[Elecraft] Blown trap?

[Phil Wheeler]

MFJ has a technician? Pretty amazing, Vic :-)

Phil W7OX

On 12/15/14 9:28 AM, Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP/K2VCO wrote:
> The good news is that I called MFJ, got a 
> technician immediately, he agreed that the 30M 
> trap is the problem, and said he would send me a 
> new one under warranty. Elecraft-style service 
> (so far).
>
> The bad news is that despite the statement in 
> the manual that it is rated at "1500W CW," he 
> told me not to exceed 800-1000 watts. Not 
> Elecraft-style design/documentation!
>
> So if you have an R8 or similar antenna, be 
> warned. I wasn't tuning up or running RTTY -- I 
> was calling CQ on 40M running about 1200W.
>
> Other bands are unchanged but 30 and 40M are gone.
>
> Thanks to everyone that responded.
>
> On 15 Dec 2014 15:07, David Cole wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> No matter what happens, you will probably end 
>> up taking the antenna
>> down...  If nothing else to check to be sure it 
>> is fine...
>>
>> Grab an analyzer and connect it as close to the 
>> antenna base as
>> possible, and see if it is resonant on all 
>> bands...  Probably won't
>> anymore.  If you are lucky, it is some strange 
>> feedline thing, or a
>> connector issue, but having the antenna work on 
>> some bands, while not on
>> others reeks of blown trap.  I fear your 
>> diagnosis is in fact
>> correct...
>>
>> If you are going to "fix" it, and if it were 
>> me, I would get a trapless
>> antenna of some sort...  No traps blow.  I 
>> currently use a GAP
>> Challenger DX, (trapless), and have a band by 
>> band review of it at:
>> http://nk7z.net/review-of-the-challenger-dx-antenna-by-gap-antenna/ 
>>
>>
>> The antenna takes power, and does not break, I 
>> have run 1000 Watts into
>> it on RTTY for 15 minutes with no issues.  I 
>> have had it up for at least
>> 7 years, and I think 10 or more years.  Never a 
>> problem beyond the three
>> radials coming off once...  It is a pretty good 
>> performer on 40, and 20.
>> I finally got one of the mono gaps, and it does 
>> a good job.  I do take
>> it down every few years and check things, and 
>> change out anything that
>> looks like it is going bad.
>
>