I have several Ringo's- 70 cm, 2 and 6 metre models- and once one for 10--- and have used them for many years.
The six metre one-- of interest here, has performed flawlessly ever since it was put up.
Once it was assembled everything was then coated in a marine varnish, which has it looking as pristine today as when it came out of the box.
(Now granted- I'm in a dry cool climate where things just don't rust or corrode, but we do have long arctic winters that take their tolls in many other ways.)
During this last ARRL June VHF contest I talked to over two dozen stations on 6 ------> an Icom 575 transceiver at 10 watts into the Ringo on a mast 10 feet high*, 40 feet of Belden 8213 coax**--- I had a virtual 'pipe-line to the west coast for most of the little part of the event I participated in. What was great was that with only two or three exceptions, every station I called answered on the first go...... of course that is the nature of Six-- but it still speaks highly of a modest QRP radio into that 5/8 wave vertical.
I would recommend one any day
Lauri
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* Up here anything stuck tantalizing-ly into the air becomes a tease for lightning. The Ringo is at DC ground potential which seems to dissapate the St. Elmo's Fire we often see about other metallic objects. Its not much of an assurance but I like that this lightning rod is semi ground'd.
**(I know, this is 75 Ohm line, but it works fine and whose counting?
)