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Bad advise. The pipe rail material is too soft, doesn't have the mechanical strength to resist anything other than a VERY light wind load without bending, even for modest lengths.

2x24sr definitely is a very big compromise antenna. I think At mid GMRS Band around 465, it was about 2.1 SWR. The Laird 5/8 over 5/8 hasn't been cut, but by the factory cut chart 472 is right around 1.75 in its stock form. Still waiting on adapters, will take measurements later. The Laird completely kills the Comet in everything from weight, construction, and rigidity. If you have held a 2x24 you know it is heavy antenna that feels unbalanced(like it is a sword or something) when in the hand, the Laird feels about 3x heavier. I might get rid of the 2x24sr, because good grief the antenna is so stiff the mount is always shimmying. Yes the Laird 5/8 is 2x-3x the cost of the Tram or its competitors. I feel it is justified. Plus the famous Laird center contact pin, no more bending tabs. Even the center pin on the Laird makes the Comet push center pin, feel like a chintzy toy out of a gumball machine.

Yes, the applications are LIMITED for enhancing coverage through down tilt antenna's or fill antenna's for specific area's. It's mostly used in mountainous regions that have towers with a TON of HAAT (height above average terrain). If your repeater happens to be on a mountain top and it's the tallest around, and PART of teh area of interest is in the valley below then this type of stuff comes into play. But if you are JUST trying to serve the town at the bottom of the valley, then you put the antenna in the bottom of the valley somewhere on a tall structure and be done with it. I have heard of guys sticking MOSTLY ham antenna's way the hell up in the air on a tall tower on a tall mountain and can't understand why the coverage sucks. And what's funnier about that is the area that actually gets the best coverage is without any residents. It's forest, or wheat fields but NO PEOPLE. There was a time that even the commercial radio guys put the biggest antenna on the tallest tower if you want it to talk. And that is rarely the best option anywhere. 300 feet is about the max if you are in a flat area. And hilly terrain, you really need multiple sites with multiple repeaters to cover that topography. Nothing else really works. You either end up covering the hill tops, or you have a small footprint of coverage.

The operative word is temporary as these types of poles will collapse or fold with any decent load caused by wind blowing against your antenna. If the antenna is going to be on your house, look at either roof mounted tripods or gable mounts as used on satellite dishes. These are more permanent mounts for antennas that are better than the J-Poles.

I got the MFJ version. It's pretty handy if your looking for a quick deployment of a wire vertical. No, the issue is the aluminum. Conductive materials and PVC impact the performance characteristics of small and wire antennas. For example, a wire antenna would short-circuit against the pole and the metal under a small, top mounted antenna could change the shape of the far field lobes, greatly reducing range, changing the resonant frequency and driving up the SWR.

@Borage257 yeah, I wouldn't use that.

I agree also. Actual masts designed for this application are available at reasonable prices. Here’s a ten foot Rohn antenna mast for $30, which isn’t much more than the ten foot top rail sold by the local box store: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/roh-161005ghs This one was at DX Engineering, but if you’re near a Ham Radio Outlet you may be able to pick it up and save shipping (which is what makes the dance rails attractive).

Agreed. Many years ago I had a 5 foot fence pipe I was using as an extension, trying to avoid buying "mast" pipe. It was literally just holding the weight of the antenna and transmission line. We had a about a 10-12 mph wind gust and the pipe folded. Totaled a $250 portable mast and a $300 antenna. The $100 I saved cost me $550. I have a satellite dish mount on the roof of the house, that I have my repeater antenna mounted to. So far, I has survived sustained 60+ mph wind and a few 90+ mph gusts.