Mine shipped today. Glad I never got around to ordering the SOTABeams mast. "Oh, hello Mr. TSA, do you like to fish? This is my crappie pole." (I've used a 20 foot B'n'M Black Widow crappie pole for an antenna support for years. Only trouble is when collapsed it's still four feet long!)
great show down of the 2 mast. Yes fishing pole. What the original purpose was for. we just adapted them into radio antenna holder. I have had trouble with a carbon fiber mast before using as a veritable ground mount setup. I can get a great tune. was not the problem. I could not make contacts and my recieve was weak. I did have the antenna wire taped right to the mast. When using same antenna. on a DX commander pole it was like a switch turned on. I made a killing with 50 watts SSB from ICOM 7300. DX to England with ease. Same park ,same radio,same antenna, same coax. I have talked to Ed fong about this. He told me certain types of carbon fiber react with RF . That was what was going one. He has done testing on this and it varies from mast to mast . The distance of wire from the mast and angle along with what band you are using. But I was using a off brand cheap mast. I was running 25Ft with 4:1 and using ATU in ICOM 7300 . I can't say either of them mast have a problem with the carbon fiber or not. Kind of short for the antenna I use. The DC commander 10 meter pole works great for me. Now I have used a carbon fiber mast on a slooper end fed and that worked great ! was only when I tape wire right on the mast in a veritable setup. 73's
@@Mike_M_KI4MRC on the one hand I understand the price increase- supply is limited, demand is high. On the other hand, the $79 price point is what made this mast such a no-brainer and so incredibly popular out of the gate.
Come on GigaParts, been waiting since Hamvention. Should not have charged till it ships. So they are going to sell them at Huntsville Hamfest, before they fulfill orders placed in May????
@The3DPrintingWarrant Received mine the day before hamfedt. Talked to Mike at Hamfest about the 10m, I may get one as well when they are taking orders. Just hope it does not take three months to get them.
Yep, people, what's somewhat clear (now that it's "in stock" at the moment on the Gigaparts website) is that they got both the planned 1st and 2nd shipment/stock at basically the same time; and they likely had to put pressure on the manufacturer to get those in time for Huntsville. I'd guess that the 30 ft mast will be shown off at Huntsville, though there may only be another ~20 or so of them for sale. But, most likely, if you want portability you will end up preferring the 20' mast. If you want something for car POTA outings, you really probably want fiberglass and not carbon fiber, and then you have more options in the 30-40' category that are more RF- and budget-friendly. Btw, it's crazy that there's no actual dimension and weight specs on the Gigaparts website. I presume they were waiting for the actual production run to weigh and measure, on the off-chance the samples aren't a perfect match.
I just started using an extendable crapie poke, and that little tail on the end of the SOTAbeams mast is called a lillian. I tied a small split ring to the lillian of my Amazon special carbon fiber pole (for like $35), and it stays attached to the pole always. I then get the benefit of the ring terminal on the end of the larger mast. I will agree that it works well on a vertical antenna attached to it, but a sloper requires a fair bit of tension to get it off the ground. We'll see how long it lasts.
Well, I'm going to need one of these now. Considering how long it takes to get one, I think I'll wait to see how the field reports come out before I drop the dough on this though. Jason, how about you pick up an extra in Huntsville and raffle it off? I'm sure you have some bad habits needing funded! $1 per chance. I'll take a ticket!
Best to angle the mast a little bit, and dangle the jpole vertically off of it, so there’s a bit of separation. You could use a twist tie or bongo tie to hold the coax end to reduce the pull on the weaker part of the mast
Hopefully they ship mine that I preordered in May before they sell a bunch in Huntsville.
Yes they have a backlog they're working on now
@@HamRadio2 received an email from them today saying they’d ship this week. Fingers crossed.
I think mine shipped today. Finally!
Mine shipped today. Glad I never got around to ordering the SOTABeams mast. "Oh, hello Mr. TSA, do you like to fish? This is my crappie pole." (I've used a 20 foot B'n'M Black Widow crappie pole for an antenna support for years. Only trouble is when collapsed it's still four feet long!)
Ordered mine this past Saturday (8/17), got it today (8/20) in wi. Time to play with wires.
