Jon Hamlet wrote:
<big snip>
> I'm also replacing the A4S with a TH-7. Now I'm w
> ondering if I should also replace the mast, but I think the direct sea
> salt will do the mast in within the first two years. My DSS antenna
> is nearly eaten through after only 10 months. Galvanized masts for my
> R-7 are severely rusted in severer places after only one year. The
> aluminum seems to hold its own after the initial surface oxidation.
> Antenna patterns over all this salt water are great but they have very
> short life expectancies.
>
> What do you think?
>
Steel rusts and aluminum doesn't. Engineering analyses
notwithstanding. :-)
Jon, it seems your problem is one of tradeoffs. As an oceanfront
property owner, I'm well aware of your situation and I think you have
made the correct choice. If that mast breaks...it's not going to be by
itself!...and if you are smart you won't be there to watch it break!!!
73,
Ken K4XL
grimm@alison.sbc.edu
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