Hi Richard, Tell us what you would like to do on 80m. Local nets or ragchews within 2-3 state radius? Stateside, WAS? DX to any particular continent? Do you want this new antenna to work on other ban
Richard, I'm replying to the group so we can all participate.... low-angle, omnidirectional antenna. I think pursuing a vertical arrangement, as already suggested, would work well, especially since y
Hello TowerTalkers, A couple of thoughts occurred to me after reading this latest thread on a perennial subject. There's quite a longstanding debate on whether to pin a mast or not. Having a relative
Excellent, Jim, I hadn't run across a need for those so far in my professional career (as an M.E.), though it's bound to happen eventually. McMaster-Carr is my favorite one-stop shop, and I frequenty
According to some posts here a few years ago, galvanized rods will last longer in acidic soil, and copper rods longer in alkaline soil. --...MARK_N1LO...-- ___________________________________________
Thank you, Scott, for that excellent and learned summary of hydrogen embrittlement! In my work, I make many custom tools, typically from AISI D2 and A2 tool steels, at hardnesses typically from Rc45
Tom, is there a simple way to perform that high voltage test? Could you test the jumper with high power RF to a dummy load for a few seconds and monitor the SWR? All my experience is with 100W or les
Thank you, Scott. I'm adding your comments to a file I keep on metals processing. --...MARK_N1LO...-- <<These alloys are susceptable to hydrogen embrittlement. But the black oxide process (hot) invol
Hello Dudley, Let me try to help clear the confusion. to the best of my understanding. There are three separate entities to consider: 1) RF COUNTERPOISE/GROUND SCREEN. A set of radials or mesh to hel
Hello Merlin, Your idea will work Fine Business as others have already mentioned, and yes it is a great project to get into building, as there's very little to go wrong. This method is frequently don
Hello Merlin, Hey, not bad! Congratulations on your first rotary dipole. Thanks for the links to the pics. Unfortunately, it will be a few more years before 10m starts to open wide again, but there a
Hello TowerTalkers, I'll throw in a couple of tricks I use. Like others, I bought a more powerful wrist rocket with folding wrist brace and clamped a large diameter spinning reel to its frame. Some s
Hello Eric, Here's a coupla ideas... 1) For omnidirectional coverage and lower takeoff angles, try adding a separate 1/4 wave (33 ft for 40m) vertical radiator wire to the feedpoint of your existing
Hello Rich, Manufacturers commonly use 20% of the breaking strength of rope as its SWL (safe working load), but this isn't always the case. The manufacturer should have no problem telling you what th
Hi Dave, I ran into a similar situation at work when repairing one of our scientific instruments that has a motor driven spindle. The manufacturer was happy to quote me a replacement drive belt for $
Hi Jim, A solution that I use: 1) Terminate each parallel feedline with a 5ft section of shielded parallel line (see ARRL Antenna Book or http://www.qsl.net/n1lo/80mdblet.pdf ), made from 2 5ft lengt
Hi Jim, Yes, it would. This solution is a bit more elaborate than a simple switch, but gives you versatile switching and lightning protection. You sleep well at 3am when those thunderstorms roll thro
Howdy Steve, et all; I'll throw out a couple of ideas that might be helpful. 1) Try some anaerobic joint locking compound (threadlock/'Locktite' type stuff) between the mast and the clamp. Try the bl
Hello Gary, A lot of good discussion so far. Another possibility is to cut one of the braces and bend it temporarily to allow longer mast pieces to slide in, then mend the cut with a welded or clampe
Howdy Steve et all; I think your proposed solution will work with any or all of the following mods: a) Use a locking compound between the inserts and the mast to mechanically bond them together. The