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Re: [TowerTalk] Wind loading

To: Towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wind loading
From: "Gary Smith" <Gary@ka1j.com>
Reply-to: Gary@ka1j.com
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:36:24 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Apologies, I earlier replied under the wrong thread header. Should 
have been under wind loading...

73,
Gary
KA1J


> My goodness, more answers than I expected. Thank you. 
> 
> I am in a somewhat difficult place, ham-wise. The problem is I am on 
> the ocean, not directly on the ocean, but sheltered by Long Island 
> Sound, in Connecticut and even more closely sheltered by Fisher's 
> Island, 3 miles away from me. But... even more sheltered in that I 
> live in at the end of a cove. So with that, I have sheltering from 
> the winds but Hurricane Sandy pushed salt water over the bottom of my 
> low band radials and radial plate so I'm vulnerable to hurricane 
> force winds. 
> 
> No matter how I place them, my antennas can't be in the open, too 
> many inquisitive eyes if I put it in the nearby clear space which 
> would unfortunately be on state property. The only possibility is to 
> put it at the edge of the marsh which puts it in my trees. In the 
> winter there's no leaves so the antennas will be essentially in the 
> open, but that's not in hurricane season when the strongest winds 
> hit.
> 
> So what I'm trying to figure out is, what will give me the least 
> noticeable profile and will it be sustainable in a ground mount. It 
> seems like the thinnest profile is the best but perhaps it is too 
> fragile. Since the folks supplying the tubing don't have the answer, 
> I need to figure out what to do with help as I really have no clue. I 
> was hoping there was a simple formula I could plug in the variables 
> and come up with a number but nothing is ever simple, eh? 
> 
> Looking at the record, Sandy hit 88 MPH in CT and more than that, 
> I'll have more than my Rx antenna to worry about. So I guess 90 would 
> be the target speed I should brace for.
> 
> Regardless of any storm's wind surge, I know the winds will blow down 
> branches and I'll have to keep rehabbing the antennas every spring 
> but I don't want them to be so thin as to snap at the base when the 
> wind Gods sneeze. Maybe I'm over thinking this but I've met Murphy 
> and understand him well.
> 
> One difficult thing for me is I am to a fair degree handicapped. I 
> can walk around but can't really carry anything heavy on uneven 
> ground. Since I have to do this all myself, some of the excellent 
> suggestions for an antenna mount like filling cinder blocks with 
> cement to hold the antenna in place, will be pretty much impossible 
> for me to carry out. To make it harder, there is a 300 year old very 
> sturdy stone wall between me and the antenna site. Because of that, I 
> can't even get a garden tractor to carry the load out there. This is 
> where I need kids but, none of those around either. There always is 
> an answer though, it'll come.
> 
> Thanks for so many helpful replies.
> 
> 73,
> 
> Gary
> KA1J
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
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