Thanks for the ideas on the rf in the rotator control. Got enough feedback
that I wasn't worried about damage to the rotator so I went ahead and did my
testing at KW. Sure enuff, the new 80M vertical wouldn't handle a KW! Exactly
the problem I suspected I'd have. I'd built a kind of a trombone capacitor
with 2 sizes of copper tubing with some nylon matting for an insulator between
the tubes. FB at 100W but got arcing at 800W.
Now, I'm going to replace the shunt feed with a simple 80M inv L hanging off
the tower just so I'll have an 80M vertical to play with in the ARRL CW DX test
this weekend.
BTW - I had already coiled the exess rotator cable in about a 14" coil in the
ham shack. Not especially to prevent RF but just to keep it neat. I coiled
that into a tighter coil, about 6", and it made a significant difference in the
needle jumping. After I get the 80M inv L up I'll probably experiment with
some different rf chokes on the line to take care of any leftover rf. After
listening to your feedback it seems like I should worry more about damage to
the controller then the rotator.
73, Gary
Gary Slagel
Hot Springs, SD
N0SXX
http://marina.fortunecity.com/sanpedro/351
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