[TowerTalk] A "good deal"

[K7GCO@aol.com]

NOTE!  My face is read.  As a speed reader I can miss spelling or the wrong 
word.
A few paragraphs down I capitalized the correct word.  The "dumb word 
checker" didn't catch the word "would".  Disregard previous Post.  I made 
some other improvements.
k7gco
In a message dated 27.01.00 22:41:51 Pacific Standard Time, K7GCO@aol.com 
writes:
   In regard to W7LXC's recommendation of using Sliver Solder on a quads 
 twisted wire joints rather than regular solder and to not using Flee Market 
 Aluminum Solder on yagi tubing joints as I have SUCCESSFULLY DONE A 
 5 YEAR LONGEVITY TEST ON and all the other comments--I have these 
 comments.
    I think Silver Solder (SS) is great if you can find a low temperature 
one. 
 The reference Silver Bearing Solder I got from Radio Shack came without any 
 flux.  It don't stick. Unless there is a flux for it, forget it.  Does 
anyone 
 know a better one?  However for a twisted wire quad joint, I have yet to see 
 a twisted wire joint under great stress soldered with normal solder ever 
fail 
 in 64 years. I see no need for SS on a quad wire joint as both give zero 
 resistance for a long time--the only joint each quad element has.  As a 
result
 Quads have ZERO ELECTRICAL DETERIORATION OF PERFORMANCE 
 WITH ENAMELED OR COVERED WIRE. Yagi's can't say that. Yagi 
 construction needs lots of joints that can turn into resistors and capacitors
 sooner or later--almost regardless what you use.  
     The best stuff I know about is called Anti-Seize with Aluminum in it and 
 it's gray. This has been very well tested.  Chuck Smith of Rai-Beam supplies
 it with his newly patented beams beams and it's costly--the Aniti-Seize that 
 is.  Longevity was built into this yagi throughout. The Rai-Beam 2 element
 yagi and a properly designed 2 element quad are what I call the "K7GCO 
 New Standard of Beam Performance". To equal or beat them, you have to
 go to a boom 2-3 times longer and 2-3 more elements to justify the 
 cost which starts to rise exponentially.  The dB or 2 you might get will 
cost 
 you about $1-5000 or more depending on the band. It's a lot of "dB's of $$$"
 more. This is a new term I just coined. The higher the gain the higher it
 must be mounted to fully realize it's full performance.
   I carefully pointed out that I solved this multiple joint problem with a 
Flea 
 Market Solder needing only a Berns-MaticTorch.  It has survived 5 years 
 and it still looks great and tests "ZERO" resistance.  What more can one 
ask? 
    In regard to manufacturers "not recommending this", that would admit 
there 
 is a problem they don't want you to know about or don't know themselves 
 how bad it can get. Take you pick.  Even if the outside tubing is .058" wall 
 (or less), I oblong the inside tubing end or wrap tape around it to reduce 
or 
 eliminate any movement that would stress the solder joint or even a clamp 
 joint.  I explained how I soldered it and it's passed the test of 5 years.  
     There were comments of using regular solders to aluminum joints that 
 don't stick.  I soldered with a Berns-Matic Torch and a no flux Aluminum 
 Solder that so far as I know didn't weaken the tubing.  I added a short 
 length of a mechanically secured small piece of thin tubing inside the joint 
 near the end of the element inside just to be on the safe side in case of a 
 lowered temper.  If there is evidence it works and solves a major problem
 --don't knock it unless you can prove it wrong. You might even try it.  I 
 never ever recommend anything that I WOULDN'T bet money on and 
 have not lost a bet.  
     I didn't add any rivets as I wanted to test its longevity without them.  
 That's not a bad idea to secure the element while soldering.  If pop rivets 
 are used, be sure to use the ones with an aluminum nail in them. Rivets are 
 just another thing quad users don't have to worry about along with stripped 
 self taping screws and the Alumitoid Yagititis powder that forms around them.
