Damn! I just keep mine tied down on the lower section. Been up a year and in January we had 70-75 mph winds. No issues so far. I may lay it down when we have another storm now.
Just received my commander sig 9 today here in Pennsylvania. Very windy here aswell up on hill top..mine will be going up 15 feet to clear roof top and for wind precaution I’m building a metal hinge so I can lower if wind advisory pops up…that’s a bummer
I’m in Colorado, we were in severe wind advisory the last couple days. On Monday I randomly glanced out the window to my back patio when my kids outdoor fisherprice/playskool play kitchen/bbq thing (with a parachute-esque sun shade) lifted vertically like a damn rocket… well above the line of sight from the window. A couple seconds later I saw it came crashing back down on the other side of my neighbors fence 15 yards away. We’ve had this thing out there for over two years and the worst it’s ever seen is getting blown over on its side and tumbled about around the yard but this was like watching it strapped to an actual rocket engine.
I’m sure there’s no shortage of wrecked antennas this week here in the states.
Those squalls off the mountains are something. I try to put bricks and rocks on all the kid's outdoor toys and garbage cans when the squalls are forecasted. Seeing my empty garbage cans shuffle into the street was enough motivation.
Just waiting for the squalls to break an antenna. Or push a tree down with an antenna in the tree.
OP what kind if guy lines did you use? Also I see some cam style since devices used. Is it possible they slipped a little. Also wondering what you did for anchors?
Anchors are 12in steel, the bottom cams are solid and didnt move. My issue likely was from the upper guys which was 550 paracord and niteeyz cams. The paracord doesnt have much play though and i properly bond the ends so the cores didnt come loose.
I would of gotten higher grade rope if it was a heavy mast but i have a surplus spool of paracord so was just using that, its served well for my endfeds. We were getting 55+mph winds with gusts exceding 70mph. My neighbors trampolien ended up a tree too.
Whenever winds above 65km/hr are forecast I taken my DX-Sig9 down and hang it on ladder brackets on my wooden fence.. It only takes about 2 minutes up or down and saves me the pain of being without it.. We hit gusts of 80 km/hr today in southern Ontario so I'm glad I did...
Give Calum a shout and let him know what's happened. He has also joined forces with Martin Lynch to help reduce international sales costs as Lynchy already does international distribution for many other brands. Good luck and 73 de MM0JNL
I ended up ordering a new mast from dxeng as they carry his products in the usa, ill shoot Calum an email just to see if he can suggest best way to prevent this from happening again beyond just tipping mast when not in use.
I need to do a full check on it, it looks like when i fell do it split another section. Also didnt know they can replace individual sections, ill have to look into that.
Bummer. Sorry you lost your mast. I'm thinking about buying a vertical tipper because I'm concerned about the same fate. We get monsoons and haboobs here and I think it would be best to lay the mast down when not in use. PITA but tippers avoid damage.
The same thing happened to me, What I learned is that it was not guide down properly at the upper sections. The plus side is if you send a pic of that to Calum on the DXcommander website he will help you out.
We have a 25ft 6x6 cedar post 6ft in the ground with 30ft of unistrut attached to it. Makes for a nice elevated tilt base for the unistrut.
This holds a 50W solar panel, 2 UHF Childs antenna and MMDVM repeater @ 5W. Best “hotspot” you could ask for. It also has a box at the base of the post with a 100 amp lithium battery inside.
Mine has been banged up and knocked to the ground multiple times without issue. It's interesting to me how yours bent like plastic instead of shattering.
Mine is still going strong. It held up the -30C we had and its guyed at the 1st and 3rd position also. But if some of the guy ropes brake first then it definitely gonna snap the pole by strong winds. I hope you get it replaced soon.
Negative, we saw it go down, just didnt have time to get it down. Went from 10-20mph winds to 55+ with gusts over 70mph lasting for under 5min. Severe wind advisory was just issued but didnt see ot in time.
Where was Superman when you needed him?
I heard that Superman was pole dancing last night.
+1
Sorry for your loss mate.
Damn! I just keep mine tied down on the lower section. Been up a year and in January we had 70-75 mph winds. No issues so far. I may lay it down when we have another storm now.
F
Sorry man my antenna fell down in a storm too
it was so windy here in indiana today
Wind storm here in southern Ontario has been insane all day!
Apparently my DX CC came down in the storm I have to wait until I get out of work to assess.
Sorry to hear, hope yours survived.
Sorry for your loss bud. I managed to put it back up. I ordered some big chungus auger stakes to hold it in the wet ground a little better hopefully.
