Good morning.
Appreciate all the comments about the C-3S antennas. Since I speak to most of
the customers, I am aware of the most common assembly and installation
situations, as well as some of the "strange ones." Regarding the C_series
antennas, I use a C-3S quite frequently, as well as the C-3SS (just used at
Pacificon for the Boy Scouts) and my own C-3E.
If we recognize that an antenna is an electrical device put into practice by a
mechanical structure, it will clarify the situation. The reason it will clarify
is that if the antenna is built properly and installed properly, it will
perform
properly. This is especially true for a product that has been manufactured for
several years (since 1993 in this case). I spend many hours each week providing
assistance and suggestions on installations.
>From the manufacturing perspective, the C-3S and the C-3 are manufactured
>using
a fixture, so the element-to-boom brackets are located properly. As long as we
drill the elements correctly, mark them in our "side A and side B" manner, the
antenna should assemble properly. The most common assembly mistake is putting a
tubing section in backwards, which will manifest itself in the customer
drilling
several new holes. This is noted in step 00 of the assembly instructions.
With the antenna mechanically correct, it will perform as expected. If it does
not perform as expected, then the place I begin looking is the local
environment
and then the feed system. Most often, there is a wire antenna nearby, or there
is a faulty coax connector or balun. After doing more than 300 installs myself,
this is the most common source for problems. Occasionally, there will be a
compound installation, where the coax has problems (multiple), there are nearby
metallic objects and the measuring device has a low battery! In all cases,
knowing the antenna is mechanically correct goes a long way in debugging the
condition.
Force 12 is always after customer input, so if someone has had difficulty and
did not call or FAX, please do so! This is how we continue to make better
products for the community, such as the C-3E, the C-3SS and the C-31XR.
Natan, W6XR/2 (Force 12 East--> force12e@lightlink,com) is the one to send your
comments. He will do an overview and consolidate it into meaningful
presentation. He also uses C-3 antennas!
Have a great day & 73,
Tom Schiller, N6BT
President, Force 12, Inc.
Amateur Antennas, Commercial Towers & Antennas
P.O. Box 1349 Paso Robles, CA 93447
Phone: 805.227.1680 FAX 805.227.1684
Web Site: http://www.QTH.com/force12
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