Good Day All,
Well, I've just had another one of my regular --- and much-needed, I hasten to
add --- lessons in humility here...it's worth sharing with the group, only
because it demonstrates that no matter how smart I think I might be, there's
always someone (or, in this case, someTHING!) that's even smarter.
Alert readers may recall how I have always championed the use of grains of rice
as an ideal "green" method of moisture absorption within sealed enclosures
housing antenna tuning networks, etc., outdoors. Well, last spring I dismantled
two of the three plastic Folger's Coffee "cans" used at the bases of my three
inverted "L" antennas --- but I left one on the ground, "as is", with hopes of
utilizing at least one "L" during the course of the summer.
Well, I didn't use the antenna...but I never cleaned-out the rice from last
season, either...
This afternoon, while tuning-up the single "L" for a bit of possible Top Band
action this weekend, I noticed that the reflected power would "waffle". This
waffling turned into a regular windshield wiper action on the meter when I
fired-up the linear.
Hastening outside to see if I might see what the matter was, the first thing I
did was pop off the Folgers lid...wow!
I was greeted with a veritable mushroom cloud of acrid smoke, and, after it had
cleared, was amazed to see what appeared to be wads and wads of cotton batting
stuffed in & all around the enclosure, almost completely engulfing the air
variable tuning capacitor...
Mold...! From the rice...!
Lesson learned: rice is a seasonal absorptive element ONLY --- once the weather
warms up, clean it out, completely.
If anyone wants to see jpeg e-pix of what was inside, just ask & I'll be happy
to forward same...meanwhile, it's off to the junk box for a new capacitor, and
to the grocery store for more coffee...
~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
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