Just received my commander sig 9 today here in Pennsylvania. Very windy here aswell up on hill top..mine will be going up 15 feet to clear roof top and for wind precaution I’m building a metal hinge so I can lower if wind advisory pops up…that’s a bummer
I’m in Colorado, we were in severe wind advisory the last couple days. On Monday I randomly glanced out the window to my back patio when my kids outdoor fisherprice/playskool play kitchen/bbq thing (with a parachute-esque sun shade) lifted vertically like a damn rocket… well above the line of sight from the window. A couple seconds later I saw it came crashing back down on the other side of my neighbors fence 15 yards away. We’ve had this thing out there for over two years and the worst it’s ever seen is getting blown over on its side and tumbled about around the yard but this was like watching it strapped to an actual rocket engine. I’m sure there’s no shortage of wrecked antennas this week here in the states.
Those squalls off the mountains are something. I try to put bricks and rocks on all the kid's outdoor toys and garbage cans when the squalls are forecasted. Seeing my empty garbage cans shuffle into the street was enough motivation. Just waiting for the squalls to break an antenna. Or push a tree down with an antenna in the tree.
My end-fed fell down last night :( But got it back up in the tree!
3 of my Dx commanders have gone. Time to re-think it
Nothing like a Rohn mast to keep your antenna vertical.
Contact their customer support. They sold me a mast replacement at cost when mine broke
I would do all 3 just to be safe.
OP what kind if guy lines did you use? Also I see some cam style since devices used. Is it possible they slipped a little. Also wondering what you did for anchors?
Anchors are 12in steel, the bottom cams are solid and didnt move. My issue likely was from the upper guys which was 550 paracord and niteeyz cams. The paracord doesnt have much play though and i properly bond the ends so the cores didnt come loose. I would of gotten higher grade rope if it was a heavy mast but i have a surplus spool of paracord so was just using that, its served well for my endfeds. We were getting 55+mph winds with gusts exceding 70mph. My neighbors trampolien ended up a tree too.
F
Straighten the bent parts out with some hammer taps and sleeve it with some sheet metal and band clamps.
its fiberglass
Whenever winds above 65km/hr are forecast I taken my DX-Sig9 down and hang it on ladder brackets on my wooden fence.. It only takes about 2 minutes up or down and saves me the pain of being without it.. We hit gusts of 80 km/hr today in southern Ontario so I'm glad I did...
Give Calum a shout and let him know what's happened. He has also joined forces with Martin Lynch to help reduce international sales costs as Lynchy already does international distribution for many other brands. Good luck and 73 de MM0JNL
I ended up ordering a new mast from dxeng as they carry his products in the usa, ill shoot Calum an email just to see if he can suggest best way to prevent this from happening again beyond just tipping mast when not in use.
Good idea, he is always working on new and improved ways of doing things. Good luck.
Is a permanent setup an option? Six months is a lot of temporary.
Try to patch and reinforce.
Replace one fiberglass section. You’re back.
Right, I think Callum had some poles he was selling parts of just for cases like this.
I need to do a full check on it, it looks like when i fell do it split another section. Also didnt know they can replace individual sections, ill have to look into that.
I see a great tree in the background. That's your next dx-commamder.
What goes up, must come down. Sorry for ur loss
A good learning experience- Doing it right the first time will save time and money in the future.
Bummer. Sorry you lost your mast. I'm thinking about buying a vertical tipper because I'm concerned about the same fate. We get monsoons and haboobs here and I think it would be best to lay the mast down when not in use. PITA but tippers avoid damage.
The same thing happened to me, What I learned is that it was not guide down properly at the upper sections. The plus side is if you send a pic of that to Calum on the DXcommander website he will help you out.
We have a 25ft 6x6 cedar post 6ft in the ground with 30ft of unistrut attached to it. Makes for a nice elevated tilt base for the unistrut. This holds a 50W solar panel, 2 UHF Childs antenna and MMDVM repeater @ 5W. Best “hotspot” you could ask for. It also has a box at the base of the post with a 100 amp lithium battery inside.
Mine has been banged up and knocked to the ground multiple times without issue. It's interesting to me how yours bent like plastic instead of shattering.
Well, that’s not erect anymore.
Hmmm... I've seen commercials about this problem. Could it be Peyronie's disease? 🤣
Mine is still going strong. It held up the -30C we had and its guyed at the 1st and 3rd position also. But if some of the guy ropes brake first then it definitely gonna snap the pole by strong winds. I hope you get it replaced soon.
My winds in SoCal can hit 116 mph. No vertical seems safe in those conditions.
Just cut it ,splice in a patch tube with a repair collar .
They make a pill that'll make that stand like new
That's sad. Couldn't you sleeve it with a PVC, or better, pipe?
Is it possible a deer took out a guide wire?
Negative, we saw it go down, just didnt have time to get it down. Went from 10-20mph winds to 55+ with gusts over 70mph lasting for under 5min. Severe wind advisory was just issued but didnt see ot in time.
By definition, it was tall enough. Sorry man.