A Little Windy Last Night!

[catthepatch]

Walked by my BUD a couple of times this morning before I noticed the damage. The polar mount broke and the dish was just hanging on by the elevation bolt, actuator and a small peice of metal. Got it all down and apart today and will be pulling the pole tomorrow and re tapping some anti-twist bolts. Will have to get some more quickcrete, a new elevation bolt and some straightening and welding done. Here are some pics of the damage:


Happy Testing!!!

 

[catthepatch]

Was wanting to redo the pole since the anti-twist pin broke last year and wasn't getting around to it any time soon until now! Hopefully I can get the polar mount straightened and welded good enough in town. After I put in the new pole it won't take too long to put the dish back up and tune it in. Will have to get on putting the pole up first as once the pole is in I can take my time with the dish.

Happy Testing!!!

 

[primestar31]

You know, I used to drill through my mounts and use all-thread as an anti-spin. Until I finally realized that IF there was a wind great enough to spin the dish, it's best to allow the whole thing to spin! It'll naturally spin OUT of the wind like a properly built electric windmill, and protect the dish.

Later, I can always spin the dish right back to where it belongs, due to scored marks between the mount and the pole.

 

[Babadem]

You know, I used to drill through my mounts and use all-thread as an anti-spin. Until I finally realized that IF there was a wind great enough to spin the dish, it's best to allow the whole thing to spin! It'll naturally spin OUT of the wind like a properly built electric windmill, and protect the dish.

Later, I can always spin the dish right back to where it belongs, due to scored marks between the mount and the pole.

You must be joking with this your recommendations, right? After about three to four spins how well do you think your mount will be plumb?

 

[primestar31]

You must be joking with this your recommendations, right? After about three to four spins how well do you think your mount will be plumb?

No joke, what are you talking about? Why would you think the mount would ever spin 3 or 4 times? First of all the mount bolts are tightened down against the pole so it can't spin without extreme winds, say 100mph. If you have those sorts of winds blowing against it, it's best to let the mount spin on the pole out of the wind if it can. That's about 1/2 of a turn of the mount, maybe a couple inches at most and it stops because it's now out of the wind.

Now, if he's talking about the bolt you put through near the bottom of the pole that's cemented in to keep the entire POLE from spinning in the cement, then yes I still do that. If there's enough wind to even spin your pole, then there's not much you can do to stop it except repair it after it's all over.

 

[FaT Air]

If you're expecting hurricane force winds, do as all the radio telescopes do, Aim it straight up. Think about it. Yeah, the smallest possible surface is exposed to the wind. "edge on"
Allowing it to spin on the pole will let it spin until the highest surface area is exposed. Yeah, it's the back of the dish, but the greatest force will be applied to the pole.
I wouldn't recommend 'pinning' the mount on the pole. as an unexpected wind may damage the dish/pole/mount if it cant spin a bit.

 

[Babadem]

No joke, what are you talking about? Why would you think the mount would ever spin 3 or 4 times? First of all the mount bolts are tightened down against the pole so it can't spin without extreme winds, say 100mph. If you have those sorts of winds blowing against it, it's best to let the mount spin on the pole out of the wind if it can. That's about 1/2 of a turn of the mount, maybe a couple inches at most and it stops because it's now out of the wind.

Now, if he's talking about the bolt you put through near the bottom of the pole that's cemented in to keep the entire POLE from spinning in the cement, then yes I still do that. If there's enough wind to even spin your pole, then there's not much you can do to stop it except repair it after it's all over.

@ the Red Highlighted: That's what I thought you were referring to in your initial post. No harm done. Carry on!

 

[Lone Gunman]

Hummm, I've got one of those Unimesh dishes. When I had mine mounted on that post on my trailer, we had a wind storm that actually moved the trailer about two feet into another trailer that was parked behind the one the dish was on so they make good sails!

After looking at your damage, I do think I'll look closely at mine to see if there's anything in that area that I can beef up to prevent that from happening here.

Good luck with your repairs BTW.