The most basic clamp is the "V bolt" which bolts the pole to its bracket, the most common sizes being in 1.5in & 2.0in (which we stock in both plated & stainless, the latter are recommended particularly for weather station installs). In addition we stock larger 2.75in V bolts. NOTE : Just because the V bolt looks like it's 1.5" it might not be.... I have seen V bolts which were, very frustratingly, about 2 or 3mm too small to fit a 1.5" pole. Why would anyone manufacture a V bolt which was just under 1.5" wide ? ! ? Incredible, but true.

All our V bolts are measured internal diameter.
All our V bolts come with washers.

If replacing a pole even the tightest aerial installer (and aerial installers are notoriously tight….) would use new V bolts, mainly because it’s far easier to just hacksaw off the old Vs rather than try and undo the nuts on rusty ones.
If you have to use V bolts larger than 1.5” make sure you check they will fit the bracket. Some brackets, esp 6" types, only accept 1.5" Vs. You may have to drill an extra hole yourself, or get the file out !
When using V bolts I would tend to tighten the bottom one more than the top one because if you crush the wall * of the pole you will significantly weaken it just at the point where it’s under most strain. In our tests all the poles (unsurprisingly) failed at this point. The bottom V bolt can be done up as much as you like to ensure the pole doesn’t twist in the wind, though using saddles is the most effective method of ensuring that. Risk of the pole rotating in its bracket is particularly important if using an end mounted aerial (though, apart from Log Periodics, we don’t actually recommend end mounting aerials for outside use) or a cranked pole, and especially using a Supercrank  or a right angle crank pole.

* Crushing an 18G (1.2mm) pole is rather more likely than with the thicker 16G (1.6mm) or 14G (2.0mm) versions which we sell.

Apart from the three “standard size” V bolts (mentioned above) we also stock Little & Large V Bolts, the 1 inch U bolt and the 3.5 inch U bolt. Our 3.5” saddles fit the latter so as to make it suitable for poles.
Both the 1” and 3.5” U bolts come with nuts and washers, we’ve just omitted these from the picture so as to emphasise the sizes !

It should be noted that V bolts are the first thing to start rusting on a decent quality install (an alloy [or hot dipped galvanised] pole and a galvanised bracket). The V blots (assuming they're only plated which almost all are) would usually start rusting between 2 and 5 years after installation dependent on the local conditions, possibly around a year if next to the sea ! It must be admitted it’d take about 5X that length of time (or longer is some locations) for a V bolt to rust sufficiently to significantly affect its strength but removing the nuts would become problematic rather sooner than that !  The latter is particularly important when installing weather stations of the type which need regular maintenance…….

The great majority of aerial installers just bolt the pole straight to the bracket like in the top install of the adjacent picture. This is absolutely fine for most installations but if you have a large aerial in an exposed location then the use of saddles with the V bolts gives a stronger install. This is because the saddle grips the pole better, and, as a side benefit, means the V bolts don’t have to be done up quite as tightly to ensure the pole doesn’t slip round, or in extreme cases, down ! As stated above excessive tightening of the V bolts, particularly the top one, should be avoided if possible because it weakens the pole.
Installs which would benefit most from the use of saddles are those likely to be subject to twisting forces, that is to say larger aerials on cranked poles, large end mounted aerials, or pole mounted satellite dishes. Starlinks are satellite dishes but they aren't particularly large, they're not generally mounted on the side of poles (= twisting force) and they're not vertically mounted either ( = lower windload) thus saddles aren't quite so important for them.
It must be said that using saddles makes raising (or dropping) the pole through the V bolts rather harder because the saddles grip the pole so well ! Thus I probably wouldn't bother with them on an install with a straight pole and either a centre mounted aerial (or a small aerial) as the wind induced twisting forces are lower.

Ordinary plain nuts don’t usually come loose (if the correct torque is used) because of the friction between the nut and bolt, and indeed the fixture itself, but it’s not unknown for loosening to occur particularly if the joint is subject to vibration. This is where locking nuts, most commonly Nylocs, come in. Nyloc nuts are a type of self locking nut which utilises a ring of nylon (unsurprisingly…) to grip the threads of the bolt, the big advantage being that they don’t work loose. It must be said that hardly any aerial installers use Nylocs, partly because they cost more, but mainly because they take much longer to put on, you can’t spin the nut down the thread, it has to be wound down the whole way with a spanner. The other disadvantage of Nyloc nuts is they’re thicker than the equivalent plain nut, e.g. an M10 plain nut is about 8mm high whereas an M10 Nyloc is around 10mm. This can be significant if short of thread on the bolt. Obviously a Nyloc nut can still be used but if the thread doesn’t reach the nylon insert it would defeat the object because there wouldn’t be any locking function !
Nylocs can also be used on bolts which can’t be fully tightened up because movement is still required, e.g. hinge type mechanisms.
Most of our clamps are available with either plain nuts or Nylocs.

Wall Anchors : Shield anchors v wall plugs v sleeve anchors

The method used to fix a bracket to the wall is actually a subject of some debate.

There is one last type of wall anchor, the sleeve anchor (sold here). This is basically a shield anchor with a long thin shield ! They’re cheaper than shield anchors but, according to Rawl very nearly as strong (approx 300Kg SWL), for our purposes any difference is academic because the pole would have failed long before the (correctly installed) sleeve anchors. Sleeve anchors are more forgiving then standard wall plugs if the hole is a little too big (Universal plugs are better though), they’re not as forgiving as shield anchors but on the other hand they don't need such a big hole, they’re also less likely to crack the brick and can be installed a little closer to the edge of the brick (35mm ? ). I have experienced issues with sleeve anchors in soft breeze block type masonry, as have some of our customers. Technically resin anchors are the best choice for that kind of job but they’re expensive, difficult to get hold of and awkward to use so personally I just use Universal plugs.
Last, but by no means least, an M8 sleeve anchor only needs a 10mm hole !
NOTE : on sleeve anchors, unlike most other types of anchor, the sleeve is supposed to screw up to the nut, i.e. pass through the fixture.
Just one last thing, a slight downside of sleeve anchors is that if you accidentally put the anchor in the wrong place (or no longer need it) you can’t easily remove it ! You’ve got 2 options, the first is getting the angle grinder out. The second may not work but is worth a try. You remove the nut and the fixture. You carefully tap the bolt into the sleeve so the end is no longer wedging the anchor open, to have a chance of doing this you must obviously have originally drilled the hole somewhat deeper than the anchor. I would suggest the latter is a good habit to get into, apart from possibly assisting in anchor removal is also means there will be room for any masonry debris as the fixing is initially tapped into the hole (alternatively use one of those “blowers” for that).  If the hole is drilled deep enough, you can, as a further option, just tap the whole anchor into the hole and leave it ! Anyway, assuming you would rather remove it, you then get a big pair of mole grips and squeeze the section of sleeve which is proud of the masonry against the bolt, and try and pull them out together (without the wedging action of the bolt). It sometimes works…….. If any reader uses any other method of removing redundant sleeve anchors please get in touch !
Also see my sleeve anchor won't tighten up.