I had this problem years ago on a long rotor cable run. I added a small transformer in series with the AC voltage going to the tower. I think it was a 6 volt filament transformer, maybe 5 amps. I wir
Tom, Self-supporting crank-up towers should never be guyed. When the wind blows, the lateral force is translated downward through the guy wires. This adds a new load to the supporting cable that it w
Then there was my neighbor in Salt Lake City about 40 years ago, who complained that ever since I had strung up my dipole, her washing machine wasn't working right... 73, Steve N6SJ Great, Wayne! Tha
Elliott, Yes, that Wireman #306 cable is what I used for my Orion 2800 in 2013. Has been solid so far, turning a SteppIR DB42. 73, Steve N6SJ Elliot, Check thewireman.com They have cable specifically
FWIW, they claim it is used by the US Navy for the arrestor cables on our aircraft carriers. That's what sold me! 73, Steve N6SJ Yes, but I think the ingredients are proprietary - check the MSDS. Wir
Yes, but even if both pieces end up at the same high temperature, when they cool the seized surface between them will probably break loose. At least that's been my experience with heating a seized tu
Tim, That is EXACTLY the right answer! Having managed the installation of many guyed towers for microwave communications sites, I know you dont start any construction without the stamped and signed P
Bill, Nice work. And now you'll burn less oil because the rings will seat! 73, Steve N6SJ Thank you to those that replied. Just finished honing out the mast opening with an engine cylinder honer. The
Great discussion! But personally, I think on CW your timing (call early, call late), keying speed (call faster, call slower), and placement of your signal in the receiver's passband (call high, call
OK Dave, point well taken! But the only time I've worked anyone right at the noise level was when Dima RA9USU sucked my CW signal out of the noise when he was at E30FB. Took him 10 tries to finally g
Jim, I remember attending a lecture by Dr. Lee of Pac Bell, who was testing the new CDMA modulation being used at US West in Denver. The new scheme was very bandwidth efficient and had great intellig
Jim, All very good points, and I'll accept those statistics re. % SS score per each dB improvement during a 24 hour stretch. But in a DX pileup over a narrow time window, propagation variations can e
Pete, I'm using Davis RF Bury-flex for my rotor loop. I also ran it inside a length of flexible garden hose to protect it from the sharp edges at the top of my tower. Good for 7 years so far. 73, Ste
I would vote for replacing the 20-year-old motor starting cap. I have to do that on my water well pump every so often. 73, Steve N6SJ If another neighbor is an AC Guy... go get a Run Cap for your mot
Don, A structural engineer can design you a foundation that will work. If Remegio Fernandez were still at UST, he could take care of it, but he moved back to Venzuela. In general, if a tower foundati
I never considered having a tree climber put up my antenna, I just did it myself. We had a 140' Douglas fir about 20' outside the kitchen. I bought a climbing belt (with the leg straps so it cant rid
I generally use a square knot with an extra half-hitch at each end. These have never come apart yet. Where I can I love a bowline, because it always comes apart easily when I need it to. 73, Steve N6
My Heathkit assembly manuals called them spade bolts. 73, Steve N6SJ WOW!! That is the exact part. $.66 each. Sure is a lot for a small part. I think making them myself is going to be the way to go.
I wouldn't use a screw. All my many wires have always been supported on pulleys. Shoot a line over a high limb with a bow and arrow, use that to raise the pulley, and hang a counterweight at the end
Bill, I'd bet if you used unbreakable SS wire, you'd end up snapping an insulator or a tree branch. I used #12 Copperweld for my full sized 80M dipole about 30 years ago. I tied off one end to one tr