On 5/19/11 7:03 AM, K7LXC@aol.com wrote:
>
> BTW it's been my experience that most people who mention chromoly
> masts don't really need them. Many times something a lot less expensive will
> suffice; e.g. SAE 1026 (65k psi), A530 (about the same). What is your local
> windspeed rating and what are you proposing for antennas on the mast? I just
> hate to see you spend money that you don't have to - them suckers are
> expensive.
Also consider the actual failure mode: the mast bends. It's not like
the antennas will come crashing down on someone's head.
Unless you have an application where it has to work 24/7 because
people's lives hang in the balance, it seems that not worrying about the
2-3% 2 sigma wind event case might be a better overall system plan.
Spend the money and labor somewhere else.
Save the high strength steel for things like helicopter rotor masts,
turbine blades, bridge support cables, race car roll cages and the like:
where failure really is catastrophic, or where strength/weight ratios
are critical.
(I'm waiting for the first person to ask about titanium masts. Come on,
guys and gals, if you have to have the very best, why not? Good
corrosion resistance, great strength to weight ratio, etc. Or, some
exotic Beryllium alloy.)
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