Topband: Switch for 160 meter antenna

[Kevin Adam]

Easier way is feed the tower and use the yankee clipper director system.
Either way you will degrade the system by having both 160m and 80 on the
same tower performance will be a loss due to this.

N9IWW
Kevin Adam
1239 W. Till Road
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825-2145

-----Original Message-----
From: topband-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Dick and Adele Bingham
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 2:24 PM
To: topband at contesting.com
Subject: Topband: Switch for 160 meter antenna

Regarding ==>

 From: topband-bounces at contesting.com
 [mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Ken
 Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 10:41 AM
 To: Topband
 Subject: Topband: Switch for 160 meter antenna


 Hello,

 I am building a 160 meter vertical antenna, and perhaps incorporate
a 80 meter antenna within the same structure.

 I would like to switch out a top section of the of the antenna by
 means of a switch to break a connection leading to the rest of the
above antenna circuit.

 I could easily do this with a relay, but I don't want to rely on any coil
failures either due to voltages drop out or weakness of the coil of the
relay.

 What I would like to fine if possible, a type of wiper or knife  like
switch that can be activated by a servo or similar type mechanical
devise.

 Does anyone know of such a switch, and where to fine it?

 Thank you,
 Ken
K3YI
==============================================
Several things come to mind using sliding metal collars or coaxial tubes
with spring-finger-stock contacts (like the coil-shorting structure in a
screw-driver-antenna) that could be mechanically positioned to connect/
disconnect the various sections.

The mechanical driver could be:

-  pulley-rope driven where the conducting collar has enough weight to allow
   gravity to position it across the junctions with rope pull-back
disconnect.
   This would be external to the conducting sections and could jam during
   freezing WX if rainwater was present in the sliding gap.

-  again a sliding collar with spring-finger-stock inside the vertical pipes
and
   held in position in the upper-section by a spring. A rope exiting from
the
   bottom could pull the sliding tube-contactor down to connect the sections
   together. This would be a weather-proof installation and most likely free
   from frozen water jamming.

-  a pressure or vacuum driven plunger - or a motor-driven screw - to
position
   an internal sliding switching collar or a coaxial combination of a
finger-stock
   lipped-pipe receiving an insulator-led section of smaller conducting
tubing. The
   insulating guide section could be a section of hard-wood stock boiled in
paraffin
   or Teflon partially inserted inside the sliding contact.

73 de Dick - W7WKR
Stehekin, WA


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