Good point Scott. My 30 year-old Copperweld is solid #12. Very tricky to unroll without kinking, which will always create a weak spot, which in time will fail. But with care it's pretty indestructibl
AND...they re-use the sawdust for particle board and sell it to someone else! 73, Steve N6SJ 1. There are various ways to measure characteristic impedance, some are better than others. You didn't say
Tony, Can you run two rigid pipes back to the 9 foot shed, to form a triangular structure? I did that with my tall wood stove chimney years ago, and it has survived a number of 90mph wind gusts. You
I've been using DXE400MAX, close to LMR400 specs with a stranded copper #10 center conductor. 73, Steve N6SJ Knock-off products like this are often sold by third-party salemen, who are doing nothing
Bill, I used Davis Buryflex on my SteppIR DB42 7 years ago, no problems yet. I also put the part that would otherwise chafe against the sharp corners of the tower top inside a length of flexible gard
Rick, Do you have a K4 on order? 73, Steve N6SJ --Original Message-- From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces@contesting.com> On Behalf Of Richard (Rick) Karlquist Sent: Saturday, December 26, 2020 9:56 AM
Dave, In the past I've had that problem and was able to re-calibrate the rotor in the shack to show true North when the beam was pointed true North. Only problem was that then I had lost that 30-40 d
Tom, I used Copperweld on my 5-band cubicle quad for 25 years, as well as on an 80M dipole. In initial assembly attempts I had put tight bends in the wire at a some connections. That created cracks i
Al, A nearby ham had the same vibration problem with his UST MA-40 monopole on a house bracket. I think he wrapped the pole with rubber sheeting where the bracket clamps onto it. Steve N6SJ I have a
Ross, Look into US Tower's MA-40 crank-up tubular mast with a small SteppIR yagi on top. Crank the mast down when the wind blows. Also, it tilts over, so you can do all antenna work standing on the g
Gene, Congratulations! Great story. My 1st QSO will be 60 years ago this coming August 23rd, with WV6QVV Ray Olsen, who lived about 6 blocks from my parents' house in Sacramento. I had a Heathkit DX6
Wayne, Years ago I had an AC powered rotor 800 feet from the shack. The voltage drop was too much over that long run of wire and the motor wouldnt turn. I added a 5 VAC filament transformer (or was i
Jim, Interesting comments. I myself mounted a top section of Rohn 25 to a tall Doug fir here. When I couldn't after shoulder surgery, I had two different tree services work on the antenna. One did a
Al, I have a UST HDX-589. It tilts from the base. I installed my Orion 2800 and TiltPlate plus DB42 on a chrome moly mast with it tilted over, resting on a pile of railroad ties about 4 feet high. No
Ken, Crankups are notorious (or at least used to be) for settling to their own weight when cranked down, then settling just a little more with added weight of someone climbing on them. Tends to chop
John, Interesting. I like to tilt over my tower to have full access to all the elements and hardware of my DB42 while standing on the ground. I can even run back to the garage if I forgot a tool! If
Hey, we ALL have to be lucky to be still here. Yep, I know it can happen. I knew a kid that had that happen just after getting his new crank up. We always called him "Fingers" from there after. I was
My friend George N6ZS needs the coax repaired on his SteppIR. It got kinked at the standoff mounted on the tower, just below the antenna. The Tashjian crank-up is nested and the antenna is at about 2
Bob, I too have lots of deer ticks here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. One bite swells my leg up the size of a small melon. During winter and spring I wear garden clothes which I have sprayed with perm
Dave, Interesting antenna. It's so small and lightweight, you could consider phasing together two of them for space diversity. You'd need different phasing networks for each band. 73, Steve N6SJ If a