As bad as that experience was, it could have been worse. If the coax had
come loose, it could have broken the windshield of or caused other
damage to a following car.

I had a 5/8 wave 2 meter whip come loose once. It stayed connected and
bounced along behind the car for a while -- luckily no damage except to
the whip. I've used only 1/4 wave 2 meter whips since.

Roy Lewallen

Michael Coslo wrote:
Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience.


Wanting something to use on occasions where I don't want to install my
Bugcatcher, but would still like to do a little HF, I went to a Hamfest
Sunday and picked up a 20 meter Hamstick and a big honkin' mag mount for
it.

Installation was pretty straightforward. I installed it in the parking
lot, tuned it up and set off home. Most of the way it was just FB. It
wasn't the bugcatcher, but I knew that going in.

Traveling over the Alleghenies, there is an area where there are some
fair sized gusts of wind. I hit this on the downhill side of the last
mountain rage heading into the valley near home.

I was traveling about 65 mph, when a gust of wind came along, ripped the
antenna and mount off the roof. The exit for the coax is on the back
door. As the antenna and mount traveled backwards, the cable held it in
position, so it swung in an arc and hit the rear window of my Vitara.

Ouch.

The glass of rear windows is different than that of front windows. It is
designed to granulate instead of hold together. It looks pretty cool in
fact. The sudden opacity of the glass radiating from the spot of impact,
then everything disintegrating and falling into the back of the vehicle.

But the visual interest does not make up for the fact that now I have an
expensive mess to clean up.

NO more frickin' magnets! PTUI!


- 73 de Mike N3LI -

Roy Lewallen wrote:
As bad as that experience was, it could have been worse. If the coax had
come loose, it could have broken the windshield of or caused other
damage to a following car.

I had a 5/8 wave 2 meter whip come loose once. It stayed connected and
bounced along behind the car for a while -- luckily no damage except to
the whip. I've used only 1/4 wave 2 meter whips since.


I have a 5/8th also. There is a bridge on the local interstate where a
lot of pigeons live. They seem to like to play "chicken" with the cars.
One day a couple flew really close while I was driving by. One of them
swooped up, missing the windshield, but unfortunately finding my 2 meter
antenna. All I could see in the rear view was a lot of feathers. The
antenna stayed put. Bent it a little though.

- 73 de Mike N3LI -