It begs the question, what was it made of? It must have been very thin metal
to blow apart only 16 feet, guyed by ropes.

Please enlighten us.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

It seems that my location boasts 60 to 110 mph winds on a regular
basis. I had put up a 1/4 wavelength 20m vertical with 1/8 wavelength
radials elevated at 7 feet, with rope guys... and the wind blew it
apart like so much tin foil!

Does anyone know of a decent commercial design for less than $1000 for
a free standing 30 to 40 foot support that can take this darn wind???

Thanks,

The Eternal Squire

Ground system:

5 foot of 1 inch diameter galvanized iron pipe, halfway stuck in ground
with concrete.
1 inch diameter galvanized coupler
5 foot of 1 inch diameter galvanized pipe
1 inch to 3/4 inch copper reducer
1 foot of 3/4 inch copper pipe
4 tees: 3/4 inch thru vs 1/2 inch out, soldered lengthwise along
copper pipe.
an 8 foot length of 1/2 inch copper pipe soldered into each tee
tees are reinforced above and below radials with a hose clamp
coax shield connected to top of copper pipe

Radiator:
10 feet of 3/4 inch diameter copper pipe
9 foot carbon fiber fishing rod, handle epoxied and inserted into pipe
a wire is attached to copper pipe and run up to end of rod.
Hot end of coax connected to bottom of copper pipe

Ground system and Radiator are connected in-line with a PVC twist shaft
coupler designed for 3/4 inch pipe, weather sealed with epoxy. A gap
of 1 inch between pipes inside the coupler is filled with styrofoam to
prevent contact.

Rope guys are econnected to the top part of the shaft coupler, as the
middle of the shaft coupler is predicted to be weakest point.

Sure enough, a continuous wind in excess of 60 mph vibrated the shaft
coupler into 2 pieces despite the guys, the radiator then collided with
a radial, knocking a radial out of alignment and ripping apart a hose
clamp. I suspect the wind is going to finish the job overnight.

Sigh,

The Eternal Squire

dude it's 60-100 mph wind! You're gonna have to shell out bucks to make
anything that can stand up to that for any length of time.

The pipe thread area is a point of weakness and the overlap is way to short
to provide any strength. A better alternative is aluminum tubing with .058
wall thickness.

This allows decending sizes to fit with in one another. For example a 1"
6061 T6 10 foot long has an inside diameter of .884 and a 10 foot section of
7/8" (.875) will slide right into it. This would allow an overlap of almost
4 feet providing all the strength you need.

Good luck on your next installation.
wrote in message
oups.com...
Ground system:

5 foot of 1 inch diameter galvanized iron pipe, halfway stuck in ground
with concrete.
1 inch diameter galvanized coupler
5 foot of 1 inch diameter galvanized pipe
1 inch to 3/4 inch copper reducer
1 foot of 3/4 inch copper pipe
4 tees: 3/4 inch thru vs 1/2 inch out, soldered lengthwise along
copper pipe.
an 8 foot length of 1/2 inch copper pipe soldered into each tee
tees are reinforced above and below radials with a hose clamp
coax shield connected to top of copper pipe

Radiator:
10 feet of 3/4 inch diameter copper pipe
9 foot carbon fiber fishing rod, handle epoxied and inserted into pipe
a wire is attached to copper pipe and run up to end of rod.
Hot end of coax connected to bottom of copper pipe

Ground system and Radiator are connected in-line with a PVC twist shaft
coupler designed for 3/4 inch pipe, weather sealed with epoxy. A gap
of 1 inch between pipes inside the coupler is filled with styrofoam to
prevent contact.

Rope guys are econnected to the top part of the shaft coupler, as the
middle of the shaft coupler is predicted to be weakest point.

Sure enough, a continuous wind in excess of 60 mph vibrated the shaft
coupler into 2 pieces despite the guys, the radiator then collided with
a radial, knocking a radial out of alignment and ripping apart a hose
clamp. I suspect the wind is going to finish the job overnight.

Sigh,

The Eternal Squire

My suggestion would be the following:

Cut that buried 1" pipe about a foot over the ground, to serve as a
ground support for your new antenna.

Get a heavier steel pipe (ca 1"3/4 - 2") that will fit over the 1" pipe,
and perhaps 10 foot long.

Get a cheap fiberglass (not carbon) fishing rod ca 18 feet long, (1/4
wave on 20m)

Tape a 1/4 wire radiator to the fishing rod, and feed with coax at
bottom of rod.

Attach fishing rod securely to the top of your new mast pipe.

Rise the pipe and fishing rod assembly vertically and guy at the point
where the fishing rod is attached.

Now you can run elevated wire radials along the guy ropes, and you
should probably also ground the coax shield to the mast pipe at the feed
point.

Enjoy!

73 de Hans, SM3PXG




wrote:
Ground system:

5 foot of 1 inch diameter galvanized iron pipe, halfway stuck in ground
with concrete.


9 foot carbon fiber fishing rod, handle epoxied and inserted into pipe
a wire is attached to copper pipe and run up to end of rod.
Hot end of coax connected to bottom of copper pipe



Rope guys are econnected to the top part of the shaft coupler, as the
middle of the shaft coupler is predicted to be weakest point.



Sigh,

The Eternal Squire

Now THAT's a practical idea...

Thanks!

The Eternal Squire