The storm

Last Updated on Friday, October 29, 2010 6:16 PM Written by N1WQ Friday, October 29, 2010 2:47 PM

In the beginning of this week we got pretty strong storm. It lasted for about 40 hours, with non-stopping winds around 30mph, and the gusts upto 50mph. It was scary to watch staggering tower for the first time, as well as see the beam tortured by strong winds. I was not sure whether this little antenna can survive the storm.

Well, according to manufacturer specifications, it should, and it did. It is still in one piece, and there is no visible damage. The lowest VSWR point shifted up about 30KHz on all bands, but this is most probably because of other environmental effects, not the wind. The rain affects this antenna VSWR curve (it is expected behavior), and there still could be some residual water left after the storm, or it could be just “aging” effect after a month in open air. It is still OK, although I would prefer it to return back where it was before. We’ll see if this happens. If not, no big deal either.

The important thing is both the antennas and the tower survived the storm!