 1.5" long (longer is OK, shorter is not)

 * 1 eye bolt 1/4" X 20 1.75" long (make sure it fits through the 1.25"
 PVC)

 * 10 wing nuts 1/4" X 20 (you might want to get a few extra; they are
 easy to lose)

 *  4 railroad tie nails about 1' in length
 *  66' of 1/8" nylon rope

 * 1 1-3/4" U-bolt and plate (to fit around the 1/2" PVC and allow tie
 points for the rope; this should also be 1/4" X 20, so two of the
 extra wing nuts can be used here)

Cut the 1.25" PVC into four 5' sections (if the store couldn't/wouldn't
  do it for you).
Cut the 1" PVC into three 20" sections.  
Mark the 20" sections at the 10" point on all three sections.  

NOTE: I rotate the printed information on the pipes so that they line
up on both the 1.25" and 1" PVC; this makes it easier to line up both
pipes when putting the mast together.

Place the 20" section into a 5' section up to the 10" mark and drill a
  1/4" hole about 7" down and all the way through both pipes.
Mark this location (on both pipes but on one side ONLY) with a
  permanent marker.  (I use numbers so I know which sections go
  together.)
Put one of the bolts and wing nuts through these holes.
Place a 1.25" PVC join over this section of pipe.  (Make sure it sits
  all the way down.)
Place a second 5' section over the protruding 10" of 1" PVC and make
  sure it sits all the way down in the join.  (Don't forget to rotate the
  printing to match up.)
Drill another hole set about 7" up and through both pipes.  Place a
  bolt through and then remove it.
Mark these holes as #2 on one side only.
Place a 20" piece of 1" PVC, up to the 10" mark as above, in the
  no-hole end of the 1.25" PVC with the #2 hole in it.


Repeat the above process until all holes are drilled and the pieces can
now fit together as a 20' mast.  (NOTE: I also glue the joins to one of
the 1.25" PVC pipe sections.  At break down, I do not remove the 1"
sections from one of the pipes.  This makes putting it up faster.)

In the last section, drill two more hole sets, one only 1/2" from the
top, the other another 6" down from the top.  These holes need to be
off center so that a 1/2" PVC pipe can fit between them and the 1.25"
PVC, therefore leave about 5/16" or 3/4" space between the edge of the
bolt and the PVC wall.  (Measure the OD (outer diameter) of 1/2" PVC.)

Drill a 3/4" hole about 3" down from the hole set that is 6" down.  Put
this hole on the side of the PVC pipe where the holes are closest
together and center it between the two holes.  This is where the coax
goes to the J-pole antenna; the hole is big enough to pass a BNC
connector.

The eye-bolt goes in the very top set of holes and can be used to hoist
up a second J-pole or to hoist an HF dipole.  NOTE: If it is used to
hoist a second J-pole, the coax from the first J-pole will cause some
detuning; you might want to actually tune a foldable J-pole for this
situation.

Place the U-bolt at the bottom of the top section (about 15' up from
the bottom) and tie three 22'-long sections of rope to it.  Measure out
21' 2" and place a nice FAT mark in a bright color here.  Make it 1/2
to one inch long and all around the rope.

The construction is now complete.  Now for the placement and test.

                  ***  Erecting the Sky-Hook  ***

This sky-hook requires one person to put up and takes less than 15
minutes.

Put the sky-hook together.  (This means it is 20' tall, a PVC J-pole is
slipped into the top with coax attached and coming out the large hole,
40' of line is looped through the eye-bolt to hoist up another J-pole
or an HF dipole antenna, and the U-bolt is in place with three ropes
attached.)

Hammer one of the railroad nails (spikes) into the ground.  (This will
be the center position where the mast will stand.)

Put the base of the mast so that it is touching the spike.

Hammer in another spike at the 15' mark of the mast (at the joining of
the third section from the base.)

Move the mast to be perpendicular to this line from the base to the
second spike and lay the mast down.  (This is the 90 degree location.)

Place your self at the 180 degree location.  (Go back to the center
spike and move about 15' away from the spike in a direct continuation
of the line that goes from the center spike to the second spike.)

Push a spike into this location.  (This is only temporary.)

Move to halfway between the third spike and the present position of the
mast.  (This is approximately 120 degrees from the second spike.)

Push the fourth spike in at about 15' from the center spike.  Move the
mast to this location, then move the spike to the 15' location and
hammer it in.

Move the mast to halfway between spikes 2 and 3.  Tie two of the ropes
to spikes 2 and 3 with the mark you made on the side going to the mast,
not on the side after the tie to the spike.  (Use an easy release
knot.)

Remove the last pushed-in spike and take it about 15' from the center
spike--in a direct line away from the mast--and hammer in the last
spike.

Take the last rope in hand, go to the top of the mast, and push it up. 
(NOTE: You can cut a notch in the bottom of the mast to fit it around
the center spike.  However, once you get about 3/4 of the way down the
mast, you will find that you can lift up the mast and place it over the
center spike.)

Tie the last rope to the last spike.

Go around and see if the mast is standing straight.  If not, make the
needed adjustments.

The mast is now up, how long did it take?