Aerial and Wind Vane question

kevsbox

kevsbox

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 Jun 2020
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212
Location
Portsmouth, UK
www.kevsbox.com
Our Aerial and Wind Vane combo is currently laying on its side, this photo shows it in better days.
I need to get up and replace/fix but my question is what holds these in place?
Is it a bolt underneath?
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It's not clear from your photo whether the aerial is loose on the bracket, the bracket is loose on the top of the mast, or the bracket is broken.

Normally the extending bracket on which the aerial is mounted would be either screwed or bolted on to the flat top of the mast; the aerial goes through a hole in the bracket (which may or may not have a slot from the hole to the end of the bracket, to facilitate removal of the aerial without disturbing the bracket) and is clamped to it by a nut (the part of the bottom of the aerial going through the bracket has a male thread).
 
So this is how it looks at the moment, as you can see the aerial/vain is laying on its side and held in up there by the aerial cable I assume. The front part of the vain has broken off and just after noticing this I found the bolt near the cabin door, I am thinking it has possibly fallen out (never seen it before). So would I be correct in thinking I need a new bracket and aerial/vain? Are these a common size/fitting?

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That bolt has nothing to do with the aerial. What has probably happened is that the threaded bit of plastic tube below the mounting has broken off and the aerial is being held in place by the cable. This problem occurs when the nut is tightened by someone with more strength than brains. The aerial is not repairable.

It looks like a WindHawk and they are commonly available for about £80, in a pack complete with a new mount and cable, and maybe even a new PL259 plug.
 
If the cable is OK and it's only the plastic mount at the bottom which is broken slightly... then a temporary 'bodge' fix to get you by is to use self-amalgamating tape to secure (with a bit of of duck tape on top to avoid UV damage).
 
If it is like my Glomex aerial, there is a serrated washer between the large nut and the underside of the mounting bracket.

The nut size is 22mm a/f.
 
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