After a few years in the windy location in Taos, the consequences of the flimsy mechanical construction of this antenna become more evident. The picture shows the "gap" -- which is maybe 15 feet off of the ground. The four black spacers are supposed to be perpendicular to the main element and equally-spaced around the element. They certainly were when it was constructed. But there is no rigid positioning of these spacers -- they are held in place by friction and the force exerted by the hose clamp that you can see threaded through them. There are similar clamps farther down the antenna. As the antenna moves in the wind, the stubs are supposed to be loose enough through the spacers that forces are not exerted on the spacers. Clearly this is not the case.
If you look closely, you'll note that the wires connected the stubs are effected by this and that they're nearly shorting against the elements. The antenna will have to come down this summer and the stubs adjusted.
Click on the picture for a 1200x1792 (294,415 bytes) picture that more clearly shows the problem.
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