[TenTec] BUNGEE CORDS

[R. Eric Sluder via TenTec]

When I installed my current antenna I stopped by Lowes and bought a stiff spring for each end of my OCF, and one for the end of my pseudo beverage antenna.  They work well, and when they rust they will keep working for some time just like door springs will do when rusted.  When one does go, no biggie as I have a safety rope tied to the antenna side of the rope and the other end tied to where the spring is anchored to.

This configuration works most of the time and was recently tested and it did indeed work!  I had an Ash tree about 7" in diameter at the base and 35 ft tall fall over on the beverage antenna about 2/3 rds the length of the tree (from the base of the tree to where it met with my antenna).  I looked out one day and saw the tree was suspended about 8 ft in the air.  Upon investigation I saw the spring was stretched to max and the safety rope stretched tight and nothing broken on the antenna or the ropes  (I use Wireman copper clad steel stranded wire).

I chain sawed the tree off the antenna and it went back up to the 10 ft height I had it at (would love for it to be lower but kids run through my yard) and the spring relaxed and the safety rope drooping just below the spring.

Another time it didn't work, but it involved an oak tree limb 22"
In diameter probably weighing about 1500-1800 lbs - yikes!

A rather inexpensive setup.  

73
-Eric
W9WLW

Sent from an iPhone

> On Dec 31, 2014, at 7:24 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick at DJ0IP.de> wrote:
> 
> If you read the ARRL Handbook or even the ARRL Antenna Handbook, you will be
> well prepared for World War II.
> 
> In the past 60 years, a lot has changed.
> There is nothing wrong with how we did it in the 1950s and 1960s, but as a
> BIG SUPPORTER of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), I would like to point out
> that a boatload of thing have changed in the past 50 years.
> 
> There were no bungees in 1960.
> 
> Both ways work and for me, a good rubber bungee is a lot simpler to deploy
> than a rope through a pulley, supporting a bucket of cement that has been
> calculated to represent the load that I need.  
> 
> Fast forward 40 years; WW II is long since over;  we have bungees.  Just
> deploy the right ones.
> End of message.
> 
> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> (Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom
> Pennebaker
> Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 4:25 PM
> To: TenTec at contesting.com
> Subject: [TenTec] BUNGEE CORDS
> 
> My experience with bungee cords....they work good until winter comes. 
> When the temp goes below freezing your bungee is toast. It will crumble to
> tiny pieces....Tom N4RS _______________________________________________
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