The new tower is up and while this is fresh in my mind, here are some
installation comments on the X9 antenna. There will be more about SWR and
performance later.
1. Check the parts against the PL as several were missing.
2. The antenna is supplied with a 4:1 balun which is excellant
electrically, but the box and mounting arrangement are not. Also, tighten
all screws on the connector, etc as they were very loose. The mounting
screws supplied were not quite long enough and had to be replaced. There is
a lot of "stuff" around the boom mounting spot and it's difficult to get a
trolley on properly. The balun box had to be removed and reinstalled on the
tower.
3. We attempted to mount the boom/mast bracket before pulling the antenna
up as the manual suggests. With a 2.5 inch mast, two of the U bolts were
not long enough to get threads through the nuts. There are so many screws
and parts to the mount that, after the fact, we decided it would be better
to mount it on the boom and just insert the U bolts at the tower top.
4. The antenna balance point is way off the mounting point which does not
allow it to be pulled up with a trolley. We also wanted to have it balanced
after mounting. A 4.5 foot piece of AL pipe was required in the boom at the
front end of the antenna to get it balanced.
5. The boom/mast mounting plates are very sharp and need to be rounded off
to prevent problems for the installer on the tower.
It does look good up there and first reports show a couple of S units over a
much lower C3.
George
W2VJN
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