[Milsurplus] AS-2259 Conundrum

[ersmar at comcast.net]

Gents:

     This weekend I helped assemble and operate an AS-2259 NVIS antenna system.  It is puzzlement.   Can someone explain it to me?  Here's my problem with it.

     Before seeing this unit, I had always thought that the two dipole wire sets were connected one short leg and one long leg to the center of the coax support pipe and one short leg and one long leg to the shield.  You know- just the way we Hams would connect two crossed dipole inverted V's for 40 and 80 to a single coax feed line/balun.

     But Nooooooo.   On the unit we had, the two short wires were BOTH connected to the center conductor and the two long wires were BOTH connected to the shield.  I concluded that we could correct this obvious error by relocating one short and one long wire to opposite connectors.  However, all four wire ends had small brass collars crimped to them where the tips emerged from the opposite side of the connector.  (See http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/acs/radios/AS-2259%20antenna.htm , third photo down.)  We couldn't remove the wires from their connectors at the top of the mast.  

     Did we erect a -2259 that was hosed up by the last Ham who owned it, or did it come that way from the Government surplus source?  I can't help but think that the reports of poor operation on the Ham bands are due in some part to this counter-intuitive configuration.  

     Thanks for any insight or inuendo.

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F
P.S.  We made zero Q's on either 80 AM or 40 CW with our GRC-9 and this beast.