[SCCC] Retracting towers in high winds

[Wayne Overbeck]

It makes a lot of sense to have a way to retract 
a tower to prevent a catastrophic failure of the 
TOWER during high winds.

However, that may not prevent the antenna itself from 
being destroyed by high winds.  In a wind-exposed 
place, the winds can be nearly as ferocious 25 feet 
above the ground as they are at 70 or 80 feet.

At one time or another, I've lost antennas made by 
Cushcraft, Force 12, Hy-Gain, KLM and by me--when they

were on a fully retracted tower.  The HF antennas that

survived the longest at my Tehachapi mountain site 
were homebrew ones built using construction techniques

described in Dave Leeson's book, "The Physical Design 
of Yagi Antennas."

Wayne, N6NB





 
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