On February 23, Jim Neiger (N6TJ) and I succeeded in raising a new Titanix
V160e into the air. This antenna was shipped express air freight all the
way from Munich to my home on Little Cayman Island. Counting the rather
stiff purchase price, the shipping costs, and the Caymanian customs duty,
over $3000 was invested in this antenna. Yesterday, exactly 12 days later,
the top 3 sections of this antenna
came crashing to the ground. Those top 3 sections are all 18mm in diameter,
and total 5.73m in length. The break happened immediately above a section
of 20mm tubing into which this 18mm tubing telescopes. There is a piece of
approximately 6mm diameter nylon rope running through those top 3 sections
to try to dampen vibrations.
Ironically, I talked with Alex, 4L5A/D4B before acquiring this antenna and
Al mentioned that he had the same antenna but the top section of his had
broken off. He talked with somebody at the factory, though, and they
assured him this problem had been solved. My hunch is that they simply
added the nylon rope to the materials list and hoped that would solve the
problem. Whatever the case, it would appear I experienced the very same
problem with this antenna that Al had. I have taken the best picture I
could of the break and posted it at http://www.qsl.net/zf2nt/V160e.htm. If
anybody knows anything about the alloy used in the construction of this
antenna and can determine why/how this break occurred from that picture, I
would very much appreciate hearing about it. While I could splice this top
section back onto the antenna fairly easily, I don't see any reason why a
similar failure wouldn't happen in another 12 days. Given the cost of this
antenna and the effort that went into installing it, that doesn't leave me a
very happy camper.
Bruce, ZF2NT
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See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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