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The first MARCONI HF MEMORIAL CONTEST

Subject: The first MARCONI HF MEMORIAL CONTEST
From: JKAHRS@delphi.com (JKAHRS@delphi.com)
Date: Tue May 14 23:36:43 1996
On 13-MAY-1996 11:39:42.0 publinet said to JKAHRS
   > The First MARCONI MEMORIAL CONTEST HF
   > 1) Aim:  The  MARCONI  MEMORIAL  CONTEST  HF commemorates  the
   > II Century of RADIO and its  father: GUGLIELMO MARCONI. It's a
   > world-wide competition: everybody can work everybody, only CW.
   > 2) Date and time: Every IV full week-end of June from 1400 Utc
   > Saturday  till  1400  Utc  Sunday.  In  1996  it  will  be  on
   > 22-23 June.

My Dear Luciano,

I hope you realize that this is the same weekend (4th full weekend in the
month of June) that the ARRL conducts its Field Day.  This is an contest or
operating event that will find the bands crowded with stations trying to
make QSOs.  Perhaps a week slip in either direction might lead to a
sucessfull first event.  In any case ....GL!

73, Hank/K2UVG
FD Chairman
Playground ARC and Twin Cities ARC, Florida
jkahrs@delphi.com


<big snip>
   > IL PRESIDENTE SEZIONE  A.R.I.  FANO
   > LUCIANO   NUCCI
   > IK6QQK

>From harpole@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu (Charles H. Harpole)  Wed May 15 05:13:38 1996
From: harpole@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu (Charles H. Harpole) (Charles H. Harpole)
Subject: This Bolt Business!!!
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.93.960515000546.7015F-100000@Pegasus>

Kurt and all,
Yes, I started the tower leg bolt question, really in naive seriousness,
but when the first guy said simply, "Buy them from Rohn" I smaked my silly
pointed head and said to my self, "That's the ticket!"
Then, the sum of all replied to date is:

Stainless is in question in this application, altho a minority said they
either use SS or would do so next time.  One guy aveered that SS turns to
dust upon contact with alumn.  Don't all things turn to dust eventually?

Best and most frequent answer was to Buy Rohn Bolts and be sure they are
hot dipped galvanized.  Rohn uses tiny threads, correct length and
diameter, and hot dipped galvanized, so go there, fellow tower lovers.

Many thanks to all for thoughtful replied, including counting the raised
marks on the heads of bolts and adding two to get their standards quality
(and use #5s made in USA, they said).

After the bolt thing took a life of its own, I did indulge in a little
timorous chuckle, as is my shy wont.

So far, very few answers on Timewave and JPS.  Maybe everyone already
purchased a DSP transceiver?   73, K4VUD


>From zs6brh@global.co.za (Keith Radue)  Wed May 15 14:59:45 1996
From: zs6brh@global.co.za (Keith Radue) (Keith Radue)
Subject: ZS6BRH  -   E-Mail address change
Message-ID: <3199E351.12EA@global.co.za>

Sorry for the bandwidth, but have been unable to "unsubscribe" my old 
E-Mail address from this reflector. Any help would be appreciated.

Old E-Mail         zs6brh@docnet.infolink.co.za

NEW E-Mail         zs6brh@global.co.za

>From aa7bg@initco.net (AA7BG Matt Trott)  Wed May 15 06:01:06 1996
From: aa7bg@initco.net (AA7BG Matt Trott) (AA7BG Matt Trott)
Subject: This Bolt Business!!!
Message-ID: <199605150501.XAA27345@zeus.initco.net>


>Now I feel better.  See you at Dayton so I can collect all those
>beers for the copies of "Battle of the Hams" that I sent out.

Uh Oh, I am red-faced. I sure appreciated that article Kurt and I meant to
send you a couple o' bucks for your trouble. I won't be at Dayton this year,
but hope to in years hence and would love to buy you a barley pop then if
you'll gimme a rain-check! I shared the article with our ham club.

Thanks very much for your efforts. I enjoyed it very much.

