[SixClub] Something else to fix

[Roger (K8RI)]

My gripe for the day, <:-))

Wellll... I knew finding one of the boom trusses for my 7L 6-meter yagi on 
the concrete apron in front of the shop this afternoon was not a good sign. 
Then I noticed the 50, 144 and 440 antennas were windmilling and the 
tri-bander was not. That the tri-bander wasn't was a good sign as it's 
temporarily setting on the 45G top plate. However the only way the others 
could windmill would be if the 3/8" through bolts holding the mast togeter 
have sheared.(or fallen out) So the only thing stopping the rotation are the 
LMR 400 Ultraflex rotator loops.

We've had some very strong winds over the last week with one day of severe 
weather where we were under a tornado watch for nearly 12 hours.

So, at any rate it looks like the 6-meter yagi is going to have to come down 
for maintenance as are the 144 and 440 arrays.
I'm building a 50 or 60 foot,  rotating, fold over pole to go on the back 
(West) end of the shop so the 6-meter yagi may go there as it really doesn't 
need to be at 115 feet. OTOH I do want the 144/440 arrays as high as I can 
get them. Actually 50 feet should be good for the tribander as well. Then I 
could put a 3 or 4 L 40 up on top of the 45G. I said 50 or 60 feet and that 
depends on the price of steel. Going from 50 to 60 feet doubles the cost (or 
a bit more) of the pole and adds almost 30% more weight to the pole and to 
the base/raising fixture. It also requires more concrete.

A 40 meter yagi might be just a bit much as I'm just getting back to 
climbing. I did make it "up there" last week which aint bad considering I 
needed help to stand April 4th.  I'm not quite up to the old "stay up there 
all afternoon though. <:-))

This leaves me back to using the AV-640 on 6 until I get the rotating pole 
finished, installed and running. Hopefully I can get the base in before the 
ground freezes and the pole up before the snow gets too deep to haul nearly 
400# of steel through the yard to the back of the shop.

At this point though, I'll be happy if I can get the antennas down, fixed 
and at least get the 144/440 array back on top with the rotator installed. 
(and hope I have enough *good*  LMR 400 Ultraflex for the rotator loops). 
Getting the pole up would be gravy and having it working with the 6-meter 
yagi on top would be fantastic. I say that as this has not been a good week 
for radio gear around here.

In addition to having the problems with the antennas, my FT-897 has a broken 
CW key jack, my DR610T duo band rig had the socket for the A/B band 
selection switches break off the circuit board, and the power supply for my 
756 Pro blew up.(I have an Astron RS-50M for a spare). Oh, yah...The speaker 
in my VX7R needs to be replaced and it has to be sent in for that. (the 
speaker is bonded in the case.  Oh, I've been saying this is the first year 
since the tower went up that it hasn't been hit by lightning. I think I 
lied. The Comet duo-band vertical that is side mounted at around 40 feet has 
a split about 8" long in the base section about 3' above the radials. I've 
seen this in the Diamond version of the same antenna and that one I know was 
hit by lighting. I won't know for sure on this one until I get it apart.  I 
just happen to have a brand new Diamond in the shop that is all ready to go 
up. Of course I had planned on using it for digital...

I shouldn't say this out loud, but so far the Icom IC-7000 out in the shop 
is running fine. OTOH it is one of the most difficult to use/set up/program 
rigs I've ever used. The 897D is a bit easier to use with a more logical 
layout to the menues, but I think the 7000 is better built.  The 897D and 
the 7000 make good mobiles, but are not very convenient when it comes to the 
flexibility needed for rapid changes as an all band, all mode base station. 
I could write a disertation on those two. <:-))

That socket for the DR610T is only 1/4" X 3/16" and the only thing that 
holds the volume/squelch/AB switches in place so it takes all the force from 
pressing to select either the A or B side and any bumps in the car. I'd 
guess breaking it off basically renders the control head beyond echonomical 
repair.

Ah, well, back to planning out tomorrow's tower work.

73

Roger (K8RI)