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Antenna repair work
5 January 2014 | by always seems to be conducted when weather is less than optimal for such things.
You may remember me telling how I had to temporarily re-hang my 88′ EDZ wire last Saturday. Just a week ago, we were enjoying weather in the low 50s (11C), it was a good day to perform that task. But then during the week, I noticed it wasn’t working right and seemed to be deaf. I thought initially that there was a short in the PL-259 connector. I changed that out and it made no difference. I suspected a fault maybe a bit farther back in the coax, as feedlines always seem to be a probem, but then I thought – what if the problem is with the window line and not the coax?
So today, I headed outside and this weekend, the weather is quite a bit colder than last. In fact, it’s quite the opposite of last weekend. Last night we had a low of -3F (-20C) and today’s high was about 20F (-6C), so where did I find myself? Of course, in the back yard, freezing in the new fallen snow, inspecting my antenna to see where the fault might lay. And since I work better without gloves, that just added to the pleasure!
Fortunately, the fault was found quickly and it was an easy fix. When I was re-hoisting the antenna, the window line must have flexed and stressed badly at the BALUN terminals, and on one side, the wire had snapped. It proved to be a simple matter of loosening the screw, removing the old tiny bit of wire, stripping back a bit more of the insulation on that side of the window line and re-screwing the bare wire back down in place. I needed tools no more sophisticated than the Swiss Army Knife that I always carry. (You can’t work for a Swiss firm for 22 years of your life and NOT carry a Swiss Army Knife with you wherever you go.)
I went to my basement shack, where it’s a balmy 58F (15C) and was delighted to see the KX3 deliver a match in literally, just a couple of seconds. My preferred wire is now back in action and I am quite a happy camper. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that my temporary support line will hold for the rest of the winter!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
3 Responses to “Antenna repair work”
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- Matt W1MST, Managing Editor
Good job, Larry! You proved the old axiom of antenna construction:
“Antennas work best when worked on in inclement weather!”
73, and Happy New Year!
HOLA KARL,N7DMA,ESTO POR LO QUE PASATES,ME SUCEDIOA MI TAMBIEN ,AFORTUNADAMENTE ME AYUDO A INSTALAR MI NUEVA ANTENA “WINDOW CAROLINE 80 DE LA COMPAÑIA RADIO WORK “,QUE POR CIERTO TRABAJA MUY BIEN,MAS BIEN DIRIA EXCELENTEMENTE BIEN,EN TODAS LAS BANDAS QUEINDICA DESDE 80 75 40 20 17 15 12 10 Y 50 MHZ….Y DE TANTO SUBIR A LA TORRE,DE MI DEPARTAMENTO,BAJAR LAS ESCALERAS DE ALUMINIO Y LLEVARLA DE AQUI PARA ALLA,….SUBETE,BAJATE,BUELVE ASUBIR A LA TORRE,AMARRA LAS LINEAS Y ETC ETC.EL CUENTO ES QUE A MIS 63 AÑOS DE EDAD,YA NO ES POSIBLE HACER ESTO SIN AYUDA,AFORTNADAMENTE MI HIJO,TIENE 25 AÑOS Y TODALA ENERGIA,PARA HACER EST Y MAS…EN FIN YA VAN 5 DIAS Y CON TODO Y UNGUENTOS BALSAMICOS,PARA LOS DOLORES MUSCULARES,…ESTOS SIGUEN MOLESTANDO,…EN FIN BENDITA RADIOAFICION,..EL JOBY DE MI VIDA….EN FIN KARL,73 Y DX…….MENNY DESDE EL PLANETA TIERRA
My 80M loop needs working on and I really should be out there. As it is -37C I would be guaranteed an extra dB or two. No?
Maybe I’ll restrain myself and wait until spring.
VE8NX