[TowerTalk] Testing C-3 near ground

[john at kk9a.com]

I have never tried the point up method, pulling the antenna up as Ed  
wrote is quite easy.  I pull my homebrew monobanders up much higher  
then Ed suggested to make the final adjustments, this has been a  
reliable method for me.

The original post by AB2ZY stated that the tower that it is going on  
won't be there for a few weeks and that he wanted to verify the joints  
and assembly since it appeared to have been laying around for at least  
a decade. First I would spend my efforts cleaning the elements and any  
connecting surfaces with Scotch-Brite pads to ensure that the  
connections are good and will remain good. Also be sure to use quality  
coax, connectors and a choke.  It is also pretty easy to check the  
element dimensions against the manual. I have an old Force12 C3 that I  
brought to St Croix to operate as WP2AA.  This is a very small antenna  
that was easy to install and uninstall on a Monday after a contest.  
Mine worked perfectly assembling it using the factory rivet holes.

John KK9A



Ed N1UR wroteL

I have found the "point in the air" method works much better on monobanders
than on multi band yagis and linear loaded antennas.



Much better is to try and find an ability to get the antenna 20 - 25 ft in
the air with a rope over a tree or some other support.



If you have a tower, just pulling it up 20 ft on the tower works well and is
usually open for a temporary pull up.



Ed  N1UR