73, Matt
----------------------------------------------------------------------
AA7BG                      aa7bg@3rivers.net                Matt Trott
----------------------------------------------------------------------


>From aa7bg@initco.net (AA7BG Matt Trott)  Wed May 15 06:01:12 1996
From: aa7bg@initco.net (AA7BG Matt Trott) (AA7BG Matt Trott)
Subject: Sum:10/40 closed spaced stack
Message-ID: <199605150501.XAA27351@zeus.initco.net>

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I have a 105CA at 125' and a 402CD at 115'.  Both the computer and real
world suggest that there is very little interaction at 10'.  At 6' there is
some interaction, but probably not enough to worry about...  You'll lose
about 1/2 DB of gain.  

73

Bill

-----------------------------------------------------
      My opinion is that the antennas probably won't even see each other.
 Someone who has access to an antenna modeling program can give you more
specific info.  Since the 105 is the 4th harmonic, I don't think you'll have
any problems.
>
>          (2) What's the general consensus on pinning the booms to the mast?
>              What does this do to the integrity of the boom? mast?

      I wouldn't bother pinning the booms.  First, it'll take you forever to
drill through the VERY HARD mast.  Secondly, antenna system rotation is due
to mast slipping in rotato, NOT antennas on mast.  The Hy-Gain boom-to-mast
clamps will never slip.  I would upgrade the Cushcraft plate to something
more substantial.  If you're still worried, add another U-bolt and saddle -
more friction.

      I'm also not a big fan of pinning the mast to the rotator.  Instead of
the forces turning harmlessly, a pinned mast will find the next weak link in
the chain and it's usually the gears or brake of the rotator.  It's easier to
re-align the mast than replace a busted rotator.

73 and good luck.  Sounds like fun!    Steve   K7LXC

----------------------------------------------------------

Hi MAtt...I have Cushcraft 2el 40 at 160' and HG105 at 154' only
6 feet apart....maybe not the same the HiGain 40???? mine seems
to work OK.....the 10 mtr antenna at that height is a BOMB !!
73 good luck...de John K9UWA

------------------------------------------------------------

We have been using a 40-2CD with a 10-4 above it for a couple of years
now....seperated about 5 or 6 feet. It has been a rather successful
combination! The antennas are modified mechanically only, their electrical
designs are as per Cushcraft.

The 40 beam has to its claim a #4 SS CW finish, and it looks like the 10
meter beam might have a #1 finish in the 10 meter contest. I would say don't
worry about these two, based on my experience.

If you wanna see what they look like check out my slide show at the Dayton
contest forum this coming weekend.

73,

Jim  K1ZX             k1zx@contesting.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I use a 3 el 40 with a 105BA about 8' above it.  The 40 meter beam is made
from 402BA elements that have been extended slightly.  It does use the same
insulators and loading lines(now slightly shorter because the elements are
longer) as the stock 402BA.  I had to rotate the 105BA 90 degrees to the
side to prevent interaction between the two.  40 was never bothered, but the
SWR on the 105BA was too high and the SWR curve had a double dip in it.
After the 90 degree turn, the 105BA dropped down to 1:1 at resonance and
plays very well.  One other thing, right after putting up the 105BA I had
strange intermittent problems.  Turned out the coaxial choke at the
feedpoint was arcing to the boom at a point several turns back from the
feed.  Replaced it and it did it again.  I finally put up another choke
balun and insulated it from the boom with a piece of 3/8" thick plastic of
unknown ancestry and that fixed it.  Since I never heard of this happening
before and I have used other 105BA's without any problems, I suspect this
was also due to some interaction between the 40 and the 10, but I have no
way of knowing exactly.  Anyway, if you have any SWR or arcing problems you
might want to swing that 10 at right angles and see if that cures your problems.

                                Dan KL7Y
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have my 105CA seven feet above my 40-2CD.  (105CA @ 141ft, 40-2CD @ 134ft)
No problems noted.

Keeping the 105CA 15-16 feet away from (above) the 205CA is the HiGain spec.

I'd worry more about the spacing of the 40-2CD and the 205CA, but modeling
it will tell you the answer better than asking it here.

I have little experience with the pinning of booms.  I use the HiGain clamp
on my 105CA, but I do not pin it to the 2 inch mast.  Haven't had a bit of
problems with it.  The 155CA and 205CA I have are on ring rotors, so don't
know what would happen on a mast.


Bill, N3RR

--------------------------------------------------------------
My opinion is Don't Pin. Let the mast slip in the rotator. I'd rather 
replace the coax pigtail than have to ship a bag of rotator parts
to CATS...

