Hi towertalkians,
Hope you all had a good contest weekend. Its time to regain your voice :)
Having gone thru raising my beam just yesterday, here is what i did.
I had searched the archives and read a number of threads
related to determining TRUE NORTH. I did read a lot of jokes :)
I have a magnetic compass. The type that has a type of cross-hair, but only
one in the vertical plane to measure degrees. The earth is tilting slightly to
the
right. The magnetic needle in the compass is going to align along the tilt.
The compass has a small line and a big line on the glass dial. So i made one of
the lines
align along the magnetic north. The other line was to the left of this line. So
this
other line is the True North. I placed the compass on the lawn. I then placed a
stick along the true north and sprayed some paint along the line.
I climbed up the tower and a friend helped me align the boom along the line.
This morning, i had the antenna aimed South and answered a call from VU2AU. He
came right
back and asked about my antenna. He was copying me S5.
When i mentioned it was a beam, he asked me to point it South - South West.
I reaimed the beam and voila. He was copying me S9.
But the difference in my receive was only 2 S units. So i guess, atleast with a
tribander, it does not matter as much. Moreover, this cheapo compass did the
job.
Now i need to get used to aiming the beam properly :)
73's
krish
w4/vu2vku
Tom Rauch wrote:
> Are there any reasonably priced devices for laying out wire
> antennas or tower and guy lines, so the direction heading is
> accurate? What I'm interested in is something that uses magnetic
> north or maybe even GPS to get precise direction references, like a
> surveyor might use.
>
> Any idea what they are called, what they cost, and where they are
> sold?
> 73, Tom W8JI
> W8JI@contesting.com
>
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List Sponsored by AN Wireless: AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
Trylon Titan towers, coax, hardline and more. Also check out our self
supporting towers up to 100 feet for under $1500!! http://www.anwireless.com
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
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