Last year I lucked into buying a new old stock (NOS) AS-2259/GR NVIS antenna including everything except a base for $60. The bases for these antennas can be hard to find. For about 6 months I contacted everyone who said they sold the bases as NOS and had a series of Ebay alerts. The ones I could easily buy were not the flat bases like the Telex 1994 or 1995 but were the adapters to military radio sets like the TRC-75 or similar. These would require me to build an adapter to my regular coax which would add complexity and would be just as much work as making my own base.
I’ve found Brooke Clarke’s PRC68 pages very helpful in learning about the AS-2259 including instructions on how some people have home brew their own base. I went to the local hardware store and attempted to part out a base.
None of the copper connectors were of the right size to fit in the various parts of the AS-2259’s mast connectors without causing damage and when I looked at the cost, time to build, test and fix, it seemed that buying a base was the way to go (especially since curing epoxy was a big part of getting it right)
I eventually looked into pricing out buying a brand new base adapter from the manufacture (R.A. Miller Industries). The part number was RRF0209G which seems to be the same as the Telex 1994 base. It has no transformer and is rated to 1000 Watts. It has wing nut points for attaching the coax which means I need to make a coax to bare wire or ring connector end.
A new one cost $175 and I placed my order. 2 or 3 weeks later I had it in my hands. It’s smaller than you’d expect from the photos. the base is 6″ by 6″ and the mast adapter is about 9″.
The cost was high enough that I likely would have skipped it if I hadn’t gotten such a good deal on the AS-2259/GR but appears to be an option if you have a AS-2259/GR sitting around with no base.
I haven’t had a chance to try it in the field yet but the quality is high as you’d expect.
N2TIQ's radio blog 
congratulations. I am desperately looking for as 2259/gr and base. any idea to find a good deal? you are super lucky.
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I found mine at a hamfest, I’ve seen complete kits on eBay for about $300
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Hi John,
Did you manage to find one? I can’t find it anywhere on the internet. Are these restricted or something/
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I see them on eBay from time to time, set up a alert for as-2259 and maybe once every month or so I get a good alert result. Many don’t come with bases, so that’s why I needed to buy a new base from the factory.
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I also have one for you with a new base. The antenna is in very good condition. Price is $400 plus shipping.
De K4PKR
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I have used one with a new base. The antenna is in very good condition. Price is $400 plus shipping.
De K4PKR
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I ended up going this route and ordering a base from RA Miller for my own AS2259… Its been a bit over a month waiting (COVID-19 isnt helping) and cost me $250 but I should have the new base shortly. I got an insane deal on the antenna, it was brand new never assembled. That said playing around with the mast sections, they are incredibly tight, I can barely mate them with my bare hands and they are almost impossible to take apart. Am I missing something here? Does anyone else with one of these antennas have this problem? One pair of sections was so tight I had to mount the sections in a barrel vice and pull with both hands and a foot against the bench to get them apart. Seems that the dimples inside the female part of the mast are galling against the mating mast section. A light coat of NOALOX doesnt seem to help the situation. The situation is essentially making the antenna unusable. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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My mast connections are also VERY tight and hard to get together or apart. I haven’t pushed them opting to keep them pristine, but one of these days will likely decide to make it work.
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I ended up taking a detail file to the ribs within the female end of the mast sections. I noted that 2 of the 3 ribs in each section were much larger than the 3rd rib. After a few hours of filing I was able to obtain a reasonable fit, tight but no so much as to gall the material and become inseparable. I then sanded and polished out the galling on the male ends resulting from previous attempted assemblies, and gave everything a light coat of NOALOX. I left one section untouched to ensure I can obtain a good fit with my base section when it arrives. Dont understand why they were so impossibly tight, but it probably explains why the unit ended up as surplus and eventually landed in my possession. Either way I’ll take it.
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