Well the week went well and I have been slowly cleaning up and getting my two old antennas ready for use again. One of these antennas is a Tribander I purchased in the late 1980’s. This huge antenna is 30 feet long with elements nearly that wide. This was a big gun on 10 meters when I was a Technician class operator. The other a 6 meter beam I built from scraps parts while in high school. I finally got it up on the air around the time I got the tribander. Warren WQ1C was with me the night of a huge Aurora opening on the bands that was so bad they all sounded like the power supply had failed in the shack and I was getting un filtered noise on the radios! We worked up to the Canadian border that night on 50.110 MHz it was a blast! I miss 6 meters, time to get busy!
These two old friends have been great antennas in the past; the tribander was used successfully and has always been an impressive performer. The 5 element 6 meter antenna was great as well but time and long term storage was not so kind to them. They are dirty and tarnished and need new hardware.
I always wanted to get stainless bolts, washers and nuts but never did; now they are hopelessly rusted. Most will have to be cut off or worse. Now I have good components and will be preparing the system to go again. I have the manuals to all of the antennas thanks to the internet (what an amazing tool!) I have ordered the missing brackets from the MFJ Enterprises Company. They have a great selection for builders and people like me who are rebuilding ‘vintage’ antennas.
The 6 meter antenna has been up four times in the past, usually coming down safely but one time in a crash when we had an ice storm in central TX . As a result the boom is much shorter that it should be for a true 5 element antenna. I am going to treat it to a new boom and all stainless hardware. Next it will Get a new matching system, this time it will get a Delta match, instead of the older “T” match and I had been using previously which never really worked all that well. Usually 1.8:1 at best the antenna was okay across a wide range typically 50.0 to 53.00 but not much front to back after it was shortened down. I have found that with a delta match and a good Balun you can get nearly flat SWR across a wide range. It will be interesting to see how this will play out on the 6 meter band.
Finally the 10 meter antennas are under construction, the 5/8th wave ground planes are coming together good and will be finished this week end. One will stay here and one will be prepared for the Field Day operations. The 10 meter yagi is a big gun on the band but I have the parts to build a nice 3 or 4 element antenna to take its place and save me the big one for home use.
Its all progressing nicely and it will be fun to see how it come out this weekend.
73
AB5V
Randy
These two old friends have been great antennas in the past; the tribander was used successfully and has always been an impressive performer. The 5 element 6 meter antenna was great as well but time and long term storage was not so kind to them. They are dirty and tarnished and need new hardware.
I always wanted to get stainless bolts, washers and nuts but never did; now they are hopelessly rusted. Most will have to be cut off or worse. Now I have good components and will be preparing the system to go again. I have the manuals to all of the antennas thanks to the internet (what an amazing tool!) I have ordered the missing brackets from the MFJ Enterprises Company. They have a great selection for builders and people like me who are rebuilding ‘vintage’ antennas.
The 6 meter antenna has been up four times in the past, usually coming down safely but one time in a crash when we had an ice storm in central TX . As a result the boom is much shorter that it should be for a true 5 element antenna. I am going to treat it to a new boom and all stainless hardware. Next it will Get a new matching system, this time it will get a Delta match, instead of the older “T” match and I had been using previously which never really worked all that well. Usually 1.8:1 at best the antenna was okay across a wide range typically 50.0 to 53.00 but not much front to back after it was shortened down. I have found that with a delta match and a good Balun you can get nearly flat SWR across a wide range. It will be interesting to see how this will play out on the 6 meter band.
Finally the 10 meter antennas are under construction, the 5/8th wave ground planes are coming together good and will be finished this week end. One will stay here and one will be prepared for the Field Day operations. The 10 meter yagi is a big gun on the band but I have the parts to build a nice 3 or 4 element antenna to take its place and save me the big one for home use.
Its all progressing nicely and it will be fun to see how it come out this weekend.
73
AB5V
Randy