4. Antenna Construction — Mark II (Metal masts)
by Haeyoung and Parker, Fall 2016.
Upon taking over from Lucy, we decided to change the design of the masts in order to 1) optimize the function of the telescope and 2) make it semi-permanent to use for the next 2 years or so. We did this by constructing the masts from 10’6″ metal fence top rails instead of PVC pipes.
After about 3 meetings centered around perfecting our design, we came up with this schematic:
We soon after obtained all the necessary materials, thanks to the helpful staff at Home Depot, and were ready to begin constructing.
We got to the dig site prepared with heavy tools and persistence one sunny Sunday afternoon, and finished digging 2′ deep holes. A top rail was successfully cemented in each hole by the end of the day. We couldn’t have done it without the help of our friends Cameron, Liam, Leah and Crusher!
By our next meeting, we had completed the construction of our masts. We connected a top rail to each cemented top rail with a dead bolt, and threaded the pulleys so that our antenna assembly would be easy enough. We will be attaching the antennas next week or so.
Each mast stands at 16′ tall.
Huge thanks again to the staff at the 29th st. mall Home Depot and our friends for helping with this construction!!
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