Yes, the installation is "Pebbles Approved".
Each one of the grey tote boxes has a 50lb bag of sand in it. I have another tote that size with the SGC-230 autocoupler in it, and a smaller one with the line isolator in it that's also my junction box for power to the SGC-230. I still have to fabricate some radials from the YUUUGE spool of #10 THHN wire I bought years ago, and then install the coupler, radials, and cabling. Monday will be very interesting, as we're expecting sustained winds of 30~37MPH with gusts to 50MPH. I'm expecting it to do some scary gyrations, and I'm sure I'll be lengthening the legs.
As of 2022 local time, and I can hear the wind really blowing. Flipping on the yard lights, the whip is flexing about 30* in the gusts, and the base looks stable.
It's actually pretty "plumb". The apparent tilt to the whip part is caused by the whip being deflected by the wind.
And......up it goes! The "Tip 'O The Whip" is at 35' AGL.
This thing is FLEXIBLE! What looks like an "S" bend in the whip is the antenna reacting to the wind. I've seen photos of the antennas bend over at what looked like 90* in 100MPH winds.
And they survive......
And one last one from the far corner of the lot.
The "windmill" tower in the background is for my satellite antennas, seen here many times in the past. I haven't decided where I'll site that system for its permanent spot. The tree trunk will get carved a bit later this year. And peeking out from behind the tree trunk, is the 5' tripod with the Davis Instruments sensor suite on it for my "real" weather station.
The snow is 99% gone, except for some patches on the North sides of houses, and the yard has dried out enough to walk through it without getting 10 lbs of MUD on your shoes! It shouldn't be any where near this bad next year, as our landscaper/yard guy is going to start seeding and feeding at the proper time. He says he's seen yards here in worse shape than ours, and with some fertilizer, and the right type of grass seed, they bounce back in one summer. The snow here doesn't bother me, but the mud does!
And our grandson's first birthday party was a smashing success!
Besides the 16 family members, we had another 8~10 people drop by, including three of his neonatal nurses, and several work friends and their little ones.
The little guy made out like a bandit, and he now has "doubles" on some toys between here, his parent's place, and his other grandparents place! And he got real silver dollar from his Grandpa Jim to put away for a rainy day.
And the best part? After things wound down and it was only immediate family, everybody just pitched in, and we had the house clean and back in order in a very short time.
All in all, a VERY pleasant day spent with family and friends.
MINOR UPDATE.......
As of 1400 local time, the vertical is still standing, the base shows no signs of movement, but the Tip 'O The Whip is swinging back and forth through what looks like a 45* angle.
One minor casualty occurred during the night. One of the black lids wasn't fully snapped on to the tote box, and is now laying against the fence. I'll put it back on the tote, and put a couple of cable ties on it and it's mates to keep the lids on the boxes......
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The best of days, surrounded by family and friends. Happy Birthday to the Little Man!
ReplyDeleteA fire in the hearth would have completed the picture, but there were too many people running around to tend a fire...
DeleteThat sounds great, Jim. Happy Birthday to your grandson!
ReplyDeleteWe all had a great time. It would have been elbow-to-elbow back in our little house in Long Beach, but we have plenty of room in this house.
DeleteThe whip is up and the whipper-snapper's celebrated. Sounds like a perfect day.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteA splendid time was had had by all, LL!
DeleteTnx,WSF!
DeleteVery cool Grandpa!
ReplyDeleteShows me what a Piker I am though, here I was so proud of myself for getting a lousy CB antenna mounted on my Bronco.
LOL!!
I see I am in the minor leagues big time.
Wait till the tower goes up...
DeleteYou have a base station, Phil, or just the mobile?
All good news, so far! :-)
ReplyDelete.....And we hope it stays that way!
DeleteNothing succeeds, like success, right? Good to see it holding up through the first big wind test. And congrats on the birthday party. Always a bonus to spend time with grandkids.
ReplyDeleteFor the first few storms, you'll be watching it like a hawk. Then you'll get used to it.
I ran out for some errands, and deliberately went by the house that has the Hustler 5BTV mounted on his chimney, and was surprised that his antenna was bending as far as it was.
DeleteSo far today I've seen this one do a 45* bend to one side, and it makes me nervous, but these things are built to take an amazing amount of abuse.
Not getting any flack from old biddie's on the homeowners association board about your antenna field? ;-)
ReplyDeletedrjm,
ReplyDeleteHope you get some good dx with that vertical. I know I can reach CA from here, but nothing closer than two states away. For local stuff I use my EFHW, which works pretty well.
Wade, KG4KAH
Hi, Wade! Good to see you again.
DeleteWhen I had the vertical installed in Long Beach, it was about 10' above ground on our patio roof, with six elevated radials out to the corners of the yard. I left two sections of it out, as that gave me a 5/8 wavelength vertical, and it worked like gangbusters!
Here, with six radials lying on the ground.....? I guess I'll find out!
None so far.....
ReplyDeleteTurns out it's a pretty "stealth" or "Low Profile" installation. Between the faded green CARC coating, and the dark green bottom sections, it blends in quite well.
One huge factor in buying this house is that while there is an HOA, the only thing it covers is the swimming pool association. It's $350/year, it's mandatory, and the kids (and grandkids) will love it in the summer. We get 25 passes for guests, and it's a very nice pool. Clean, secure, well-maintained, and real lifeguards on duty. I think you can use the tennis courts, too, but I'm no tennis player.
I went through the entire HOA agreement with a magnifying glass, and it's pretty "loose". Since there are three other houses within walking distance that have some decent sized antennas, I should be covered.
And I see "violations" all over the neighborhood of certain items in the HOA agreement. I don't know about Colorado, but in Kalifornia, if parts of the HOA are widely violated, then the agreement, or at least those sections of it, becomes void and unenforceable.