Rigidity of Mounting Pole

Tempest Owners
1

Hi,

For some time I’ve had my Tempest mounted on a 1.25" OD PVC pipe about 4’ long. Recently I noticed in could vibrate in the wind up to 3 or 4 inches. I was wondering if this was a problem and perhaps the source of my occasional 2X or 4X expected wind speeds. I know we have NEVER had 200 mph winds in the last year, but my station has reported them.

Yesterday I replaced the pole with a 1.25" OD galvanized steel pipe. It is extremely rigid and I don’t really see any vibrations. What I did see was an immediate jump in wind speeds by about 20%. My only conclusion is the vibrations did affect windspeeds. I’ll watch, over the next few months, for any additional extreme wind events.

Paul

PS Maybe they need an electronic gyro in the weather station to counteract these effects.

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2

I also had mine on a 5 or so foot pvc pipe but I decided it was too low and could be shaded by some shrubs. I happen to have a 10 foot antenna mast in the basement that I never employed for another weather station. It is definitely more rigid and better exposed to the wind and maybe sunlight as foliage fills in. I also then routed the Power Booster wire through the hollow pole so neater looking, too.

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