TT: FWIW - When I purchased a used (excuse me - pre-owned) RCB-5 antenna switch, I had to replace a few of the LEDs. Upon opening the control box, I noticed that there was a RS bridge rectifier pack
Gary: I agree with Randy AC7NJ: Don't abitrarily change the engineer's design for the foundation. If I understand your suggestion, you are asking if it would be OK simply to dig out the foundation to
Dave et al: My responses below. 73 de Gene Smar AD3F --Original Message-- From: David Jordan <wa3gin@erols.com> To: EUGENE SMAR <SPELUNK.SUENO@prodigy.net> Cc: ac7nj@bentonrea.com <ac7nj@bentonrea.co
Dave et al: My response below (again.) 73 de Gene Smar AD3F --Original Message-- From: David Jordan <wa3gin@erols.com> To: EUGENE SMAR <SPELUNK.SUENO@prodigy.net> Cc: ac7nj@bentonrea.com <ac7nj@bento
TT: I want to apologize to the list for having sent erroneous information in my posting on tower foundation toes. I said I believed the foundation design was called pier and column. It's actually cal
TT: Speaking of lightning and Polyphasers, I've often wondered about the use of PL259's with lightning suppressors/arrestors. I've seen it written on this reflector numerous times that one should not
TT: Thanks for the opinions and anecdotes regarding lightning protection or lack thereof. Much appreciated. My original query (Must I ground the coax shield ahead of the Polyphaser suppressor?) is on
Steve: Thanks for pointing that out - commercial installations using a shield ground lead just before the suppressor outside the building. I don't recall seeing an instruction sheet with the Polyphas
TT: Sorry for rolling a grenade under the tent and walking away! I haven't responded to any of the postings on this subject for a few days, even though I think I started the discussion on soldered gr
TT: My Bencher Skyhawk used to have all-insulated elements, too. Before I put it on the tower I used a small aluminum strap (maybe 1/2 inch by five inches), self-tapping screw and SS hose clamp (plus
TT: Also, with an engineer, the cup half-empty, half-full metaphor actually means that the cup was twice as big as necessary. Have a nice day de Gene Smar AD3F BSEE P.E.
"Accidents happen."? No such thing, either in a car on on a tower! I recently fell off a step ladder in my garage retrieving a few variable caps for my gamma match on 160M. Held onto the box with bot
TT: Hose clamps + TAPE = no snags + no corrosion. I did the clamp-plus-tape thing on my D40 element (four clamps on both halves) as well as on the clamps that secure the aluminum straps that short my
Dave K0QE (the originator of this thread): I concur with everyone's recommendation on the PVC conduit, but make it bigger than you think you'll need initially. Being hams, we inevitably WILL change s
TT: Sorry for the confusing posting. To clear things up - my response, directed at K0QE's original posting, was to agree with Jerry's and Mark's recommendations to use PVC conduit, rather than hard-t
George: It's not really a paper BOOK, but close enough - Mark N1LO has compiled a very extensive set of "things to worry about" when building and maintaining a tower. The URL I had doesn't seem to wo
TT: Finally! This afternoon I managed to load the Trylon tower on 80M using the method I described previously for 160M (a' la K1ZM), but with a twist. But the BW on 80 is not as great as on 160. Here
TT: Below is an excerpt from my local RACES's comm director's e-mail regarding Lightning Safety Week this week. FWIW. 73 de Gene Smar AD3F The National Weather Service will broadcast information on i
TT: A brief update: I worked a few local (US east coast) stations on 80M SSB over the past couple of days with my shunt-fed Trylon tower. Reports from most stations are 5-6 dB better (TX and RX) than