Hello again Chris,
It would appear that in the example shown in the link you provided, that
the aluminium had "work hardened" by being bent to often, and fractured.
Looking at the treatment of aluminium when it has been "cold worked" the
solution is to anneal it and allow it to cool slowly, before you bend it
back to the tube wall form. So, where is the gas torch, I will give that a
try.
73, John. G3JVC/GM3JVC.
>
> I don't know if they are using the same design as with the A3S but it
> sounds very similar. Take a look at this site by a ham from the
> Philippines. I
> found it to be very helpful in cleaning out my A3S traps.
>
>
> > http://www.para.org.ph/membersarticles/A3S/
>
>
> Good luck!
>
>
> 73,
>
>
> Chris/NU1O
>
>
>
> In a message dated 8/19/2012 11:57:22 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> g3jvc@jcleeve.idps.co.uk writes:
>
> Gentlemen,
>
> Things appeared to be going so well with the refurb, until today and its
> raining as well. My mind turned to looking at the OEM balun and the traps
> in the reflector, which I can work on under cover.
>
> The OEM balun, in spite of it being aloft for ten years or more, was as
> clean inside as when it was new, all the connections tight and clean,
> breathing a sigh of relief, I cleaned up the exterior and put it to one
> side.
>
> Now the traps. I slid the end covers off the first pair of traps on one
> half of the reflector, the screw holding the outer cover, which also
> forms
> one half of the tuning capacitor, is stainless and really tight, I
> applied
> the air line to the interior of the traps via the gaps in the end
> concentric insulators, and all seemed well. Simple checks with the ohm
> meter did not detect any high resistance between the inductor winding and
> the element sections, so far, all well and good.
>
> However, dismantling the traps in the second half of the reflector
> revealed a problem, both traps had a dried mud filling one end, one trap
> also had the remains of a charred bug, so he paid the ultimate price. I
> suspect that both these infestations were wasps of some sort ,but I dont
> suppose the original owner of the X7 noticed any difference in
> performance.
>
> My question for X7 users in the group. How do you dismantle a Cushcraft
> X7
> trap to clean the mess out? I can see how it was assembled, but the final
> act of the constructor was to put 4 "dimples" in the outer cover which
> locks the outer cover into the concentric insulator at one end of the
> trap. I tried gentle force, then a small wooden block and a pin hammer,
> applied to one of the protruding element sections, in an attempt to
> "drift" the concentric insulator along and out of the grip of the outer
> cover, but although the insulator moved a little, the dimples held
> secure.
>
> The mechanics of concentric trap designs are similar, and in the past I
> have cleaned out ants nests from Hygain traps, and having undone the the
> outer cover fixing screw, all that was required to dismantle the trap was
> a gentle application of pressure, and the outer cover was easy to remove.
>
> I know others have had similar trap problems, please, put me out of my
> misery, how did you resolve it.
>
> Sincerely, John. G3JVC/GM3JVC.
>
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>
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