On-going troubles with N2ZZ’s 3L SteppIR were resolved today. Turned out to be a wiring mistake made during initial construction.
The fix was for me to remove the beam from the PVRC mount, twist & lower the boom down the tower, so KI4TZ could reach & removed the EHU. We lowered that to ground; Joe climbed down & opened it up, finding the problem & attaching the needed wire. The beam went back together easily, with me still up top, holding the boom in the proper position. The only fun part was getting it back up & on to the PVRC mount.
The layout I used has the coax feedline running THROUGH the horizonal boom of the PVRC mount, so this required me to use one hand to thread the coax through the mounting U-bolts, while another lifted the boom onto the mount, with my third hand sliding the beam up & on to the mount itself. See? It’s good work if you can get it. Not everyone can. Jim tested the beam & was immediately pleased with its performance.
We headed home, me even more pleased that the SteppIIR was finally working correctly at last.
Next up, more local projects.
stay tuned…
