Yesterday I visited a big new multiop station, and was able to be a fly on
the wall during discussions among a number of experienced, big-station
builders. Almost without exception, they seemed seriously daunted by the
idea of trying to install and maintain an 80m yagi, even one less than full
size, and even in our relatively benign climate. The air was full of tales
of antennas that lasted three weeks or less, and costly failures
I freely admit my lack of experience with these beasts, but I don't get it.
Why should design of mechanically durable 80-meter loaded yagis be that
much tougher than, for example, a full-size 40M yagi of equivalent element
count? Surely, the mechanical design software currently available can tell
you what to do to make a75%-scale 80m yagi survive 80, or 90, or 100 MPH
winds. I understand that cost is a factor, but once you buy the hardware,
why shouldn't you be able to have a mechanical failure rate comparable to
that experienced with other yagis?
My suspicion is that the hardware probably needs to be beefier than most
people's intuition and judgment usually tell them, and that failures
probably result in some part from not working the design problem hard
enough to start with.
Am I all wet?
73, Pete N4ZR
No, no ... that's WEST Virginia
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