[TowerTalk] unadilla

[K1SG@aol.com]

Hello Steve:
 
I came across a Tower Talk thread you had posted, I think back in January  of 
this year, asking about Undilla/Reyco's WA2ZOT filters.  I don't know if  you 
had any luck finding one, but I spoke with the company, now in Andover, MA,  
this morning, and they now have (after I bought one) exactly one of them  
left, brand new, old discontinued stock.  Their phone number is  978-975-2711.
Incidentally, when Microwave Filter Co, the makers of the original filter,  
went belly up, the assets were bought by the current Undalla/Reyco people; thus 
 the current filters no longer carry the lifetime guarantee, and they have 
not  honored that guarantee since the 1980s. 
My story is that I recently became active on 6M EME, and put up a quad of  
6M5Xs with full elevation.  When installing the 1 5/8" hardline to the  array, I 
found the cable was a little bit long, and would have to be cut back,  but I 
wanted to get it on the air nowNowNOW, so I didn't take the time to  
waterproof the connector at the bottom of the tower. Bad mistake.  When I  disassembled 
the connector, about 1/2 cup of water ran out of it.  As you  can imagine, my 
WA2ZOT filter did not tolerate EME power levels and a 6:1 SWR  for very 
long...one sequence was enough to melt it down to slag, and Unadilla  does not 
repair them. By the way, this EME antenna went up on 14 May, and was  first used 
terrestrially during the big opening on 17 May when I worked  you!  Thanks for 
the contact.
I hope some of this information is helpful, or at least amusing.
73,
Steve  K1SG