[Towertalk] Pinning Mast to Rotator

[Thomas Miller]

Iwould think it would on less item to break.  I rather have to adjust an
antenna than replace a broken boom.
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce B. Sawyer" <zf2nt@candw.ky>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2002 7:04 AM
Subject: [Towertalk] Pinning Mast to Rotator


> I'm now in the process of repairing the damage to my antennas caused by
> Hurricane Lili a couple of weeks ago.  Little Cayman took a direct hit
from
> that one, so my little antenna farm took quite a beating.  Among other
> things, the mast on one of my antennas was twisted around about 100
degrees
> in the rotator mount.  There was only one antenna on it--a Bencher
Skyhawk,
> which is supposed to be wind-balanced.  I was just about to go drill a
> through-hole in the mast so I can put a bolt in and pin it to the mast
when
> I started wondering about the wisdom of doing that, and wonder if others
> with more experience of taking towers through hurricane force winds have
> thoughts on the subject.  Had the mast been pinned to the rotator when
Lili
> struck, the yield point likely would not have been the mast-to-rotator
> connection.  With a large enough moment, I wonder what would have yielded.
> The top section of my Rohn 45 tower?  The U-bolts on the rotator plate?
The
> rotator itself?  Whatever would have been forced to yield, I'm certain it
> would have been more time-consuming to fix, and obviously more expensive,
> than repositioning the mast in the rotator.  On the other hand, maybe it
> would be that nothing would have yielded, and now I'd have one less repair
> item on my to-do list.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Bruce, ZF2NT
> Little Cayman Island
>
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