They are shipping. Ordered mine yesterday, got it today.
great show down of the 2 mast. Yes fishing pole. What the original purpose was for. we just adapted them into radio antenna holder. I have had trouble with a carbon fiber mast before using as a veritable ground mount setup. I can get a great tune. was not the problem. I could not make contacts and my recieve was weak. I did have the antenna wire taped right to the mast. When using same antenna. on a DX commander pole it was like a switch turned on. I made a killing with 50 watts SSB from ICOM 7300. DX to England with ease. Same park ,same radio,same antenna, same coax. I have talked to Ed fong about this. He told me certain types of carbon fiber react with RF . That was what was going one. He has done testing on this and it varies from mast to mast . The distance of wire from the mast and angle along with what band you are using. But I was using a off brand cheap mast. I was running 25Ft with 4:1 and using ATU in ICOM 7300 . I can't say either of them mast have a problem with the carbon fiber or not. Kind of short for the antenna I use. The DC commander 10 meter pole works great for me. Now I have used a carbon fiber mast on a slooper end fed and that worked great ! was only when I tape wire right on the mast in a veritable setup. 73's
Already out of stock on Gigaparts….. totally not surprised looks like the solid investment. I’ll be waiting for the next shipment. Count me in.
Wish I would have ordered when they were $20 cheaper than they are now.
@@MoseTH-cam I bet they go on sale at February Hamcation Orlando.
@@Mike_M_KI4MRC on the one hand I understand the price increase- supply is limited, demand is high. On the other hand, the $79 price point is what made this mast such a no-brainer and so incredibly popular out of the gate.
Just ordered the Explorer - out of stock, but they expect to ship in September.
Just in time to realize they have a longer version you can buy and not receive.
The longer version is nice but not as compact when broken down
Cool…. Just received notification mine shipped so should have it in a couple of days…
Great video!! I’m waiting til in stock before I purchase…
I paid for one of these several months ago and I am very pleased and waiting for it to arrive. Gigaparts.
Come on GigaParts, been waiting since Hamvention. Should not have charged till it ships. So they are going to sell them at Huntsville Hamfest, before they fulfill orders placed in May????
Facts! Should be shipped out before selling them at Hamfest
Same here. Still waiting.
Check your orders - I ordered 2 in the last 2 weeks and received both
Got mine. Also see they have gone up in price since the pre-order. Wonder if the post had anything to do with the shipping
@The3DPrintingWarrant Received mine the day before hamfedt. Talked to Mike at Hamfest about the 10m, I may get one as well when they are taking orders. Just hope it does not take three months to get them.
Yep, people, what's somewhat clear (now that it's "in stock" at the moment on the Gigaparts website) is that they got both the planned 1st and 2nd shipment/stock at basically the same time; and they likely had to put pressure on the manufacturer to get those in time for Huntsville. I'd guess that the 30 ft mast will be shown off at Huntsville, though there may only be another ~20 or so of them for sale. But, most likely, if you want portability you will end up preferring the 20' mast. If you want something for car POTA outings, you really probably want fiberglass and not carbon fiber, and then you have more options in the 30-40' category that are more RF- and budget-friendly.
Btw, it's crazy that there's no actual dimension and weight specs on the Gigaparts website. I presume they were waiting for the actual production run to weigh and measure, on the off-chance the samples aren't a perfect match.
I just started using an extendable crapie poke, and that little tail on the end of the SOTAbeams mast is called a lillian. I tied a small split ring to the lillian of my Amazon special carbon fiber pole (for like $35), and it stays attached to the pole always. I then get the benefit of the ring terminal on the end of the larger mast.
I will agree that it works well on a vertical antenna attached to it, but a sloper requires a fair bit of tension to get it off the ground. We'll see how long it lasts.
Oh, anything that ring to the tiny lillian was a royal pain.
I was told they would @hip mid August. If it doesn't won't order from Gigaparts anymore. They need to fill the pre orders first
Said the same to me
They are filling backorders first
Glad they are making good on their promise.
Mine finally ARRIVED yesterday...can't wait to get it up...
Paul K1YOU
Ordered one in May...still waiting for it to ship. :(
They received several hundred last week so it should ship soon
@@HamRadio2 Just received my shipping notice 45 minutes ago! :)
Mine showed up today. Really impressed. Much more compact/lighter than I was expecting.
Well, I'm going to need one of these now. Considering how long it takes to get one, I think I'll wait to see how the field reports come out before I drop the dough on this though.
Jason, how about you pick up an extra in Huntsville and raffle it off? I'm sure you have some bad habits needing funded! $1 per chance. I'll take a ticket!
Hi Jason, do you know if they will make them available in Europe ?
No, I don't know
Is it ok if the roll up jpole touches the mast since its carbon fiber?
Best to angle the mast a little bit, and dangle the jpole vertically off of it, so there’s a bit of separation. You could use a twist tie or bongo tie to hold the coax end to reduce the pull on the weaker part of the mast
@@Kinetic79 Thanks still new and learning much appreciated for the comment back
What's the weight difference?
About the same
HOLY LOUD INSECTS! (I don't know how to spell sick-ayy-das) 🤣
Lol
I use a collapsible crappie pole so I wouldn't be lying to TSA. 😂