I assume you are putting the mounting post  at the base of the antenna into 
the ground.   You should drive it all the  way into the ground until the 
fiberglass insulator is just above ground level.  If you are having a 
problem getting it down far enough, put a piece of wood on  top of the 
fiberglass  and hammer down on the wood to prevent splintering  the 
fiberglass insulator.

if you want to get ambitious, Butternut says to  dig a hole, insert the 
mounting post,  and fill with concrete.  Before the concrete sets up, rotate 
the mounting post to keep the concrete from sticking and you  will be able 
to pull it out at a later date.

Best thing is to find a piece of pipe  whose I.D. is about the same as the 
O.D. of the mounting post. Don't use pvc for thisA piece of metal fence post 
or emt.  Drive the pipe into the ground and slip the mounting post into it. 
Unless you are in a swamp,it's not going anywhere.    You could also use 
u-bolts to anchor the mounting post to an existing solid support, such as a 
fence or deck.  Use at least 2 u-bolts, 3 would be better.  But if you use 
the u-bolt thing, be aware that Butternut  says to  slip a piece of pipe 
over the mounting post first.    You can crush the mounting post by 
clamping it too tightly with the u-bolts.

73, Steve KW3A

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gery Gaubert" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 9:23 AM
Subject: vertical antenna


> Tried to put up the vertical antenna yesterday.  I went right into the
> ground with it.  I am not real satisfied with that though.  Doesn't seem
> very sturdy.  Can I put the antenna on a piece of pvc pipe or mae anchor
> it to something?  Not real sure on how this will effect the performance.
>
>
>