[CQ-Contest] Trade: Use of Contest Station in CQWW in return for Tower Work

[Bruce Sawyer]

I can make a very good deal for CQWW for the right person.  I have about an
hour's worth of tower work I need to have done, and in return for that I'll
put you up for CQWW weekend and turn the station over to you for the
contest.  Sound interesting?  Here's the deal...

Last October I replaced the balun on my Bencher Skyhawk tribander with a
brand new balun.  The old balun had failed the previous spring, so over the
summer I bought a new one ($70) from Bencher and brought it with me to
Little Cayman in the fall.  After replacing the balun (with some help from
N6XI), I used it all last year in practically every major (and minor)
contest, and it worked fine.  When I returned to Little Cayman a few weeks
ago, though, that "new" balun soon failed.  I can run 100w with no problem,
but if I go QRO then the balun quickly heats up and starts arcing.  Clearly
the only answer is to get rid of the thing and never allow another balun
onto the property again.  That's what W2GD told me after the first one
failed, and like a fool I decided instead to follow the manufacturer's
instructions and replace the failed balun with another balun.  So it would
seem to be an easy (but time-consuming) game to do what I've already done
before--pull the rotator out, drop the mast, replace the balun with a choke
coil, carry the gin pole up the tower, raise the mast again, replace the
rotator, etc., etc.  The problem with that is that the three bolts in the
Rohn thrust bearing are badly corroded.  I managed to get one of them out,
but then broke a second bolt.  Realizing that the third bolt is "do or die",
I have been up there every day for a week with Liquid Wrench and tapping
ever so gently on a wrench, trying to loosen that bolt.  I even got a blow
torch, and with it managed to get the lock nut free.  But the wind has been
a constant 13 mph the past several days and always blows out my torch as
soon as I light it.  I'm quickly nearing the end of my rope trying to free
up the bolts in the thrust bearing.

The alternative technique is what a truly fearless tower climber would do.
The antenna mount point is only about 6' above the thrust bearing, so it
would be easy to climb through the top guys and strap onto the mast.  The
feed point on the antenna is only a foot or so from the mast, so it can be
reached easily while standing on the top plate.  The rub here is that I am
NOT truly fearless.  My blood runs cold at the thought of getting up on that
top plate.  But I think the whole job could be done in less than an hour by
somebody who isn't cursed by the same timidity that I am.

So that "right person" I mentioned at the beginning would be somebody who
can go stand on the top plate while strapped to the mast, take off the
balun, and replace it with a choke coil.  In return for doing that, I'll
gladly put you up here at my beachfront home on Little Cayman and turn the
station over to you for CQWW weekend.  I'll even do a little cooking,
provided you do the shopping at the supermarket on Grand Cayman on your way
over.

FWIW, I have a new climbing belt from Champion Radio Products and a total of
5 lanyards.  The tower is 60' and guyed at three levels with the guys spread
way out from the base.  It is solid as a rock when you are up on top.  The
mast is heavy wall carbon steel from Texas Towers, so it is not going to
bend on you.  In fact, we took a direct hit from Hurricane Lili a year ago
and the tower suffered zero damage

If this sounds of interest to you, please drop me a note at zf2nt at
candw.ky and let's discuss it.

Bruce, ZF2NT