Hi Jerry; I believe a two foot long pipe should come with the antenna. Supposedly you pound most of this pipe in the ground and mount the antenna on top. I don't think there would be any harm in using a longer pipe but you will have to pound it further in the ground. The antenna as I understand things should be close to ground since you are ground mounting it. As I recall the antenna is quite flexible so you have to decide if this seems unsterdy because the pipe that you are using for a mount isn't sturdy or is the antenna just flexible. From my very limited knowledge you may need help tuning the antenna. The problem with this one is that adjusting one band effects performance on other bands and I guess you have to spend a significant amount of time getting to the point that things resonate on all bands. How have you done with radials? They seem to recommend twelve to 16. The folks that amaze me are those with 40 to 50 radials. I get tired hearing about it. Keep us posted Richard