[TowerTalk] Penetrox; Scotchbrite & steel wool

[Richard L. King]

My wife, Susan (K5DU) builds all the antennas for the K5NA station and I
install them on the towers. Currently she is building CushCraft monobanders
from their XM series. These are very well made antennas that appear to be
very sturdy.  

Susan isn't on the reflector so I sent her some of the element assembly
comments. Here is her response to what I sent her.

>From: ku2q@us.ibm.com
>X-Lotus-FromDomain: IBMUS
>To: "Richard L. King" <k5na@texas.net>
>Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 09:26:23 -0600
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Penetrox; Scotchbrite & steel wool
>
>
>
>Here is K5DU's version of this....
>---------------------------------------
>Well, Charlie, I want antennas that work good, not necessarily antennas
>that look good. (No jokes, please, about an antenna tuna.) Even our
>uncleaned antennas shine in the Texas sun.
>
>I build antennas on a temporary mast; a section of mast embedded in an old
>truck tire filled with cement. We can move the mast around and put it where
>the antenna will eventually be trammed up from.  First I build the boom to
>mast plate just at my eye level (about 4 ft, 5 in.). I use temporary nuts
>on bolts we'll have to retighten at the top of the tower. Then I assemble
>the boom right on the boom to mast plate.
>
>Here's what I do on big boom sections to make them go together better:
>1. Stick my hand inside outer sections and make sure there are no burrs on
>the pre-drilled bolt holes. (No, my hand does not get stuck.)
>2. Poke a drift pin through any holes that don't seem to be drilled through
>evenly.
>3. File down any rough edges with a metal file.
>4. Put a bit of Noalox on the inside of the outer piece. If I put the goop
>on the outer side of the inner piece I get more of it on my fingers, then
>wipe my fingers on my shirt, then get goop over everything. I buy the
>Noalox by the can that comes with the handy brush inside and leave it in
>the sun to warm up and get a bit runnier before I use it.
>5. Slide the pieces together.
>6. Poke and prode the pieces with the drift pin to line up bolt holes that
>should line up better.
>7. Do a bit of reaming with my handy battery-operated dremel tool to get
>the bolts in.
>8. If all else fails, call K5NA to drill a bit to realign the holes.
>
>Here's what I do on element sections:
>1. I clean out the insides of pieces that get smaller pieces inserted in
>them. Typically the end of the outer piece is slit once or twice by some
>mechanical device that leaves burrs on the inside of that piece.
>2. I use a flat file, a half round file, or a skinny round file to smooth
>out the burrs.
>3. I get the inner surface smooth enough to not snag stockings.
>3. I wipe out the aluminum grit left behind.
>4. If necessary to make obdurate pieces fit, I apply a teeny bit of Noalox
>to the mating pieces and slide them to the required length.
>5. I avoid using Noalox on pieces connected with hose clamps. Sometimes
>pieces get slippery enough that the hose clamp breaks before the inner
>piece is tight enough not to rotate in the outer section.
>
>-------------------------------
>
>Susan M. King
>Information Design and Development
>e-business Operating Systems Solutions (e-bOSS) - IBM Austin
>IBM Corporation, Austin, TX
>Building 901-5E-004
>Tie-line 793-7267 -- Phone 512-823-7267 -- Fax 512-838-0050
>
>
>
>
k5na@texas.net

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