[MAMS] Wind, spinning yagi's

[Lloyd Ellsworth]

Got reading this train. Some comments. Hey, lots of advice. Some I
actually use.

What I learned years ago with big HF DX antenna arrays. You can't
really tighten them clamps enough to stop them from windmilling. Pin
them. Get them properly set up. Get out the drill motor, blast a hole
and then pin them with a bolt. Ya, not in the book. Ya, the holes will
eventually elongate. Cracks form too. Then the added stress. And
eventually lead to self destruction. Price of gain. With my rover
array, all the hours of 70 MPH winds, They are all pinned. Keep them
put. Then I add some guy ropes. Well, string. Then at each stop, level
the array. Keep those antennas on the horizon. In 12 years of use,
only lost one pinned yagi.

Look at 3 more concerns.

First. More clamps? If you have an end mount antenna, no big deal. In
the middle, you have a larger lump of metal, that could potentiall
help detune it. Loss of gain. They will still windmill. Then wind
pressure out of verticle.

Second. 5 sections of RS tube. Wind pushes entire set up, out of
verticle. Even with guys. That includes many towers. Meaning antenna
is not looking at the horizon. Which require a pile more weights,
guys. Stuff to haul. Extra time to set up. Tear down. Not to mention
all the room they would require. These days, how many more gallons of
fuel. 20 years ago, N8PJP rover, built a nice trailer, with a 70 foot
extendable mast. As a VHF rover, worked great. Got over many of the
trees. 6 through 1296. On the ground, such as the Lake Shore, it is
nice to have an extra body, set of hands. to hold a large dish or
antenna in place. Keep it on the horizon. Or where it needs to be.
Rover drivers are great for this.  If your YL, MYL is willing. Works,
but usually there is an exchange involved.

Third. Weight and occupied space vs small rover. Ya, in the winter, I
use a couple of sandbags. So, yes they are available for me. Usually
not expensive. Commonly available. OK, pick up here. I don't use
sandbags for the antenna stands. Bulky. I use 12V batteries. One
painful lesson learned early on. Always have extra battery power
available. Better to invest the extra bucks in a couple of extra
batteries. What can I say about keeping an eye open for sales? Usually
solves 2 problems. I use a car battery, in the shack. Yes, with
ventalation. then some wood, to protect against the acid drip. Part of
my test set up. Checks out the battery performance too. For smaller,
more fuel efficient rovers, space is a critical consideration. If not
the most important. How to best use available space. Then there is the
no holes, scratches etc issue. Lucky to run a piece of RG58, foam, in
the door. For the magmount. Then comes efficient packing, unpacking.
Setup and tear down time. Then as many know, the ideal goal is 3 to 10
minutes, during a contest. Becomes an art form.


73, Lloyd NE8I/r
EN74 etc