I'm going to be shopping for a mast soon and while enamoured of
the strength and weight of Chrome Moly steel am curious as to:
How does it weather? Does it require painting for protection?
What happens when it breaks? I know it's not allowed for race car
chassis because it splinters rather then bends (not ductile). Is this
a problem for a mast?
Does one really want the mast so strong that the tower fails first?
Tower costs a lot more than mast (well my crank up does). If it's
preferred for the mast to fail before the tower is it better to have it
snap cleanly and blow away or bend and stay attached?
What about bend? I know the Chrome Moly is very stiff but just thow
stiff do we want a mast to be? I looked at a 24' piece of 2" AL with
1/2" wall and it was pretty springy. Couldn't imagine 20' sticking out
the top of the tower even with a small 10m Yagi on it.
What options are there? EHS galvanized? Maybe a stiffer Al alloy
that is still ductile?
O.K. Engineers....
I'm listening.
-bob
wb4mnf
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search
|