Grant, did you happen to also do a Pro/4 analysis of a 4-square over poor ground? At my new QTH I'm not going to be able to get a beam higher than around 125ft for 80m, and that would be a 2-el wire
Mindful of Steve's 'Prime Directive' which suggests I absolutely should use the dampening rope in my recently acquired used 155CA, what is the experience of the TowerTalkian brains trust of the need
Thanks to all for the wisdom, both on and off-reflector. Clearly the rope should be used with this antenna, as insurance against the PITA of taking it down to fix a broken element, if for no other re
The recommendation of Smith's book came up in a previous set of posts on fasteners. I ordered it and it changed my life :-) Serious note: read this and get a whole 'nother take on keeping the mechani
I'm putting together a new contest station and have already decided on/obtained LDF5-50A for the 150ft runs to the bases of the two crank-up towers. Looking for real-life experiences with cable choic
Thanks for the input Mike. My experience with FSJ4-50B is not positive. Ive nicknamed it the firehose as a result of its ability to take on water and have it track down the coax. 73, David G3WGN M6O
Hi Rich, Thanks for the thought. I developed an Excel spreadsheet for our 6Gs DXpeditions (TX6G, E6GG, ZL7G) that does the same as the arrg calculator but allows multiple segments each with selectabl
Hi Doug, We had a similar issue with an LDF5-50 feeder at K6IDX, except that the line had been in place for more than 15 years IIRC. The connectors had been installed by a celltower professional, wit
Hi Jim, How 'wrong' is it to have grounded my tower to the demarcation panel at the shack end, if the distance from tower to panel is approx. 200ft? It seems to me that the approx. #6 bonding wire (3
I buy mine from RFBat on EBay. After trying several Chinese suppliers RFBat come out on top for quality and speed of delivery. Most of my installation is Andrew 7/16 DIN connectors outdoors (also at
I use the Folding Antennas hexbeam as a temporary antenna while I get towers & 4 square set up at new QTH. It took around 8 hours to assemble initially but can now be deployed in around 20 minutes. G
Hi Towertalkians, I have a pair of telescopic towers that are similar in size to a US Tower HDX-589. The manufacturer specifies guying at 3 levels, but does not provide equalizer plates. I'm mindful
Thanks Grant. 1) Yes, the tower is designed to be guyed. I have the guy layout diagrams and the headload and windspeed ratings. All guys are shown anchored to a single point but there is no info abou
Thank you sir! You are a star! I'm not yet convinced that equalizer plates are necessary but your sketch gives me exactly what I need if I decide to go ahead. 73, David G3WGN M6O For those who need t
Understood John. The tower is an industrial version of a Versatower, the most common tower type in UK. All Versatowers are guyed. The particular towers I have are trailer mounted for temporary cell-s
Love that analysis Brian. Even though it's on an unmeasured distribution and other factors will be at play (I'd add voice characteristics and call timing to those you noted) it gives guidance as to h
What value L Paul? 73, David G3WGN M6O You want to ensure the that the choke's self-resonant-frequency isnt within 80m. I am using J.W. Miller 5252 chokes at the vertical base feed. Purchased from Mo
Don, Many thanks for the link to DelCity. They have stuff that I haven't found locally or online out here in the boonies of south west England. They will even price in GB pounds and ship to my door!
We use ski bags and snowboard boxes for the 6Gs DXpeditions to the Pacific. Get some funny looks but no hassle. YMMV 73, David G3WGN M6O Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone. ______________________
Messi and Paolini have a double screened 5mm coax - Hyperflex 5. Copper foil first screen then 88% coverage second screen. Inner is 19 strand bare copper; attenuation at 28MHz around half that of RG5