[TowerTalk] Portable operation with beam

[RICHARD BOYD]

At our large W3AO Field Day (50 transmitter category last year), we take all our 20-10M yagis with the elements intact.
We put them on a fullsize pickup with ladder rack (mine typically), with a flag tied/taped on the end of the longest (20M) elements in the back.  Bundled all together with booms they make a pretty rigid package for transport.  Not bundled, the elements bounce a lot and bang together, an unnecessary annoyance out in front of your windshield -- easy to avoid it by bundling them together good.  40M elements we do remove the element tips, so we have the center of the element and two tips for each element, all bundled together like the others, and it doesn't take more than 20 minutes or so to put the whole 40M beam together.  We use 2-element Cushcrafts on 40.  On the other bands W3LPL three element yagis.
Not having to put elements together on site definitely saves time and effort.  73 - Rich, KE3Q
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: James C. Hall, MD 
  To: Tower Talk 
  Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 9:52 PM
  Subject: [TowerTalk] Portable operation with beam


  Hello:

  I'm working on our club Field Day prep.  We will have a new F12 C3S to 
  work with and I have a question on construction.  How do DX'peditioners 
  package, transport, and later, construct these beams ? Surely they 
  don't pop rivet the whole thing and then drill them all out.  I have 
  imagined constructing half an element and then color-code tape the 
  element for later matching.  Then at the site, use a rivet without the 
  stem at the joint and just tape it in position.  I have transported 
  antennas for portable ops using thin-wall PVC tubes with caps.

  Anybody have some ideas ?

  73, Jamie
  WB4YDL

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