[TowerTalk] OptiBeam OB2-40M

[Michael Tope]

Thank you sharing that information, Dave. I am curious what rotator you 
are using at your QTH? We are contemplating some sort of 10 to 30 MHz 
log periodic (like the InnovAntennas DELPA-13 or the M2 10-30LP8) 
mounted on the same mast below the OB2-40M, so we need to make sure we 
select a rotator that is up to the task.

73, Mike W4EF............

On 5/20/2021 1:25 AM, David Gilbert wrote:
>
> I have owned an OB2-40 (the non-Moxon version) for ten years and it 
> has held up just fine to ridiculous wind gusts on my southern Arizona 
> hillside.  The antenna is built like the proverbial tank and I've 
> measured wind gusts as high as 100 MPH.   The wind gusts are brutal 
> here for about three months every spring, to the point that I usually 
> can't bring myself to even look at my antennas when I hear one of 
> those mini-tornadoes come roaring down the side of the mountain.  I 
> even watched one lift my teenage son about two feet off the ground 
> while he was weedwacking part of the lot.  It picked him up vertically 
> (with the weedwhacker still in his hands), moved him about three feet 
> laterally, and set him back down.  This is no exaggeration ... I saw 
> it with my own eyes.
>
> The OB2-40M is listed as having the same overall weight as my OB2-40 
> and the construction looks identical, except of course for the Moxon 
> wingtips.  The wind area of the OB2-40m is 5.9 sq ft versus 6.8 sq ft 
> for the OB2-40 and I would think that the Moxon configuration adds a 
> bit of additional stability, so I don't see why it wouldn't hold up as 
> well or better than my antenna.
>
> 73,
> Dave   AB7E
>
>
>> On Wed, May 19, 2021 at 7:34 PM Michael Tope <W4EF at dellroy.com> wrote:
>>
>>> One of the radio clubs I belong to is interested in buying an OptiBeam
>>> OB2-40M two-element 40 meter Moxon Yagi. Optibeam is kind of vague on
>>> wind survival specifications. Their website indicates "Windload at 130
>>> km/h           430 N / 0,54 m² / 5,9 feet²". To me that implies the
>>> antenna is designed to survive 130 km/h winds (80.7 MPH), but it 
>>> doesn't
>>> actually say that. The antenna is going to be installed at a Southern
>>> California QTH at a fairly low elevation, so icing is extremely
>>> unlikely. However, the antenna will be installed on a high narrow ridge
>>> that lend itself to very high uneven (shearing) winds when we get the
>>> occasional winter storm or Santa Ana wind condition.
>>>
>>> Anyone out there using one of these antennas? I am curious what you
>>> think of it in terms of performance and reliability?
>>>
>>> Thanks and 73,
>>>
>>> Mike W4EF.................