-Tony, K1KP, fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com

Modeling will tell you about the interaction of any antenna combination,
as has been said.  I had a  6el KLM 10m about 8' above a 6el KLM 15m on a Rohn
25G tower (48').  I did this before the days of modeling S/W.  Worked great.
Later, I modeling and saw there was a lot of interaction even at 20' of
seperation.  I couldn't have mounted things differently, but it worked.  Moral,
sometimes you have to compromise.

        What I really am sending this for is to advise you to symmetrize the
booms of the antennas.  By that, I mean to mount the booms in their physical
center so there is an equal amount of boom fore and aft of the rotor mast.  This
will reduce the rotational stresses on the rotor to near zero.  You can do this
by adding a length of boom material on the "short" end.  This will allow you to
still mount the antenna at the CG but still at  the physical center of the boom.
This should eliminate the need to pin anything.  I pinned the rotor mast of my
6el KLM 20m and 2el 40m array, and, as Steve (K7LXC) says, the forces found the
next weak link (the output ring gear).  When I fixed that (went from a cast gear
to a solid steel one), the forces found the next weak link (the key on the ouput
shaft).  The solution is to reduce the rotational torque forces to near zero by
symmetrizing the booms (or by getting the biggest rotor ever made!).  I say near
zero because the elements will introduce some torque because of their offset.
There was a short article on this subject in the DX Magazine by Dick Weber,
K5IU, of Rotating Tower Systems some time last year.  This was a boiled down
version of a more extension pair of articles he wrote in Communications
Quarterly a number of years ago.  If you would like the references, let me know.
I will have to dig them out.  Makes for very interesting reading.

        Hope this helps.

Bob, W9UI.

-------------
Thanks all for the input!
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AA7BG                      aa7bg@3rivers.net                Matt Trott
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>From dippel@rrze.uni-erlangen.de (Dieter Dippel)  Wed May 15 10:01:27 1996
From: dippel@rrze.uni-erlangen.de (Dieter Dippel) (Dieter Dippel)
Subject: DL Callbook Lookup-Server
Message-ID: <233EE7B7114@isis.rrze.uni-erlangen.de>

Hello everybody,
if you are looking for addresses of German radio-amateurs ... ?????

Try the following URL:

http://www.systemtechnik.tu-Ilmenau.de/ham/dl_calls.html

It's an inofficial DL Callbook lookup ..... 

73 es lot of success

Dieter, DF4RD
(Member of the Bavarian Contest Club)



>From scole@rhubarb.cyborg.bt.co.uk (STEVE COLE)  Wed May 15 09:34:15 1996
From: scole@rhubarb.cyborg.bt.co.uk (STEVE COLE) (STEVE COLE)
Subject: Stainless-Steel
Message-ID: <9605150834.AA05850@rhubarb>

To:      cq-contest@TGV.com 
Subject: Stainless-Steel

Hi All

For what it`s worth - here in the UK the professional broadcasters
will *ONLY* permit stainless-steel fasteners, i.e. studding and then
there are many different types (standards) of stainless-steel,
typical are "A2" and "A4"

"A2" is used for installations on towers owned by the BBC, NTL and BT.

"A4" is the molybdenum bearing stainless steel designed for applications
involving severe corrosion conditions, it`s not recommended for
high temperature situations.

Btw, when working on your tower *DO-NOT* "crank-up the bolts `til
they`re tight", use a properly calibrated torque wrench.


                73 de Steve GW4BLE


                (Note new Email - now at home as:  GW4BLE@aol.com)

>From wu4g@usa.pipeline.com (Ronnie A. Bolton)  Wed May 15 11:44:28 1996
From: wu4g@usa.pipeline.com (Ronnie A. Bolton) (Ronnie A. Bolton)
Subject: 402BA Blues
Message-ID: <199605151044.KAA08378@pipe13.h1.usa.pipeline.com>

Mine acted in the same fashion.  My tower is only 45' and the 402 resonates
way above what it should.  I talked with the previous owner, who said it
resonated fine for him at the height of 90' so I suspect it is related to
height above ground.  I took a scrap piece of aluminum electrical cable
used for drops to a panel box and unwound the strands.  I made an
enlongated but narrow U approx 16" in length.  After cleaning the element
tips and the wire from oxidation I attached this U to the end of each
element with a hose clamp.  The reason I used the U instead of just
attaching a piece of straight wire, was to attempt to keep the approx. same
cross section in size of the element. By loosening the hose clamp the U may
be "tromboned" in/out until you get the resonance to settle where you wish.
 I realize this isn't an exact way to retune the antenna as you will notice
you won't get a perfect match any more (I think the lowest swr is now
1.3:1)but it does work.  Maybe one day I will put the 402 on a taller tower
and will be able to determine if the distance above ground is the cause. 
Interesting you show the same experience. 
73 
Ron 

