The Qv4k Upside-Down

[homerbb]

A storm came through last night. Straight line winds were 65 MPH, and no telling what the gusts were. It was awesome!
Anyhow, the Qv4k came down. As the photos will show, the failure was not the antenna , but the section of fiberglass pole beneath it. Three hours after I got up I had the damaged yagi and Qv4k repaired and back in operation.

[cbrown]

Fast repair work, homer!

Looks good.

[homerbb]

The weather is going nuts again.

[homerbb]

The worst has gone by for now, and everything is still standing.
Score:

Storm 1 ------- Qv4k 1

[cbrown]

Wow! You might want to upgrade to a thicker mast, or use some vacuum-cast fiberglass poles.

[homerbb]

Clamps slipped at the bottom of the Qv4k causing it to lean a little more than normal in the last wind. I added another clamp to it this morning and tightened the two already there. I am thinking of replacing the current mast with a better metal mast on the top.

[cbrown]

The metal mast would give you more stiffness, although it does add weight.