Salt air has got to be murder on antennas, towers, and feed lines. The
way below zero temps in the mountains around here do weird things to
everything. I have seen coax snap when frozen to 45 below. Guess it
makes me appreciate everything outside no matter where. Our environment
can outdo human engineering every time.
73 Jim
W4ZW wrote:
>
>
>SteppIR has another advantage, at least here oceanfront. My 3 element
>SteppIR has been up almost three years now, direct oceanfront, and works
>just like it did when I first put it up. During that same time, I've had to
>R/R both the A4S's and the 402CD. The ocean simply chews them up. I
>usually have to take the aluminum down about every 24-30 months and clean
>them up because the oxidation begins to produce flat SWR's everywhere. I
>usually need to replace the coax as well since it seems that no matter how
>well I seal it, this ocean outside finds a way to get inside. The SteppIR
>is sealed from the elements, well built, and works like gangbusters. My 3
>element averages 6-14 seconds to change bands. Usually 5-6 seconds up or
>down one band, 13-14 for 20 to 10 or vice versa. Another good feature is
>the ability to tweak it from my chair since I have interaction with the
>steel in my home in certain directions and with either of the A4's or the
>402CD in others. It handles my ACOM2000A and my Alpha 87A just fine. No
>need for 5KW ratings since I can't run that much anyway. I also have the
>interface to my FT1000MP so the antenna follows me around the band or bands.
>It is great to run CW on the low end and QSY to the high end of 20 and watch
>the SWR stay flat. It takes me 3-4 seconds to reverse the beam which is
>faster than I could turn the others. I plan on adding a 4 El soon to
>replace one of the A4S's.
>
>I had thought about how to get to 40M with this active idea. I considered a
>system where you traveled the element out to a point where it made contact
>with an additional end piece with a capacity hat a la the 402CD. Think
>about adding the 402CD trap end with capacity hat to the end of the SteppIR
>director with a feed line attached to drive it on 40 as a short 40M two
>element. Use the same system for the reflector which then becomes the 40M
>reflector when all the way out. Maybe even make a Moxon out of it by using
>end wires that are added when the element is fully extended. Lightweight,
>adds 40M but not as an active tunable array.
>
>The bottom line for me is ease of use. I have spent a lot of hours running
>up and down towers adjusting, repairing, and fooling with beams and quads
>in the nearly 50 years that I have been a ham. I love being able to sit in
>my chair and adjust it to my hearts content.
>
>
>Jon Hamlet, W4ZW
>
>Casey Key Island, FL
>"A little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>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
>
>
>
_______________________________________________
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
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