Sand flag base — fixed or spring?

[iannicki]

In the hope of doing a Simpson Desert trip later this year, I have bought a sand flag. Along with the flag and three 1m fibreglass poles, it came with two quick release bases: fixed and spring. I would welcome thoughts as to which base to use in which environment.

thanks

162455

[DiscoMick]

I recommend spring. Expect a lot of shimmying. I have seen an aerial on another vehicle snap after wobbling for a long time on corrugations.

[W&KO]

Fixed....on the simpson, you’re only going slow

Spring would have it wobbling all over the place, cannot think where spring would be ideal.

My experience from crossing the simpson and running flags on mining vehicles

[Blknight.aus]

spring, you want it swaying the motion attracts the eye, and if your on corrigations the solid mount will cause the rods to fracture over time.

[scarry]

On our trips,i just used a cut off length of 20mm pvc conduit,flag on top,taped to the bar,no worries at all.

The corrugations on the last trip,around Finke,Mt dare,were horrendous.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

spring but more important is height,,

[W&KO]

I see a few mentions of corrugations...OP mentioned Simpson Desert??

I put my flag up at the first sand dune and pulled it down at the last, as most of the Simpson is slow going. I don’t recall going fast enough that the track was shaking the car to pieces.

For corrugations to be bad enough to effect a flag you’re normally past the dunes and on flat ground. Agree corrugations were bad into Mt Dare and the roads either side of the desert however no requirement for a flag for these sections.

My next trip I’ll tie a flag to the UHF antenna.

[DiscoMick]

Don't forget the flag doesn't have to go on the bullbar. You can fit a shorter flag to the roof rack, as long as it reaches the required height. A shorter flag pole should vibrate less than a longer pole.
Same goes with your UHF aerial. Putting it on the roof rack means it can be shorter for less wobbling, or you could use the full length aerial for extra height for a better reception. Also means the vehicle does not block reception.

[ramblingboy42]

On our trips,i just used a cut off length of 20mm pvc conduit,flag on top,taped to the bar,no worries at all.

The corrugations on the last trip,around Finke,Mt dare,were horrendous.

corrugations around Finke, Mt Dare have always been horrendous....last time I was up there I drove up off the road which was better than the corrugations. As you probably know now, there is no sweet spot.

[Tombie]

Mine spec flags are rigid mounted and rarely fatigue.

Mines been on there 245,000 km including highway runs daily [bigsmile]

[Grahame Roberts]

As an aside hint, a trick with antennas and flags is to fit shrink wrap to the base area. Use a few overlapping sizes. This will strengthen the connection point.
If you hit a tree nothing will save it, but if it does break (AND the wire is still attached for antennas), a temporary fix is to splint it together (with sticks etc.) and use a large heat shrink over that until you can replace it.

[iannicki]

Back from our trip, including 4 days across the Simpson Desert. In short, I found the fixed and spring bases useful in different circumstances.

During the slow, bumpy going heading west to east up and down the dunes, I preferred the spring base. Being a 3m pole with a flag on top, the pole itself was flexing too much for my liking on the fixed base. Conversely, when travelling north to south between the dunes at a faster speed, I preferred the fixed base. The pole bent too far back and swayed around too much with the spring base at higher speeds.

If I could pick just one, I would choose the fixed base. I was fortunate to be able to mount and swap between both.

Again, thanks to everyone for the pre-trip comments.