>From va3wto@pathcom.com (VA3WTO,Rui)  Wed May 15 12:38:12 1996
From: va3wto@pathcom.com (VA3WTO,Rui) (VA3WTO,Rui)
Subject: TVI PROBLEM PLEASE HELP.
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19960515113812.0067e110@pathway1.pathcom.com>

Hello dear friend`s i will like to ask for a litle bit of your time on
solving a 
tvi problem,the next door as some tvi problem`s wen i turn the antenna in to
is qth,i`am using only 100 w and a 2 elem quad at 48 feet,i will like to
inform that i will be changing the ant system to monobander`s and they will
be then at 60 feet, i hope this help`s a bit,at my place and my sister`s
there is no rfi at all(my sister`s it is the house on the left,the tvi
problem it is the house on the right) may be faulty tv cable?????,he as a
brand new tv and vcr.
In advance i will like to tank you all for any possibel help.
tank you and 73 de Rui. 
****************************************************************************
           VA3WTO                                  Email: va3wto@pathcom.com
    / / /  Rui Wittwer                             Phone:416 656-5728           
   / / /   307 Caledonia rd                            
  \ / /    Toronto Ontario      VA3WTO is a member of the VA3SK contest team
 / \ /     M6E-4T4 Canada       please call us at the major Contests  
/ /|\
 / /
/ /|
 / |
/  | 
   |  
   |
**************************************************************************** 


>From jfeustle@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU (jfeustle)  Wed May 15 13:55:50 1996
From: jfeustle@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU (jfeustle) (jfeustle)
Subject: BIG bolts
Message-ID: <01I4Q731F1GO00JI8S@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU>

I checked with the guys in the Big Bolt r&d section about this issue of
bolts, one that has gone on, and on, and on. Well, they recommend a product
they are developing--somewhat similar to their adaptation of Desenz for
Beverage antennas--called "tower condoms." Evidently two models are in the
works: (1) for towers 45 ft. and shorter, code name "Stubby," and (2) for
towers 150 ft. and above, code name "Big Johnson." Use of either will
eliminate all concern for degradation of bolts and other tower materials. By
the way, they tell me that the "Big Johnson" is ribbed for greater dx
pleasure. A French version may be developed later with an external
capacitance hat. Oh, they supposedly prevent the CQ, CQ, CQ, virus so
rampant on 160 this contest year.

The Big Bolt enforcement division recommends something not yet type-approved
for use in the amateur service for those areas, like Georgia clay, where it
can be truly taxing to drive ground rods: shaped charges.

73,
N8AAT, a founding member of the Big Bolt contest group.
-------------------------------------------------
Joseph A. Feustle, Jr.
The University of Toledo    

jfeustle@uoft02.utoledo.edu
-------------------------------------------------


>From n4kw@citrus.infi.net (Pete Raymond)  Wed May 15 13:42:09 1996
From: n4kw@citrus.infi.net (Pete Raymond) (Pete Raymond)
Subject: Smoke Detector/Side Tone
Message-ID: <199605151242.IAA26033@mh004.infi.net>

While reading about the encounters with touch control lamps it brings me
back to the 1992 CQ CW DXcontest.
At the time I lived in a town house with dipoles for 40 thru 10 in the
attic.  It was about 2AM when I noticed red flashing light streaking across
my walls.  I removed my earphones and went to the window.  I was suprised to
see a firetruck with firemen runing into the neighbors unit.  I did not want
them to see me checking them out so I kept out of sight and tried to listen
to what was being said.  After a while the last man came out while talking
to the ower, "not sure what to make of it maam, the smoke detectors look
fine, and I'm not sure why they would have fast bursts of beeps."  At times
my smoke detectors would all go in unison when I was on 40meters but I never
thought about the neighbors.  And of course I never talked about amateur
radio to my neighbors.  Anyway I qsy'd back to 20meters and forgot about 40
and moved the following year.  Talk about side tone!  73 Pete N4KW


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