     There was one yagi 3 element design that had some 50 joints in it in an 
 Antenna Software sample program.  It probably took a week to put it in 
there. 
  Few individuals would have all this different diameter tubing--I do. This 
 design required 50 SS clamps at considerable expense.  For each SS 
 Clamp there are 2 RF connections--one on each side.  There are 150 press fit 
 connections with 100 of them being dissimilar metals.  A quad only has the 
 feedline connections that should be coated.  Unless the clamp and tubing is 
 coated there will be pits under it in time.  I have great pictures of such 
 problems.  I plan to get them scanned for a web site.  This design is the 
ALL 
 TIME 5 WORST DUMMITY DESIGNS I HAVE EVER SEEN.     
     Reflectors like this serve a useful purpose for tower and antenna 
 problems.  I've seen many clever fixes and I read them all.  When antenna 
 systems have nothing but problems with no end in sight, it's time to look at 
 other systems with known and proven performance and longevity concepts. They 
 don't require a Reflector for nonexistent problems.  All this joint compound 
 coverage is of no interest to quad owners.  We laugh at it and all the other 
 performance compromise problems with big HO HO HO's.   
     I've repeated the original solder suggestions below with an updated 
 version to make sure everyone understands what was said and.why it solves a 
 long time problem of every yagi.  So far no useful corrections or 
suggestions 
 have been made and I welcome them all the time. 
 << 
   True 'dat.  Washington, DC HD's have unadvertised, unmarked specials of
   NOALOX: normally $7.50, priced down to $5.15 for 8 oz. bottle w/applicator.
   73 de Gene Smar  AD3F
  In a message dated 27.01.00 00:46:23 Pacific Standard Time, K7GCO@aol.com 
 writes:  >>
     One big advantage of a properly designed quad is each wire joint is 
  soldered giving Zero Resistance and it doesn't change.  Instead of using 
  NOALOX or PENATROX on aluminum joints, I hear they work better on stiff 
  knee joints. This "Rheumatoid Arthritis" of the yagi joints is a serious 
  plague affecting all aluminum joints--sooner or later.  I call it 
"Alumitoid 
  Yagititus." I've checked many yagi joints over the years with an ohm and 
  capacitive meter and some become Capacitive Reactive.  Fortunately for 
  yagi's, capacitive reactance does conduct RF but not without a length 
change.  
  Toward the end of an element bad joints tend to short out capacitively but 
  not in the high current area in the center where it does the most damage. 
  A capacitive joint would stop DC. We are a littler higher than that.  How 
deep
  the RF goes inside a tight capacitive joint I don't know due to the 
limitations
  of the skin affect and the tight fit. It can throw off a critical F/B 
tuning of a
  yagi which is easy to observe on the yagi--sooner or later. That loss of 
F/B 
  is what first put me on the very trial of the dreaded "Alumitoid Yagititis" 
  some 50 years ago.  It's the first thing I look for.
    Other factors of performance are not as easy to measure.  It doesn't 
  always change the SWR either I've found.  Someone on TT said "certain 
  DXer's are taking their beams down and cleaning them before a contest."  
  I started recommending doing that over 50 years ago verbally and in print 
  after what I found--yes even with Penatrox.  Some of the DXer's I told did 
it
  and thanked me for it many times after. One competitive DXer suggested 
  "I not tell others"!!  One high power W6 found Penatrox got hard in the 
joints 
   and had to file it off.  So the question arises.  Does RF flow in the 
joint 
   despite the well know skin affect?  Why did this Penatrox get hard?  Did 
   high power "cook it?"  I tend to think there is a thin circular ring of 
   conduction at the diameter change.  Only there is a low RF resistance 
joint 
   needed unless the field can jump a bad connection.  Six-40 year old
  aluminum joints I took apart--with special leverages and techniques--the 
   Alumitoid Yagititus coating was .015" larger than tubing diameter. The was
   a "compression fit." I finally cured the problem with a Flea Market 
Aluminum 
  Solder on telescoping joints.  I cleaned the tubing inside and out even with
  soap and water.  I rotated 3/4" tubing in a lathe slowly heating it and the 
5/8"  
  telescoping length with a Bernsamatic Torch. It can be rotated in 2 V's by
  an assistant.  At the right time or heat, it flowed like regular solder.  I 
don't 
  know if any flowed inside the joint. Larger tubing will require 2 torches.  
