Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 00:01:44 -0400
That's getting pretty close to the end of the shelf life. I can't remember when the company used to pitch it, but we could get it at the company store (no longer in existence) very cheap with a fair
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 04:58:57 -0400
And remember, flooded heat shrink is basically heat shrink tubing lined with hot glue. But a heat gun works pretty well up there. Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member) N833R - World's ol
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:42:54 -0400
I don't remember all of the numbers, but for Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) Silicone sealants both GE and Dow Corning produce equivelant products. You may have a problem finding the Dow Corning b
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:57:30 -0400
Single line should be easy to use. I use a single cable/wire rope with a pully riding on it. The beam hangs under the cable with the pully hook on one of the boom to mast clamp U-bolts. I've not foun
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 21:11:01 -0400
The main problem with these is once opened the caps don't really seal the tubes well. On top of that most of the RTV family of products reguardless of who makes them has a shelf life of about two yea
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:45:18 -0400
It depends on the soil. Here in central Michigan we have a mix, sand, sand lome, clay, clay lome, or in my yard it's about a foot of top soil covering alternating layers of pure clay and pure sand.
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:12:34 -0400
Well, the rotator is on the bench, the tri-bander sets on top of the tower held in place by C-clamps, the mast has been lowered to the point where the 7L 6-meter yagi is about 4 feet above the triban
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:48:06 -0400
A couple of thoughts on these verticals: Is there a specific reason for going with the short sections of tubing? You can purchase aviation grade Aluminum tubing in lengths up to around the 20 to 24 f
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 01:05:50 -0500
I don't know how they stack up for price, but they are handy Try DX Engineering at http://www.dxengineering.com/ Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member) N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 03:46:58 -0500
During the last period of glaciation Michigan was covered with ice up to two miles thick. There is a diagonal hinge line that runs from some where around Alpena on the upper NE side of the lower peni
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2006 14:02:47 -0500
The question was about QRN (natural), not QRM (man made). However QRN is predominately vertically polarized and in theory the inverted - V would hear more. In practice I doubt the user would be able
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 17:37:04 -0500
I'm replacing a bunch of the cables for VHF and UHF with LMR 600. I'd like to use the crimp connectors but haven't found any yet. The tool listed for RG-58 through LMR-400 didn't have a die set for L
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 17:41:11 -0500
Sorry to hear about the TIC problem ...again. When I drove by and saw the big antenna from the road I just though you had decided to do some work on it rather than having the decision made for you. I
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 18:35:34 -0500
If you are in that kind of environment I'd use the same stuff they use on the lower sides of cars called "chip guard". I'm not sure what it's made of, but it's a some what flexible plastic. It would
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:03:38 -0500
Antennas have always remained some what of a mystery to most of us which is probably why we like to experiment with them. It's also where we can *sometimes* get more return for the effort and money t
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:59:51 -0500
Well, I'll try again. I posted this about two hours ago but nothing turned up. The local hardware store had a device used to grab cables. It's based on a double cam typ lock. I hooked one of those to
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:43:03 -0500
I don't know how their prices compare but DX Engineering has them. http://www.dxengineering.com/ 73 Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member) N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2 www.rogerha
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:07:00 -0500
So far I've found this tool and the Amphenol crimping tool for $350 to $375 USD. plus die set. These two appear to be about the best I've found so far. N connectors are listed at $15 each while 7/16
Author: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:09:36 -0500
I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly, but I seem to be having a problem finding a source for the loos gages. As I have both the 4400 and 6600# test Phyllistran cables I need to size gages. The la