[TowerTalk] A3S 20 Meter troubles

[jtuel at everestkc.net]

I think that's what I'm going to have to do... I climbed the tower yesterday and pulled the driven element level to the ground (It was a little off) and water came out of the traps... That solved the SWR problmes however the RX on 20 is still about the same as the dipole...  In messing with the driven element, I moved the boom a little so now the reflector and director are not level with the ground... So... I'll have to take it down to make the elemnts level again... Everything seemed very clean when I put the thing together... and now that the SWR is flat on all three bands, I'm wondering why 20m is still sounding only as good as the dipole...

Any Ideas? 
Thanks, 
Josh - KB0GUS 

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Hellem <k0sn at centurytel.net>
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2004 5:43 am
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] A3S 20  Meter troubles

> Josh:
> I have worked on several A3's with similar problems. The fix on 
> all was to
> completely disassemble the antenna and thoroughly clean every 
> joint. I use
> sand cloth like the kind the plumbers use for cleaning copper pipe 
> for the
> outside of the tubing, and some of those wire fitting brushes 
> (also like the
> plumbers use, they come in various sizes)) for the inside. If you 
> reallywant it to go quickly cut the handles off the brushes and 
> chuck them up in a
> drill. Then coat each joint with Noalax before assembling. I also 
> insert a
> stainless steel sheet metal screw in each joint after first 
> testing the beam
> to make sure it resonates at the desired frequencies.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Tom Hellem K0SN
> Portefield, WI
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <jtuel at everestkc.net>
> To: "Tower Talk List" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 2:48 PM
> Subject: [TowerTalk] A3S 20 Meter troubles
> 
> 
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I just put up an A3S on top of my new 40 ft tower.  It is a used 
> A3S and
> it was reported to work well prior to me getting it last fall.
> >
> > When I test it against my G5RV, the G5RV is a little better on 20
> meters... The tribander is excelent on 15...
> >
> > I have good directivity, good nulls when I rotate it, but the 
> SWR is high
> and again, the G5RV transmits and receives better.
> >
> > >From what I understand, the antenna does not have 20m traps to 
> fail or
> get clogged...
> >
> > I verified the element spacing and lentgths are correct, but the 
> antennais not good on 20m...
> >
> > Any Ideas?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Josh - KB0GUS
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", 
> "WirelessWeather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-
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> >
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> 
>