Started this thread that can be used to report current and future storm damage suffered by chasers…
In North East England we had strong gusts overnight from Storm Otto. I lost the top wire from my 160m Inverted L antenna. This wire comes off a 10m HD fishing pole fixed in the top at 10m in a beech tree. The remaining vertical part of the antenna without the loading wire is now resonant on 4 MHz!
It means climbing the tree, removing the pole to ground level so I can replace or splice the existing wire and then refit the pole back into the tree with HD velcro straps and HD cable ties. This is the first breakage since 2017 when the aerial was installed.
Sorry to hear about the damage, Phil. Winds in excess of 75mph here in Aberdeenshire overnight and a power cut from the early hours until lunchtime. Thankfully, I lowered the G5RV yesterday in anticipation of trouble and also took down my 2m colinear and 4m delta loop. Was reduced to SWL-ing indoors on the FT818 and a WonderWand mini telescopic antenna this morning! Thankfully, things easing (despite snow and ice forecast) so back chasing (and activating) very soon when everything goes back up. Stay safe everyone.
My 40m long doublet is anchored to the house one end, a central support of a roach pole, and the far end in a tree which has been shaped to keep minor flexible branches away from it. Despite this I have had to repair it a few times in the last twenty years, trees are too flexible even with the bungee that is part of the system! No trouble last night, the anticyclone remained in charge here, just a light breeze, but sooner or later I will have to renew the kernmantle rope.
@G4OBK Storm Arwyn had me by surprise last winter Phil. I lived on a hill at the time very near ‘Garreg Hir’ GW/MW-017, so my wind levels were fierce.
The storm managed to snap a 48in, 5mm thick aluminium pole with my Sirio 2016 10m vertical on. The doublet was connected to the base of antenna on a pulley, that snapped! It also snapped my other 48in aluminium pole with the Diamond X700 on I was off air for a good week!
At Easter 2022 I was considering a walk with family in Thrunton Woods near Rothbury (Northumberland) with a view to making a convenient lunch stop on Long Crag G/SB-008. Unfortunately all the routes from our start point were closed with whole swathes of trees felled. I was pleased I hadn’t bothered to set up any antennas at the /A address on the Northumberland coast. After the storm I decided not to bother… my portable set up would suffice.
Down south my lowly 40m dipole was dancing up and down in Storm Arwen - over a metre at the centre point, but I was more concerned about structural damage to the house as the antenna has a bungie cord suspension system. Thankfully zero damage. Neighbours lost many fences and a few tiles.
I was off air for a good week!
