Carefully inspect the PVC element insulators where the elements clamp to the boom. I believe they are made of PVC, and with age and UV exposure, could have cracked when the lifting cable snapped. It'
More on the Crossed-Field Antenna is available at http://www.antennex.com/ . To get the full scoop you have to subscribe (that makes me a little suspicious right off the bat!), but they have construc
More on the Crossed-Field Antenna is available at http://www.antennex.com/ . To get the full scoop you have to subscribe (that makes me a little suspicious right off the bat!), but they have construc
The effect on the pattern can be significant on VHF. That's why FM broadcast stations generally use fiberglass on the first 20 feet of any guys near the radiating "bays". Ron N6AHA -- FAQ on WWW: htt
Using a transit is probably the best way to determine tower plum. I was a professional team from Sacramento do that on a 100' commercial tower I had installed for broadcast use. Buying one may be out
I would worry that the current that flows through the conductor leading to the bottom of the foundation could cause sufficient heat, even though only for a fraction of a second, that the base could f
I put up a 555 in a very windy location several years ago, and I would not recommend trying to install a new bolt in the existing foundation. The stress on the bolt in the wind is enormous, and even
I read an earlier reply to your post, and must agree that if there are CC&R or zoning restrictions against your tower, you can get in serious trouble if someone "rats you out" for building the tower
Mike: My advice is to go with Hy-Gain. A friend of mine across town had his Yaesu G-800 rotator destroyed the same way you described, while in the same storm, my Hy-Gain Ham-V, mounted external of th
I am also using an MA 550 (non-rotating) with factory standoffs, and have found that attaching the coax and rotor control cable to an eighth-inch steel cable with cable ties works well. I haven't had
I used to live a few miles from that site, and it was awesome to look at! The other station on Oahu was Lualualei on the Waianai coast. As I recall, it was two 1,000' verticals and it's own salt lak
Excuse me, but I seem to get the jist that the $1,200,000 award was just 10% of the property value. It's hard to imagine anybody with a $12 million dollar home that didn't get it by "big corperate pr
What's the difference between a dead skunk in the middle of the road and a dead lawyer in the middle of the road? There's skid marks in front of the skunk! Ron N6AHA -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.contest
I found the same thing with my C-4, so it's not my imagination after all! On 17 meters, the most forward gain is off the back of the beam. 12 meters works the right way and I have worked though a fai
I couldn't find any reference to the C-4's pattern being reversed on 17 meters in the manual (1994 version dwC31.002) or on the web page. Where did you see that information? Ron, N6AHA --Original Mes
Well, there it is, in black and white! I guess my old manual was not detailed enough, but I figured it out on my own. The 15 meter reflector acts like a director on 17, but the front-to-back isn't re
My guess is that it is part of the spreader in the linear loading system. I haven't been up on the roof to see mine in a couple of years, but the part does sound familiar, and I vaguely remember it h
I have been using a 50 ft Glen Martin (12" tower face) for the past year in a commercial application where we placed a 1-bay commercial FM broadcast antenna and a small 450 MHz vertical on the suppli
Has anyone come up with a way to add 12 meters to a Force 12 C-4 without severely impacting performance on other bands? The SWR is quite high on 12, and even a rotatable dipole would probably work be
You could be right, Ben. I also worked the ZL9 in 12, and most of the other Pacific DXpeditions. What worries me is that a 5.2:1 SWR in the shack at the end of 100' of RG-213 indicates a 15:1 SWR at