Topband: Antennas down at VE3CV - Ice Storm!

[Eddy Swynar]

On 2013-12-25, at 9:40 AM, Jeff Wilson wrote:

> Well the ice storm did a job here. 



Hi Guys,

Well, the truth be known, I haven't uttered so much as a single peep on Topband at all this season: the dual knee replacements of last July here have left me in constant pain in both legs, & while the spirit may well have been willing, the flesh was not---certainly not at the prospect of unrolling 72 ground radials beneath the seasonal 3-element phased inverted "L" array....

No matter: the power outage here started late Saturday night, & didn't ease-up until 9:50 PM on Monday. In the interim, ice-laden trees & branches took down the end supporting tree of my northern "L", as well as the end supporting tree of my eastern "L". The coup de grace was a massive bunch of tree branches that came crashing down upon my two K9AY loops in the back yard.

We lost a LOT of nature's antenna supports with the 1" coating of ice that we received here---and the temperatures have been so cold as to keep the ice exactly where it has been since the past weekend. One good spell of high winds, & I can see even MORE fallen trees & outages of hydro electric power.

Ain't wintertime just a grand & glorious thing...?! (NOT!). Oh well, from what I've been hearing, 160-meters hasn't been any great shakes this season, anyway...small consolation maybe, I know, but I'll take any & every bit that I can take!

~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