I purchased one of the latest runs off the assembly line of a Bencher
Skyhawk. There was a recall due to a balun problem. Some interesting
points I encountered were:
1. Each antenna element came separated in its own bag. Assembly time was
cut down tremendously as no hunting for parts occured in 40 F temps.
2. The boom pieces were NOT labeled. This took a bit extra time to locate
the sections, but they seem to only have ONE correct orientation.
3. Element positions are pre-drilled. No balancing of elements is
required to achieve parallel.
4. Rivets speed assembly of the tips. No measurements are required.
5. Two men started the job at 1:30 PM and finished assembly about 4:30 PM.
Unquestionably, this tribander has certain performance tradeoffs.
However, I give extremely high marks to the mechanical design. It was
about 1/5 the work of the X9 which I built earlier in the year. I plan to
have it up by the end of the month. Hopefully, electrical performance
will not be disappointing either.
David J. Rodman, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
State University of New York at Buffalo
FAX 716-859-4565
Office 716-854-1137
e-mail: rodman@acsu.buffalo.edu
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