In my 40+ years in Amateur Radio, the AlexLoop Walkham was the first commercially-made HF antenna I ever bought. I wanted something for those spur-of-the-moment QRP outings when I want to get on the air quickly and not have to deal with putting wires into trees. The AlexLoop fit the bill nicely. There’s probably nothing novel or new here but here’s how I mount the AlexLoop for operation.
Tripod Mounting. While I was waiting for the AlexLoop to arrive from Brazil, I ordered a Vivitar VPT-1250 tripod from a vendor on eBay for less than $20. The VPT-1250 is super lightweight and stores nicely in the AlexLoop’s carrying bag. It’s a decent tripod for casual use but for something like a SOTA activation under windy conditions, you’d be better off with something more robust.
To use the VPT-1250, I removed the pan/tilt head. I cut a 4-inch piece of 1/2-inch PVC pipe, which I slide over the center post of the tripod. I added a bit of electrical tape to both the tripod post and the PVC pipe to give a slight friction fit. The base of the AlexLoop slides onto the PVC pipe.
Picnic Table Mounting. This is an idea I got from AK4LP’s QRZ page. For mounting to a table, I take the same piece of PVC pipe and insert it into a 1/2-inch PVC elbow fitting. I sanded the end of the PVC pipe so it was easier to remove from the elbow fitting.
I just use a 2-inch C-clamp to secure the pipe and elbow fitting to the side of the table. Again, the base of the AlexLoop just slides over the pipe. I store the PVC parts and the C-clamp in the tripod’s nylon carrying bag. When a picnic table is available, this mount goes to together faster than setting up the tripod.
If anyone knows the ham who came up with the picnic table mounting idea, let me know in the comments and I’ll make sure he gets credit for it.
UPDATE (11/16/2015): I remember now where I got the idea for the picnic table mount and have updated the post accordingly. Many thanks to Bob AK4LP for coming up with this simple and novel idea! Be sure to check out his page on QRZ.com for pictures of his picnic table portable setup. I had the pleasure of working him at that Smith Mountain Lake location back in 2013 while I was camping in Maryland.
73, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 