[TowerTalk] Mast

[K8RI]

On 9/15/2012 1:07 PM, Larry wrote:
> It is worth mentioning because the ice can be a significant factor. The
> person who asked the question will have to make an assessment whether
> ice is a factor in his particular situation. But there may also be
> others reading that want the answer where ice is indeed a factor. I see
> the mention of ice as a more complete answer but it is factor that may
> not apply to all situations. Getting antennas down from a bent mast
> would not be fun.
>
> I have ice on average about one day in 10 years. Fortunately, it is
> usually without wind.

Nearly any state can have ice and substantial ice. Fortunately for the 
gulf states it is rare but some of them have had significant ice storms. 
The rest of the lower 48 have much more ice as you go north. So you 
ignore ice at your own risk.  Cold does not necessarily mean ice.

The past few years weather has varied much more from one extreme to the 
other with some weather forecasters saying that the more extremes appear 
to be more likely than the benign weather most of us have seen for the 
last 50 to 60 years

Here I only remember a couple of "significant" icing events in many 
decades, the last ones being in the 70s and I'm in Michigan. Likewise 
they were without wind, BUT the last one was major ice breaking off, 
miles of power line poles. Behind my house the power line had so much 
sag it was about chest high. A quarter mile West of me there was close 
to a mile of power line laying on the ground. The tips of the elements 
on the KLM monobanders were close to pointing straight down, yet I lost 
no antennas nor did any of them have permanent deformation.  OTOH we 
were without power for nearly two weeks. It came on once just long 
enough to pump out the basement.

"Almost" anywhere in the US ignoring ice is a risk, mainly because in 
most places major ice only happens occasionally. As I said, we haven't 
had a bad ice storm since the 70s, but the next one could be this coming 
  fall, winter, or spring.  Only in a few places is ice a regular event. 
  If you are in a location that can have ice, ignoring it, as I said 
before, can be a risk leaving you playing the odds.

73

Roger (K8RI)

>
> 73, Larry  W6NWS
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Tony Rogozinski
> Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2012 12:24 PM
> To: km5vi at flukey.cc ; towertalk at contesting.com ; w6nws at arrl.net
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Mast
>
> How can one assume that the person who asked the question has a problem
> with ice?   I’ve personally never lived in a place,
> in 57 years of radio, where I had an ice problem.    You guys keep
> making things more complicated than necessary – I guess
> the computer program was probably in error as well?
>
> Just my humble opinion.
>
>
> Tony W4OI/HK1AR
> Licenses Previously Held:
> N7BG, K5LMJ, W7HZF, WA6BOU, W6JPC, K4KES
> F7BK, VQ9AR, VP5AR, 9G5AR, TY5AR, CN2BG
> HK0/HK1AR, 5V7BG, TU/N7BG, OJ0/N7BG
> 5B4/N7BG, ZC4/N7BG, ZF2AR, HB9/N7BG
> and others
> Founding Member of VooDude Contest Group
> Member of Florida Contest Group
> Member Central Arizona DX Association
> Referee WRTC 2000, 2002, 2006
> I've been to 103 DXCC Countries
> On the air since 1957
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