Topband Vertical Repaired

The topband vertical at SEØX, an inverted L, broke in the winter storms rendering the antenna useless. Because of the remote location and the heavy snow just before the CQ WW 160 weekend I was not sure if I was able to repair or replace the antenna in time for the contest.

Broken topband vertical before repair

The good news is that the weather was permitting on Friday. Although cold with temperature at -10 celsius and half a meter of snow, there was plenty of sunshine and only light winds which made repair possible. The antenna was brought down around lunch time and the top section was replaced. Before sunrise the antenna was up again and it is now ready for the CQ WW 160 CW contest that starts in a few hours.

Point of collapse

Before repair the top 6 meter of the 19 meter high inverted L was made of parts from an 18 meter Spiderbeam mast. The aluminium section below the fiberglass pole deformed and broke in a way I have never seen before. The flexible fiberglass pole bent extensively in the wind, and after a storm in December the aluminum tube was deformed but the antenna was still standing and working fine. Three weeks later the aluminum had taken so much beating that it broke apart and the top section fell down.

New topband Inverted L, after repair

The top part was replaced with another aluminum pipe and the antenna is now ready for CQ WW 160. Next repair job is to replace the broken elements  on the 10 meter mono, but that wont happen until the weather is warmer.

GL in CQ WW 160!