So, here we are– playing catch up. Seemingly the usual story on this blog.
Some work updates (for those interested readers who find ham radio towers fascinating subject matter): A quick dash to W4CYS, where the Prosistel was in error mode constantly. Foolishly, I assumed (since I could not read it at the ground) the pot had to be bad. So, I removed the rotator. But on the test bench, everything tested fine, once we’d rotated it back into the proper range. Hindsight being what it is (20/20), I SHOULD have installed a new, lower value pot, but kept the original 10K pot instead (of course, I didn’t have a 200 ohm pot on hand…). Once back in the tower, everything checked out fine. Then, on to our second problem—the 40M beam (an XM-240) needed a new feedline jumper. W2GD hauled himself up the mast & stood on the 6M boom & we tilted the XM over & down & I installed the feedline, along with riveting the tip back on to the reflector (which had somehow come loose & fallen). New feedline jumpers went on the 6M & the C-31 beam, too, replacing those the client originally supplied, which were old & suspect. All seemed well until we got to the ground & found NO 40M antenna present at the DXE switchbox! Working our way back, I found the connector on the LDF4-50 feedline (again, older material the client had supplied) to be intermittent. So, a temporary fix (cable ties) proved the beam & jumpers were both working fine. New cardinal rule: NO OLD CABLE to be used during new tower installations~! The Prosistel now reads “off” by 50 degrees, so there must be moisture in the cable. This will require another trip up the tower to remove the rotator & to replace the pot with a low value version. Another new cardinal rule: IF the Prosistel is on-the-ground or bench, replace that 10K pot~!
A quick dash home, then down to N2ZZ’s, where his 25G had fallen over in his backyard. Resolving this installation will require everything I know about tower work, along with salesmanship skills, political debating, & perhaps religious overtures. Five minutes after arriving, a khaki-suited individual carrying a clipboard walked in to Jim’s backyard to issue me a citation for NOT HAVING an Aiken (SC) city business sticker on the windshield of my truck! It took 45 minutes to talk the guy out of giving me that ticket, but common sense finally prevailed. Highlight of the day? The guy’s exaggerated “tearing up” of the ticket, after I said I didn’t think I’d be coming back to Aiken any time soon.
This past week found W2GD & I back out in Peoria, IL–this time to install the OWAs for K9CT. I love working with big stuff, & these Yagis remain a personal favorite. The attention to detail by vendor W3TX has improved since we built these beams down at NR5M’s a few years back. Very nice materials used throughout & all smooth assembly. We began with the two 40M beams, moved to the 20M three stack, & ended with the 15M three stack. Stan, K5GO, arrived in mid-week with the 3L 80M Yagi he had built for Craig. In a word, BIG–58-foot boom & near-90-foot elements! Stan has done a superb job of building; every part is first class & the level of detail is impressive. Even WB9Z (who drove down just to LOOK at the thing), was impressed. That, along with the 10M three stack, will go up during our next trip in a few weeks.
The final antennas to go up were a pair of SteppIRs, their new DB-42 (trombone style), installed at 70 & 140 feet, probably the first stack of these in the world. Craig’s intent is to use them as multiplier antennas for multi-op contesting. Should prove interesting.
Home this afternoon, & playing catch up now on this end–emails, correspondence, bills, the mail, & so forth.
stay tuned…
