Fw: [HomeBrew] Troubleshooting traps

[Dick Foster]

 That's a good article John.  You make the statement "do not try to take the
 trap apart because it will void the warranty".  I must add that conversely
 "if it's out of warranty go ahead and take it apart".

 Getting ready for Field Day, I repaired an old  HyGain tribander which
 belonged to our local radio club.  We found that the connections of the
 copper wires in the trap coils to the screws connecting them to the
Aluminum
 tubing had seriously corroded.

 With most traps there is one or more retaining screws.  After their removal
 you can pull off the end caps and pull the trap apart.  It's an outer
 Aluminum tube over a plastic inner rod serving as a coil form.  Often you
 will find bug nests, insect carcasses and corrosion bridging turns of the
 coil as well as corrosion at the terminals and maybe the whole coil.  If
you
 rewind the coil, take care to first note the wire size and number of turns
 first.  With this cleanup and reassemble and you have a "good as new" trap.

 I have to recognize Kees Talen, K5BCQ, who showed me this procedure.

 Very 73,
 Dick  W5TA

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Tait" <bravo@iol.ie>
> To: <homebrew@mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 4:52 PM
> Subject: [HomeBrew] Troubleshooting traps
>
>
> ** Please do NOT cross-post messages to multiple mailing lists on the
"To:"
> or "CC:" line of the e-mail message. **
>
> I've added a new page to my site at http://www.iol.ie/~bravo/   It is a
> document that was produced by staff members at Cushcraft some years ago,
and
> is a useful treatise on how to trace problems on antenna traps ..I have
> reproduced it , with the permission of Ed Hammond WN1I at Cushcraft ..  It
> remains of course, copyright of Cushcraft Corporation...
>    I hope that some of you may find it useful..
>           Vy 73
>           John EI7BA