Hi Jan
just a few days ago someone on our local mailing list reported excellent
results cleaning his traps with 10% sulphur acid.
The acid does not corrode the aluminum any further,
but cleans out all the dirt.
probably the aluminum oxide layer gets a bit thicker but
that is its natural anti-corrosion-jacket anyway.
The traps were reported to function very well afterwards
73 Con DF4SA
At 15:06 06.08.02 -0400, you wrote:
>Based on a consensus from this reflector, I decided to take down my
>TH6DXX and remove and clean the traps. I am now on the first trap,
>the left, inside trap on the driven element (one of the more likely
>to be a culprit in my swr problem).
>
>I have the trap in the house, clamped gently in a vise; I have
>removed the final setscrew that holds the outer cover to the inner
>aluminum tube and the plastic end caps are off.
>
>I am unable to get the insides out. I can tap on two places, either
>on the inner aluminum tube, from either end, or on the plastic ring
>that fills between the inner tube and the outer cover. Only the inner
>tube moves. I cannot move the plastic rings, or so it seems. Perhaps
>I should tap the inner tube all the way through, and then pull on the
>rest of the insides.
>
>I hesitate to use substantial force, since, I believe, MFJ/Hy-Gain is
>unlikely to have replacement parts for this tribander that is more
>than fifteen years out of production.
>
>I can see inside the weep holes, and it seems that very tiny
>creatures have migrated inside, taking with them a substantial
>portion of my real estate and stuffing this inside the trap. I will
>have to get a new survey to see how much my property has shrunk. I
>would really like to get inside each trap and either clean things out
>or start charging rent.
>
>Does anyone have experience with opening and cleaning these traps?
>
>73,
>Jan Ditzian
>KX2A
>kx2a@arrl.net
>
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