I bought a used OptiBeam 11-3. Your post probably explains why the
previous owner replaced all of the original elements with DX
Engineering tubing.
Kurt has noted -- and I've seen -- some wear issues where the
square U-bolts for the elements meet the square boom. The sharp
corner of the boom causes a stress concentration at that point.
There are some places where the U-bolts have worn a groove into the
boom corners. I could see where in the long run this could initiate
a stress crack in the boom and could eventually lead to boom failure.
I'm not too concerned about it, but then I have the luxury of a tower
friendly location where high winds are very rare and there's no ice.
73 Jim K6OK
Craig WA6OXK wrote:
> Kurt Andress, K7NV, who knows more about antennas and towers than
> all of the rest of us combined, warns that the Optibeam antennas
> have reliability/durability problems because they use Turkish
> aluminum. K7LV is a very wise man.
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