Hope someone can refer me to a source for
---very light weight, very strong (500 lbs. pull), non absorbent, sun resistant
line/string/rope to use to internally guy a two element quad.
-- light weight 8 foot fiberglass rod or tube, at least 1 and half inch
diameter.
Well, my quad broke today in a gale. The wind estimater says speed was 50 to
56 mph based on small tree blown over, twigs and limbs down, and so on. I am
impressed that the grass in the lots beside and behind me ... grass about 2 ft
tall, was blown completely flat, so he wind at actual ground level was bad,
too. Standard factory Cubex with factory stiffner... 2 el full size 40m, 2el
on 30, and 3 el on other two WARC bands. Really worked nice!
I made the mistake of not heading my quad West where the wind always comes
from... I think because it hit it on an angle, one of the top two spreaders
broke at about the half way point and all the wires of the driven element are
drooping over the mess that is left. The reflector, lacking he added load of
the driven coax attached, survived. I think the driven array also rotated on
the boom and the whole thing could have been pushed back on the mast, it
appears.
I had plans already of putting in 8ft extensions on the ends of the boom and
tying the whole thing into a fully guyed internally. I do not know how I can
get another fiberglass spreader shipped here, it is very long, and I have only
one fiberglass extension rod to do the strengthening so that is another part to
find.
If you have suggestions on a very light very strong, sun resistant, non
absorbing string, line, rope.... please let me know. de HS0ZCW
Charly
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