[TowerTalk] KT34XA cracked insulators

[Bob Wruble]

i cud be wrong abt this in that i built 3 kt34'xas recently and i don't
recall anything in the manual abt NO OILS..wd-40  ure aids in 
mounting the plastic parts!!  if oil is nfg it shud be in the manual!!

73 de bob w7gg

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> From: Tony Brock-Fisher <fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com>
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] KT34XA cracked insulators
> Date: Monday, May 05, 1997 5:59 AM
> 
> 
> Hi Folks.
> 
> I rebuilt an XA last summer. It had only been up 2-3 years, so I was
> not expecting to have to replace the capacitor caps. But when I got it
> down, I found several were cracked.
> 
> Here's an excerpt from a previous post containing relevant info:
> 
> Initial visual inspection showed 7 out of 40 of the blue capacitor caps
> were cracked. I also did DC resistance measurements of the traps and
> found that most traps had a total series resistance of 30-50 mOhms
> (milliohms). Two of the traps had resistances of 200-300 mOhms. I traced
> the high resistance to the large end of the most outboard shorting
> strap (15 meter section).
> 
> I called KLM and spoke to Bruce about the caps. He said they should have
> lasted 10 years in normal UV exposure, and that there were only 3 explanations
> for their premature failure. These were (1) installation with a hammer;
> (2) installation using oils as lubricant; or (3) bad lot of plastic.
> I told him I hadn't used (1) or (2), and he very kindly sent me a replacement
> set for NO CHARGE, to replace the set I had bought for the prior rebuild.
> I'd call that great service from an antenna maker!
> 
> I rebuilt the antenna using the new caps. Bruce told me that the best way
> to install the caps was to warm them up in hot water. This is a great tip!
> They went on really easily once they were warm.
> 
> Hope this helps...
> 
> -Tony, K1KP, fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com
> 
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