Mark,
I was in the same situation as you several years ago
(e.g. I picked up a used cantenna at a hamfest). I dumped
the old "unknown" liquid into a plastic jug and drew a skull
and crossbones on the side. I then dried out the remaining
oil inside the can with paper towels, washed out the can
with soapy water, dried it, and then refilled it with non-PCB
transformer oil that I got from MFJ. The MFJ oil is
expensive, but it's real transformer oil which is supposed to
have better thermal properties than mineral oil which is
generally much cheaper (the rated duty cycle of the MFJ
dummy load is higher if you use transformer oil instead of
mineral oil) . If you know somebody in the electric utility
business, you might be able to sweet talk them out of a
gallon of real transformer oil for free, or as Jim Lux suggests
check the yellow pages under "oil - jobbers". I am sure the
wholesale price is a small fraction of the MFJ price. I think
Shell Diala-X is the brand name:
http://lists.contesting.com/archives/html/Amps/2001-10/msg00034.html
BTW, don't spill the transformer like I did. The new stuff may
not be toxic, but I will ruin leather shoes :)
73 de Mike, W4EF............................................
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Beckwith" <mark@concertart.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2004 4:59 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Heath Cantenna
> I wrote earlier:
>
> > Hi Antenna Gurus. I inherited a Heath Cantenna. How do I know if it is
> > deadly and should be disposed of at the anonymous toxic waste depository
> or
> > if it is inert and harmless?
>
> Then I came back alter and read all the great comments / advice / etc. I
> especially liked the "Asbestol" line. What a FABULOUS read. I guess I
got
> duped by what amounts to an old ham "urban legend". Does that mean I take
> off an additional 3 QSO penalty?
>
> Actually I have TWO cantennas so I'll trade one each to Rick AND Roger
> straight across for a couple Bird wattmeters.
>
> Mark, N5OT
>
> PS for some reason my spell checker got hung up on "Asbestol."
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|