[TowerTalk] trap loss

[jim Jarvis]

re: SteppIR vs. Kt34XA or kt36XA and reliability...

Quoth Tony, in response to Julio and Mike:

I'm sure you can find examples of any antenna that failed when it was  
brand new, and other examples of them being 'up for 20 years with no  
problem'.

You just have to pick your poison...     -Tony, K1KP


Adding an annecdote:

Tony has already gone through the littany of KT34XA rebuild issues.    
I've had two kt34XA's and 4 KT34A's,
at various times.   All bought used, and all rebuilt at least once.    
Great antenna, but lots of mechanical parts,
and not a great physical implementation in the early going.   The  
KT36 variants are physically much more robust.

I replaced my last kt34a with a 3 el SteppIR.    About the same  
performance... perhaps a tad better... but with
moving parts.   It convinced me of the value of an auto-tuned  
antenna.   In Vermont, I was concerned about wx,
but survived 2 seasons with no problem.   Then we moved to MD, and I  
sold the antenna to K2QM.  It was up at
a contest station for several more years, before developing a tuning  
problem.

I would bet $100 that it will prove to be one of the connections gone  
bad.   If there's one weak spot, it's in
the terminal strip/cabling system.   The core technology is solid.    
And yes, it IS true that protecting the
controller against ESD and lightning discharge would be helpful.    
Like everything else in my shack that
cabled to antennas,  it was connectorized, and disconnected when not  
in use.

As for the connecting boot problems,  those are Fernco plumbing  
couplers.   They're really not rated for
extended UV exposure.   But you can buy them at home depot!

As Tony says, 'pick your poison'.

N2EA