[TowerTalk] 40 meter rotatable dipole

[Pete Smith]

At 06:48 PM 3/24/03 -1000, Jim Reid wrote:
>It you put up one of those linear loaded jobs,  with all the
>clamps,  etc. be sure you can get to it each year to insure
>all is as it should be!!

Sorry to hear about your problem, Jim.

My experience is quite different.  I have an EF-240S (two of those 
elements) at 104 feet.  It has been up there for 5 years now.  My 
environment has no salt air to contend with, but I, too, worried about the 
number of clamped connections in the loading wire scheme, because we have 
fairly substantial winds (we call them porch-clearers because all the porch 
furniture winds up on the side lawn) a number of times each year.  After 
all, with the two-element antenna the dipoles are each 9 feet from the 
mast, so even reaching them is very problematical.  No way a crane truck 
can get there either.  I had no option but to tighten and hope for the best.

All I can tell you is that it has been trouble-free so far.  In that period 
I have had 4-5 connector problems with my coax feedlines.  I think I'd have 
a hard look at your feedlines before concluding that nothing but a crane 
rental will do.


73, Pete N4ZR
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