Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:04:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: GALE STEWARD <k3nd@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Protecting a Tower Relay Box
To: TowerTalk@contesting.com, Mark Robinson <markrob@mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <943739.63877.qm@web50706.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I'll add my comments which agree with the others advising you NOT to mount the
relay box 80ft up the tower. I had to climb my tower once at dusk during the
CQWW CW contest to swap out a failed relay box. At least I had a spare. By the
following weekend, I had it mounted down at 5ft! It takes a few more coax runs
but it's well worth it. Even in bad WX, you can repair something if it's at
ground level.
GL with the project!
73, Stew K3ND
## for a simple 1 in, 2 out box..... I'd use a spdt vac relay..and be done
with it. Then you could install it at the top of the tower..and forget about
it. A gigavac GH-1 or G-2 would be perfect for this application [12 vdc coil]
## as far as the 1 in, 6 out box's go.... IF all the mech relay's are of the
DPDT type, with all contacts in parallel, you won't have problems. No RX path
is through any of the NC contacts.
If I had ongoing probelms with em.. I'd be swapping them out to a mess of
spdt vac relays. Even if the box is at the bottom of a tower, with all the
heat-shrink, tape, etc on all 7 x connector's, it would take
all weekend to fix it anyway.
## I re-silver plate all the contacts on the mech relays with 'cool-amp'
goop.... then apply a thin layer of 'conducto lube' [ pure grnd up silver
powder in grease] to all the contacts. ]
Then put heat and silica gel [ dessicant] inside the box. You won't have any
problems with it. 7/8" heliax is expensive enough as is. The last thing I
want is multiple runs of 7/8" heliax
going up the tower.
later... Jim VE7RF.
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