[TenTec] Steppir vs Orion

[George Skoubis]

Hi,

I had a problem with the driven element on my SteppIR about a year ago.

One of the stepper motor wires ran next to the balun and when the
elements extend and retract the vibrations caused the wire to rub
against a sharp point (solder had melted and made a sharp edge).  After
a year of this the sharp point wore through the insulation and when the
wire was energized and touched the insulation it shorted out the driver
ic for that element (driven).

The antenna was adjusted for 15 meters at the time so the swr was good
there and bad everywhere else.  The controller could still operate the
director and reflector normally.  I measured the resistance between each
of the 4 wires (for all three elements) and they each measured
correctly. 

I spoke with the SteppIR people and they sent a new controller to me.
While it was on it's way I rewired my control cables so the director ic
adjusted the driven element and tried to adjust the element length.  It
worked for a few seconds then burned out that ic.  This made me think it
was a problem in the element housing so I brought the housing into the
house, took it apart and examined it.  

While tracing the wires through the housing I noticed a small black mark
on one of the wires, when I looked closer I found the sharp point and
could feel where the insulation was worn through.  I filed the sharp
point smooth, put black tape over the wire, hooked the housing up to the
reflector ic, put the element housings on and tried to adjust the driven
element. It started working fine... 

I rewired my connector, put the driven element back on the tower, hooked
up the new controller when it arrived and it has worked well so far
(I've had it up for 2 years now). 

The SteppIR guys said they would start to check all the baluns and start
filing down any sharp edges and reroute the wiring so it didn't pass as
close to the balun as a further precaution so it didn't continue to be a
problem for others. 

Since Bernard has tried two different driven element housings I suspect
he has a problem in his controller (he has also tried changing the coax)
or with the SWR meter (if he hasn't tried more than one, but that seems
like a long shot).  I would rewire the connector at the controller end
(to use the director or reflector ic), adjust the length of the driven
element and see if the swr changes.

As for the low temperatures I've operated the antenna for two Wisconsin
winters in below zero temps and had no problems.  A VY1 bought one this
spring so he'll do the acid test this winter for REAL low temperatures.

I have used the antenna with an Omni VI+ and my Orion and I think it's
really neat.

Sorry for the off-topic post on the TT reflector...

73

George / KF9YR

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Stuart Rohre
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:22 PM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Steppir vs Orion

Definitely need an antenna analyzer to sort things out.

The Steppir I have seen at ham shows has had the housing open so you
could
see the mechanics whir and move.  Likely, you could do that, and listen
for
mechanical binding, as it starts up, or see lack of movement evenly on
both
sides.

They claimed they have not had mechanical problems due to low
temperatures,
or such.
To do that, they must have a loose fit of the teeth and holes in strip.

Once you open it up, if you can, it might be obvious if you power it on.
73 and GL,
Stuart
K5KVH


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