The 'Carbon-6' Compact ultra-light 6 metre telescopic mast
Read Richard's blog post on carbon masts here
Carbon-fibre has an unmatched strength to weight ratio. The Carbon-6 leverages this characteristic to your advantage!
- Small enough to fit in a rucksack
- Tall enough to support your antenna
- Super-lightweight carbon-fibre construction
- Amazingly strong considering its light weight and length
- Made specifically for SOTABEAMS
- The perfect light-duty mast
Ultra-lightweight portable operators need something special to support their antennas. The new Carbon-6 has been designed for exactly this role.
- Super short packed length for easy transport in a rucksack
- Amazingly light - so light that you can take it "just in case"
- Fits easily in aircraft carry-on baggage (always check before flying!)
- Telescopic - perfect for rapid deployment
- Black carry bag with tie-string
- Carbon-fibre construction (measured loss < 0.1dB).
- Screw-on base cap allows field repairs and section swap-outs
"Every ultra-lightweight portable specialist needs a Carbon-6 in their go-pack"
Notes: The Carbon-6 has been manufactured specifically for SOTABEAMS. Carbon fibre masts are slightly conductive and so extra care must be taken when using them near power-lines. These masts are suitable for supporting lightweight horizontal antennas or inverted vees and vertical antenna. Because of their flexibility, we recommend a maximum antenna height of 5 metres (15 ft). We do not recommend using these masts for supporting the centre of dipoles (with feeders) due to the weight of such an arrangement. They are perfect for supporting lightweight end-fed wire antennas.
Since the Carbon-6 is quite flexible near the top, anything except a vertical antenna is best attached a couple of sections down rather than at the very tip.
Friction lock: pull each section firmly with a twisting motion for best lock. When erecting always start with the smallest section. When taking down always start with the largest section.
Mast sections may be removed by unscrewing the endcap at the bottom of the mast and removing unwanted sections.
SOTABEAMS Carbon-6 ultra-light 6 m Mast Detailed Specifications:
Extended length: 6 metres (19.6 ft). Lengths approximate - click here to find out more.
Packed length: 43 cm (17 inches)
Number of sections: 18
Wall thickness: 1 mm (0.04 inches) bottom
Weight: 315g (11.1 oz) for the pole on its own, the bag adds about another 10g.
Mast Material: carbon fibre
Tube diameter: top 2.4 mm, base 31 mm (1.2 inches)
Base cap diameter: 32 mm (1.25 inches)
Tube colour: white (base), black (other sections)
Supplied with black carry bag with tie-string
SOTABEAMS Carbon-6 ultra-light 6 m Mast FAQ
Will a carbon mast attenuate my signal?
Not in any significant way! The worst-case loss for the Carbon-6 is less than 0.1dB (measured with a coil wound around the mast).
Will a Carbon-6 mast support my Band Hopper antenna?
No. The Carbon-6 mast is best used with lightweight endfed antennas. For Band Hoppers we recommend the Tactical 7000hds (BH 2+3+4), Tactical Mini (BH 2+3) or Travel Mast (BH 2+3+4)
Is there a guying kit for the Carbon-6?
No, sorry, we don't currently have a guying kit designed for the Carbon-6 mast.
However, items which might be useful include:
- Guying ring, 14.4mm inner diameter - sits about halfway up the mast.
- Tactical guying ring, 22mm inner diameter - will sit about 1.35m up.
- Versatile top insulators. Using the small hole, sits at the base of the 3rd section from the top, approx 100cm from the top. Using the large hole, sits at the base of the 4th section from the top, approx 135cm from the top.
- Tactical top insulators. Using the small hole, sits at the base of the 2nd section from the top, approx 66cm from the top. Using the large hole, sits at the base of the 4th section from the top, approx 135cm from the top.
- Aluminium pegs, hi-viz cord, stealth cord, wire winder, antenna bag.
The Mini Pole Stake Kit works with the Carbon-6, and will normally be the easiest way of keeping a Carbon-6 upright if the ground surface is suitable.
When in the car or caravan the Drive on stand (Pole) makes erecting the mast easy
The GK7 guying kit is not suitable for the Carbon-6, as the Carbon-6 is much slimmer than the GK7 is designed for. The guying ring in the GK7 kit would sit only one section from the bottom of the Carbon-6, about 43cm from the ground - not very useful!
The Tactical Mini Guying Pack is not ideal for the Carbon-6. The small ring sits at about 3.95m up the mast. The large ring is too wide to be of any use, it slides nearly all the way to the bottom. The top insulator hole sizes are the same as standard Versatile Top Insulators.
For attaching an antenna to the Carbon-6, you can either use top insulators (as mentioned in the list above) or small cable ties. Please note advice about attachment height: we recommend a maximum antenna height of 5 metres. Since the top couple of sections are not very strong, anything except a vertical antenna is best attached a couple of sections down rather than at the very tip. The string at the top of the Carbon-6 is intended more for helping you to find the tip of the mast when it is in collapsed form and to start pulling it out, than for tying things to.