[TowerTalk] Flaky dipole

[Robie Elms]

Tim,

I believe Wes is correct and you have a intermittent connection.  I have found breaks in the 450 ohm ladder line I use in a similar set up.  My line has copper clad steel conductors and it appears corrosion is the root cause. I perform a visual check when I see erratic behavior and repair or replace as necessary.

Robie. - AJ4F

> On Aug 1, 2016, at 08:33, Wes Attaway (N5WA) <wesattaway at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
> It sounds like a connection is loose somewhere along the line.  You probably
> need to "wiggle" some things to see if you can cause a reproduction of the
> problem.
> 
>   -------------------
> Wes Attaway (N5WA)
> (318) 393-3289 - Shreveport, LA
> Computer/Cellphone Forensics
> AttawayForensics.com
>   -------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> Timothy Holmes
> Sent: Monday, August 01, 2016 7:34 AM
> To: ham-antennas at yahoogroups.com; Tower Talk; cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Flaky dipole
> 
> Hi folks. Sending this to multiple groups to gain expertise.
> 
> My primary dipole is acting strange.  Its 135 feet of wire up 40 feet.  Fed
> with ladderline. As I am transmitting I noticevthe swr going from low to
> high suddenly for a few seconds and then back.  Initially I thought it was
> my auto tuner showing damage, butvI put an MFJ manual tuner in place and I
> can clearly see it happening on the meter.  I dont think it is wind moving
> the wire, as it was calm when it was happening.  The feed goes from the
> rig, through the antenna switch to the tuner, then out the window via a
> bulkhead connector and to the 4:1 balun via a 2 foot coax, and then to the
> ladderline.
> 
> Any ideas on where to look for issues, and or testing methods?
> 
> Thanks
> TIM
> W8TAH
> -- 
> 
> Tim Holmes - W8TAH
> Sent from my LG Stylo
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