I'm considering to replacing my very old Colatchco 40m 4-square phasing box
and controller. I see that DX Engineering has several models, including two
from Comtek and two of their own, and Array Solutions has one as well. What
are the advantages/disadvantages of each? I'm sure this question has been
asked many times, so if you can point me to a good response in the archives
I'd appreciate it.
Note that my 4-square is a secondary antenna, mostly used for diversity
reception with a beam and occasionally to transmit in directions other than
where the beam is pointing. That said, the Omni feature could be useful for
diversity S&P, and as long as I'm spending money I'd like to get the best
performing system.
Oh, and the reason I'm considering a replacement is that my Colatchco
controller has failed. Looks like one of the relays had a little fire inside
- enough to melt the case and completely carbonize the contacts. Also,
there's lots of contamination inside the box - looks snow or water may have
carried wet soil up into the unit and many contacts are covered with the
stuff. That could have been the cause of the relay failure (i.e.,
intermittent shorts at the element contacts presenting high SWR at the relay
contacts.) It's possible that just replacing the relay and cleaning up the
box will fix the problem, but if the cause was elsewhere in the controller
I'm more inclined to replace the unit. It has a large potted transformer
that's probably unique. Besides, I've been using it for 17 years and I'm the
second owner. I think it's been in service for close to 30 years!
73, Dick WC1M
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