On our first visit to N4VLQ’s, we only found the problem–the little plastic standoff insulators on his Mosley Classic 33
had enlarged screw threads, At first, I thought I’d simply drill & re-tap new holes (moving from #10 to #12 machine screws). But after careful consideration, I decided not enough plastic would be left surrounding the threads, & suggested we simply replace them. So, Marc ordered the insulators & there we were today. Installing them on the DE took about 10 minutes. We replaced the rotator cable, then checked the rotator, & then hauled up the newly repaired DE. And thirty minutes later, all that was done. A quick check w/the MFJ showed a dead short! Flexing the PL-259 proved there was an intermittent connection, most likely caused by a fine thread of the braid being missed when I assembled the connector. That hasn’t happened to me in at least 10 years, but snakebit today I was, to paraphrase old Yoda. The 2nd try was a success, & Marc is once more on the air. Tomorrow, off to Virginia Beach, to do a survey
& retrieve a roofmount tower.
Up next: Florida
stay tuned…
