Antennas down :-(

[timbo]

Well, we had quite an ice storm here in Missouri yesterday (about a 1/2" accretion) and a large branch came down last night (ice then wind) taking down the short leg of my OCFD. It's supposed be only in the mid teens up to high 20's for the next week so I won't get a chance to rebuild it until next week. Pretty much everything statewide was shut down yesterday and today. They don't know how to deal with this kind of weather here though it's not all that unusual. They just shut everything down.

 

[MaverickNH]

Bummer! Wrong season to re-hang an antenna. Good luck!

 

[ToddDubya]

Dang. I take it it's not as simple as attach a new length of wire to a rope that's already in place.

 

[240Geezer]

I'll drop my end fed if there's a hint of icing. Much easier to coil it up and stash the wire than have the ice rip the coil box off the house.

 

[drgrant]

Well, we had quite an ice storm here in Missouri yesterday (about a 1/2" accretion) and a large branch came down last night (ice then wind) taking down the short leg of my OCFD. It's supposed be only in the mid teens up to high 20's for the next week so I won't get a chance to rebuild it until next week. Pretty much everything statewide was shut down yesterday and today. They don't know how to deal with this kind of weather here though it's not all that unusual. They just shut everything down.

My condolences. My imax2000 got busted in half since last spring windstorms. I feel you.

 

[timbo]

Thanks all! I'm going to take a closer look at it tomorrow in the frigid cold. The part that broke (as far as I can tell) is the short leg...39.5 feet long. I can probably premeasure the length, plus a few percent longer and drop the center balun and attach the wire to it and the other end to the end insulator...it's not supposed to get above 15°f tomorrow so if I can get the antenna fixed, it should work like gangbusters what with repairing it in weather only good for polar bears.

 

[timbo]

Dang. I take it it's not as simple as attach a new length of wire to a rope that's already in place.

Well, it should be but we all know how those things go....never to plan.

 

[Realtor MA]

Good luck. Stay safe.

 

[ToddDubya]

Thanks all! I'm going to take a closer look at it tomorrow in the frigid cold. The part that broke (as far as I can tell) is the short leg...39.5 feet long. I can probably premeasure the length, plus a few percent longer and drop the center balun and attach the wire to it and the other end to the end insulator...it's not supposed to get above 15°f tomorrow so if I can get the antenna fixed, it should work like gangbusters what with repairing it in weather only good for polar bears.

You're actually fortunate that you have the ideal weather for antenna work. If you're lucky you'll get some wind.

 

[cockpitbob]

Bummer! Wrong season to re-hang an antenna. Good luck!

Actually it's a great time for hanging wire antennas (from trees). No leaves to keep me from deciding which branch to aim the fishing reel equipped slingshot. In summer I can't tell if I'm about to put a line over a sturdy branch or a bunch of skinny green twigs.

 

[timbo]

Antenna is repaired and back up. I have a couple of 1000' rolls of 14awg and 12awg THHN so plenty of wire was available. I bought them about 5 years ago before I moved here and still hoping to get the full wave 160 meter loop I've been planning on since I moved here up in the air, maybe this summer.

Like cockpitbob mentioned, it was a lot easier rehanging the antenna as there are no leaves, No leafy branches for the wires and feed line to get caught in...just iced up branches . Temps are still way below freezing so we won't be losing ice on them anytime soon. I was going to wait until this weekend when the temps are supposed to be in the 40s but I just couldn't wait that long.

The large Elm tree that dropped the branches (which is the one the balun is in) is probably coming down this summer (on purpose) so I'm going to have to find a new home to hang it from...that poor tree's days are numbered anyway...it's going the way of every other Elm tree I've seen in the past 50 years, sad to say.