Some years ago, I had the problem of ants taking over the 21mhz trap of a
ground mounted Hygain 18AVQ/WB ground mounted vertical overnight. I had set
the vertical up on the grass lawn to try it out, prior to then moving it up
to the rooftop. It was pure chance that I decided to run one more resonance
check before lifting it to the roof. I had to dismantle the trap and clear
the ants from the trap interior, from memory; they were none too pleased
with my intrusion.
However, having had that experience with insects, I dismantled all the
traps, tightly wrapped 0.5 inch ptfe plumbers tape over the inductor of each
trap, reassembled the traps, and plugged the open ends using fine fibre
glass mat, this keeps the insects out and lets the trap ventilate.
The use of glass fibre mat may be the solution you are looking for.
I hope this may be of interest. 73, John G3JVC/GM3JVC.
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Kelly Taylor
Sent: 27 September 2010 14:07
To: Ryan Jairam; Steve Daniel
Cc: TowerTalk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] SteppIR vertical
If they are entering from below, I would suspect it's not through a hole
that is a design flaw, but rather a hole designed as a moisture vent. I'd
think if that was the case, screening the hole is a better idea than sealing
it.
Most of the other vertical antennas with tuning boxes at the bottom (whether
mechanical (Steppir) or electrical (R5, R6000, etc) use these holes to allow
water to escape. The water isn't from leaks but from condensation.
73, kelly
ve4xt
On 9/26/10 1:44 PM, "Ryan Jairam" <rjairam@gmail.com> wrote:
> How about some compressed air?
>
> I would be wary of cleaning out with any sort of liquid.
>
> I would look at sealing it up properly if you think they are entering
> from below.
>
> Ryan, N2RJ
>
> On Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 10:35 AM, Steve Daniel <nn4t@comcast.net> wrote:
>> Good morning. I have the 6-40 meter vertical which, until recently, has
>> worked well. Suddenly, I was hearing nothing. The element seems to cycle
>> properly but no signals.
>> After checking the coax and finding no problem I opened the unit at the
>> bottom of the antenna to find it full of ants and not a few small
spiders.
>> The gasket was in good repair so they must be entering from underneath
>> somehow. My question is this. How can I clean out the mess they have left
>> without damaging the motor? Can I use an insecticide to kill the little
>> critters? Can I hose out the unit, allow it to dry, try to determine the
>> entry point and then plug it? Then perhaps I can determine what the
>> electrical problem is. I am just not sure how aggressive I can be in
cleaning
>> the unit. If anyone has any experience or suggestions I would certainly
>> appreciate the input. 73, Steve, NN4T.
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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