I have owned an OB2-40 (the non-Moxon version) for ten years and it has
held up just fine to ridiculous wind gusts on my southern Arizona
hillside. The antenna is built like the proverbial tank and I've
measured wind gusts as high as 100 MPH. The wind gusts are brutal here
for about three months every spring, to the point that I usually can't
bring myself to even look at my antennas when I hear one of those
mini-tornadoes come roaring down the side of the mountain. I even
watched one lift my teenage son about two feet off the ground while he
was weedwacking part of the lot. It picked him up vertically (with the
weedwhacker still in his hands), moved him about three feet laterally,
and set him back down. This is no exaggeration ... I saw it with my own
eyes.
The OB2-40M is listed as having the same overall weight as my OB2-40 and
the construction looks identical, except of course for the Moxon
wingtips. The wind area of the OB2-40m is 5.9 sq ft versus 6.8 sq ft
for the OB2-40 and I would think that the Moxon configuration adds a bit
of additional stability, so I don't see why it wouldn't hold up as well
or better than my antenna.
73,
Dave AB7E
On Wed, May 19, 2021 at 7:34 PM Michael Tope <W4EF@dellroy.com> wrote:
One of the radio clubs I belong to is interested in buying an OptiBeam
OB2-40M two-element 40 meter Moxon Yagi. Optibeam is kind of vague on
wind survival specifications. Their website indicates "Windload at 130
km/h 430 N / 0,54 m² / 5,9 feet²". To me that implies the
antenna is designed to survive 130 km/h winds (80.7 MPH), but it doesn't
actually say that. The antenna is going to be installed at a Southern
California QTH at a fairly low elevation, so icing is extremely
unlikely. However, the antenna will be installed on a high narrow ridge
that lend itself to very high uneven (shearing) winds when we get the
occasional winter storm or Santa Ana wind condition.
Anyone out there using one of these antennas? I am curious what you
think of it in terms of performance and reliability?
Thanks and 73,
Mike W4EF.................
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