Buggy anenna - Was ( [SixClub] opening)

[Roger (K8RI)]

>I just worked WA2SEI in EL99 (Florida)...  voice on 50.125

And I probably won't have the antenna repaired and back up until tomorrow 
evening or Tuesday.

As the big array is currently out of service I've been using a Hy-Gain AV640 
(Patriot) on 40 through 6.
Actually the first transmitting I've done on it in some time was about two 
weeks ago on six after I set up the new Tokyo Hy-Power Labs HF-1.5KFX that 
is showing about 750 watts out. That appears to make it about the equal of 
the 7L C3i at 115 feet and 100 watts at least on transmitting.

Unfortunately, after getting the auto band switching to work and trying it 
out on 40, 20, 15, and 10 I discovered some major shifts in resonant 
frequencies as well as a rise in the minimum SWR from 1.1:1 to between 1.3 
and 1.5:1. Also the band width on all bands was much narrower than when I 
put it up.

We took the antenna down Friday which was a quick and easy job for 5 of us. 
It took less than half an hour and most of that was spent untangling the 
rope that had been so carefully coiled to prevent such an event.

(Don't remember if I posted this part before or not)
Except for one broken spacer which wouldn't have caused the problems the 
antenna looked fine. then I discovered some bugs in the design. Actually in 
the design and physically in the matching network. When I opened the 
matching network the thing was packed solid with wasps and their nests. 
There was a solid mass of crispy critters around the input connector on the 
inside of the box. No burn marks, but those Wasps were certainly crispy. So 
apparently there is some health hazard to being in close proximity to 750 
watts of RF at 50 MHz, or at least it was for the wasps.

The problem was the drain holes in the box for the matching network are too 
big at 1/4 inch. That's large enough to give the Wasps easy entry.

73

Roger (K8RI)

>
> Randy, N0LD in EM17 (Kansas)
>
> 0523 UTC 13 AUG 2007
>
> Perseid?  Didn't sound like it...
>
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