  Result: INSTANT AND PERMANENT ZERO OHM JOINTS that has lasted for 5 
  years.  It's probably the first time this ever happened.  I mechanically 
secured 
  a short length of 1/2" tubing for 6" past the joint inside the 2' 5/8" end 
tubing 
  as I wasn't sure what heating the tubing would do to it's temper.  I'm 
going to 
  run a test on this. These are the only yagi elements I have Zero 
Maintenance 
  on except for the continuous diameter elements I use on 10 and 12M.  
   Aluminum welders should work also--very quickly. 
      Part of this multiple joint resistance problem (every stainless steel 
  clamp adds even 2 more joints) is largely created by the length 
restrictions 
  of shipping tubing in the mail (and airplane luggage for DX Expeditions).  
If I
  went on a DX Expedition I'd take quads as it's a better DX Antenna.  It 
works 
  very well close to the ground also.  Quad wire comes in long hanks, is cut 
to 
  the exact length and then it's PERMANENTLY SOLDERED.  When aluminum
  elements are damaged replacement aluminum is very very expensive.  If quad 
  wires are damaged, it's replacement is very inexpensive. Telescoping 
  fiberglass tubing creates no performance problem as it does with yagi's.  
It's 
  tapered nature is ideal for strength as it is with yagi elements. 
      There are still Quad manufacturers that cuts costs with minimum 
  mechanical and electrical designs to appeal to the tight budget buyers. Ham 
  Radio is living off the Retiree's and SS now and it's limited budget.  They 
  also rely on the inability of mostly non-technical customers not to 
recognize 
  the products performance deficiencies.  The root of the exposure problem is 
  few have 2 towers the same height for a comparison with a 2 element quad 
  initially and long term.  It's easy to compare 2 rigs in the shack with a 
coax 
  switch. The "deficient design merchants" have given the quad a bad name it 
  doesn't deserve.  It even took me a long time to finally see the "Quad 
Light" 
  with all the bad mouthing of quads going on created by bad designs. 
     There is a Special Oven in Ham Hell for these manufacturers along with 
the 
  buyers who get suckered in. They go straight to Ham Hell also and don't 
pass 
  the Good Stuff Stores.  Would you believe they still buy from each other 
down 
  there as their over heated Ovens are adjacent to each other.  Their Inter 
Hell 
  Net Communication is on LSB Heat Waves. Solder joints go bad down there 
  all the time--like aluminum joints.
      Gentlemen: It's time to review the facts of beam antenna performance.  
Are 
  you getting a Top Design with Longevity built in for the money?  Only with 
  soldered aluminum and wire joints, there is no electrical deterioration of 
a 
  beams performance (except with the Gray Anti-Seize with Aluminum in it and
  equivalents--it's still a press joint).  I have yet to read one bad report 
in TT or 
  anywhere of electrical deterioration of quads performance and or of numerous
  mechanical problems of telephone poles which I have also recommended.  TT  
  covers enough problems of metal towers and other antennas that strongly 
  suggests "better methods of enjoying Ham Radio should be considered."  
  Retiree's I know can't do the constant maintenance needed with metal towers 
  and yagi's after 10-15 years nor can they afford hiring it done.  Longevity 
of 
  Design has been missing from many antennas.  Ask yourself "if a problem  
  developed in your yagi--how many days, weeks or months would it take before 
  it could be fixed and how much would it cost?".  Weather permitting I can 
do it 
  right away even at night.  I have flood lights and head mounted flashlights.
  Your Montra should be every night "Think Longevity."  Repeat it until you 
go to 
  sleep. K7GCO   Ken Glanzer   

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