As you can tell from other posts, I’m a big fan of Jackite fiberglass poles. My 31-foot pole sees heavy use as the main component of my Pop-up Vertical antenna. I also use it a variety of other portable situations, including my Bike Rack Vertical antenna.
Recently, I was in a wooded area and had the pole strapped to a signpost. While packing up to leave, the tip section got stuck. It refused to slide back into the next larger section. I noticed that the split ring I have attached to the top eyelet (see my Jackite Hacks post) had some damage. I’m guessing it got hung up in a tree branch when I was collapsing the pole. My downward pulling most likely caused the top two sections to become jammed.
I have had these two sections become stuck once or twice before. I guess I’m sometimes a bit too aggressive when I extend the sections. Usually, a little WD-40 does the trick. Not this time.
I worked on it when I got home and wound up cracking the tip section. The two sections were still stuck together. After few minutes on the Jackite website, a new tip section and the next larger section were on order. I received a shipping notice the next day. The cost was reasonable. It was definitely less expensive than replacing the entire pole. A couple of days later, the parts arrived and the pole is ready to head out into the field again.
Thanks to the good folks at Jackite, I’m back in business. I’ll try to be more careful next time.
72, Craig WB3GCK
Disclaimer: I have no interests, financial or otherwise, in Jackite. I’m just a happy customer.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 