Shopping list
After ample research I came to conclusion that I will follow the K4KIO's recommended shopping list as closely as I can, with the exception of translating this to items available mostly from local hardware stores.
Here is a link to the original parts list:
http://www.leoshoemaker.com/hexbeambyk4kio/broadhexparts.html
As you can see on the above link this list is divided in 5 separate parts, I will go though most of these and give a little explanation.
Base Plate Parts:
- Base plate: - I've got a big enough 5mm aluminum plate from the Woodbridge location of Metal Supermarkets. I made sure that the aluminum is 6061-T6 or similar to make sure has enough strength to hold the spreaders. I do not recall the price, but it was around tens of dollars. Once I got it home I measured the required hexa shape, marked the parts which need to be cut away and I used a portable skill saw to cut away the extra pieces. Since I already had my floor flange I marked the holes up as well and drilled them out, so I finished with the plate in less than 2 hours.
- Nylon nuts: I used standard 1/4x20 nuts on the U bolts.
- Floor flange: For days and days I searched for a good size, but the ones which came back as the result were either expensive or too far away. At the end I decided to order a few of the ones I found on eBay: Hollaender 45-6 Square FloorFlange Aluminum Magnesium 1" IPS (1.38" ID) This looked like one which will hold up to the extreme temperatures here and would be thick enough to hold all things together.
- Mounting Bolts, Nuts and lock washer: These were all 1/4 or 5/16 inch as required. I did not keep a clean track of what came from where, since I had many of these available in my shop already. MAin source was however a local Home Depot store.
Spreader parts
- Fibreglass tube 1"x48", 3/4 x 48", 1/2 x 48": I saved myself from trouble and I purchased the spreader kit from: http://www.mgs4u.com/hexbeam-kit.htm. I chose the HEXKIT2 and also ordered the HEXROPE2 and HEXWIRE3 sets to complete all the wiring and roping. This set me back with about 200+ dollars with shipping, but it was well worth it, the fibreglass tubes slide in very nicely and it was a breeze to make the 6 spreaders.
- P Clips: I actually had hard time finding these, as in Canada these seem to go under a different name. Finally I found them in a local Home Depot Store, now I am just hoping these will hold up outdoors for a while:
3/8 seems to be the right size to fit all the spreaders. You need several bags of these make sure you have some extra pieces because these clamps can break easily.
Wire Set Parts
- Antenna Wire, Cord: these were purchased above from http://www.mgs4u.com/ as kits HEXROPE2 and HEXWIRE3.- Lugs: You can get these from Home Depot, Canadian Tire or even better if you have a SAYAL store around you.
Support Cord Parts
- Cord: this is part of the HEXROPE3 kit above, already purchased- Hooks: I've got the stainless steel open S hooks from Canadian Tire, I had to go to two different stores to get all the required quantity.
- Cable tie: I used minimal amount (none) on the antenna installation
Center Post Parts
- Main Tube: This is part of the HEXKIT2 above, as a matter of fact they send you 2 pieces, so you have one spare.
- Cap: I've got this from Home Depot, took me a while to find the right size.
- Euro terminals: I did not use these. Instead I drilled holes in the main post and pulled the screws through. See the picture below. I will detail the "how to" in the next post.
- Mach screws: I've got the screws for the main post from Sayal. Supposedly these are stainless steel, but I am guessing they are made in china because 2 weeks in the outdoors and you are already seeing spots of rust. We'll keep them for now and if they rust we will replace them as required.
Items not on the K4KIO list:
- Wooden dowels. I got some dowels inserted in the fibreglass tubes which are held down by the U clamps to the base plate to avoid the fibreglass to be crushed by the U bolts.
- Brush-On electrical tape. I got this from Princess Auto, the red coating on the picture above is done with this.
- different length 1/4 x 20 screws. Since I got my rotator used I needed some extra screws to assemble it to the main mast as well some long 3.5" screws for going through the mast and the flange to avoid unwanted rotation.
If you use a rotator you will need some rotator cable as well, I got a roll of 30 meter 6 wire 22 gauge cable from Sayal together with a roll of 30 meter 2 wire 18 gauge cable. Lucky I was foreseeing that this might not be long enough, I bought 2 more rolls the same only 10 meter long.
Like in a Murphy's rule the cable ended exactly at where it would enter the house. The 30 meter roll was just 6ft short :)
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