[SixClub] Something else to fix

Sun Oct 21 22:19:56 EDT 2007

 Roger,

 You are in a fix.

                         Joey
 Mr Richard J. Fiero II
A.R.S. W5TFW
Em-40  DXCC VUCC
www.w5tfw.com
www.6mt.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <50MHz at rogerhalstead.com>
To: "World Wide Six Meter Club" <sixclub at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 9:13 PM
Subject: [SixClub] Something else to fix

> 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)
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