A 24 foot mast can be safely installed or removed with a 12 foot gin pole if a counterweight is placed near (not at) the bottom of the mast. The weight must be heavy enough to keep the mast nearly ve
Pete, If each of your connectors actually have .6 dB loss, they should be getting red hot! Are they extremely hot when u use that antenna? 73 Frank W3LPL donovanf@sgate.com -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.
I'll be in Sydney next weekend (Nov 8/9), and Canberra on Nov 10/11 if any of the VK1s and VK2s on the reflectors care to meet a visiting American! 73 Frank W3LPL donovanf@sgate.com -- FAQ on WWW: ht
Hi J.P. I've never had a good quality 3/8" galvanized steel anchor shackle fail on an AB-105 tower in 25 years, including a 125 MPH microburst. The size you decide to use depends on how conservative
Hi Jim! Sounds like quite a project u and your Dad have taken on! You never mention what type of tower legs you are putting the grips around, I just wanted to caution you that grips have a minimum be
Hi Mike! Glad to hear u are making preparations for what promises to be a fantastic contest season with the sudden but persistent resurgence of sunspot activity! 15M has been fantastic, and expect wo
Hi Rick! It ssure ounds like you did not receive a copy of the installation instructions with your big grip order! The yellow paint marks indicate the location where you should begin the first cross-
Steve, Congratulations on finding an AB-105C/FRC tower, one of the very best towers for serious competitive hamming! I had a large quantity for sale this summer, and all of it was sold after only one
Hi Fred, I attach a pulley to the selsyn shaft. The diameter of the pulley must be identical to the mast diameter. Lately I've been manufacturing the pulleys from a solid block of aluminum (expensive
I wholeheartedly endorse K4VUD's comment below. Last year, lightning struck the pole line in front of my home, and took out the telephone company interface box on the outside of my home. Its very for
Bill, Alliance's complete stock was purchased by Norm's Rotor Service. They can provide virtually any part u might need for any Alliance rotator. You can reach them at 301-874-5885 M-F 0800-1700 East
Hi Steve, If u don't find one elsewhere, Norm's Rotor Service always has reconditioned Tailtwisters in stock for a very reasonable price. A "hamfest special" may seem like a bargain but they almost a
Jeff - Their ad in Oct 1997 QST sez: 860-485-0310 73! Frank W3LPL donovanf@sgate.com -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com Administrative re
Chuck, Here's a copy of the coaxial cable attenuation chart. The loss of 1/2" CATV cable is fairly close to RG-17 at HF frequencies. 73! Frank W3LPL donovanf@sgate.com CABLE ATTENUATION (dB per 100 f
Tony, I'd be pleased to update any fields in the chart, or add any new cables, and re-distribute the chart. Please send me the proposed change or addition, and the source you used for the information
J.P. - I hope your new AB-105 tower is on schedule and progressing well! All of the drawings in the Rohn catalog specify use of 3/8" heavy duty thimbles with 1/4" Big Grips (for example, their parts
J.P. - In the spirit of K7LXC's sage advice "do what the manufacturer recommends" I dug out the Preformed Line Products catalog and here's what it sez: Nominal Strand Size Recommended Thimble Size 3/
I will be erecting a new antenna system soon for HF operation. However, I noticed an April 1997 article in QST that mentioned coax feed-ins should be 'broken in'. The author advised to DC current ha
Okay, okay, I guess all of the "secrets" of successful contest stations are getting out of the bag... At W3LPL, we follow an annual element rotation policy, much like tire rotation on your pick-up (f
Excerpt from the minutes of the 1997 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors, July 18-19, 1997 64. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr. Heyn, it was VOTED that in light of the advances mad