[amsat-bb] Boom For Satellite Array

[kb2mjeff at att.net]

;The bad, and suprising, is that after it was up for 4 years here in Tennessee, I noticed some "glitter" under the array on the roof.  The protective coating had spalled off, leaving the very itchy fiberglass exposed.  For now, when I work on it I use gloves and a long sleeve shirt.
At some point, I will probably paint some sealer, but that will require mostly removing all the antennas and cables.
Alan
;WA4SCA

 My fiberglass boom also started to splinter after being up about 10 years. When I re did my sat array at that time I used gelcoat to coat the raw Fiberglas boom. It goes on  as thick as you want, and sets up quickly. Also paint it black, it will last longer in the sun. Another input on this subject is you can buy fiberglas rod in lengths up to 12 foot or so. I picked my 12 footer up somewhere in PA years ago as at that length it wasn't shippable by normal means. A lot cheaper to buy it that way. My 2m, 70cm large size KLM's, 55 L 1.2 gig, and a 4 foot dish mounted very nicely on the 12 foot boom. The good old days... 😊 

73 Jeff kb2m