Mike:
Jay helped me with a problem with the same great customer service attitude. To
make a long story short it was operator error on my part. But Jay was still
willing to do what he needed to fix my problem.
Fatchett, Mike wrote:
> I would like to thank Jay for his valuable assistance last night without it
> I might still be pulling out my hair.
>
> On Thursday, I called Jay and ordered a Stackmatch. It arrived Monday.
>
> Tuesday, got home early after a dentist appointment and installed the
> Stackmatch on the tower. I have a C3 and 10-4CD that I wanted to stack.
> The goal will be to stack another C3 or two, But I wanted to play around on
> 10 for the ARRL DX contest. Installing the Stackmatch is a breeze. Wired
> up the control box in the shack and it was time for the big test.
>
> I fired up the box and the SWR curves were awful. Both antennas were acting
> odd. I could hear just fine. Tried the C3 on 15 and 20 and it worked fine.
> Checked the wiring of the box again. No change. Climbed the tower again
> and checked the box. Looked fine.
>
> Placed a call to Jay. Not home (Rats!) wait a while for a call and then
> decided to go home about 7PM. The station is located about 5 miles from my
> house at my parents house. Wife was on the phone and said a call came in.
> No message. Looked at the caller ID box and decided what the heck maybe it
> was Jay. Most solicitors block their numbers right? The chance paid off
> Jay was there. Turns out he is on the road!!! This is about 9PM Mountain
> time and He is on the East Coast.
>
> Proceed to explain the situation to Jay. He gives me some ideas to try.
> Ohm out the coils, try moving the antennas to different positions in the
> Stackmatch. Put a dummy load on the Stackmatch and run the SWR analyzer on
> it. He said it I got frustrated that he would have another box expedited
> out in time for the contest. We talked about why it worked on 15 and 20 but
> not 10. He made a comment about getting a great deal on some feedline.
> Turns out the feedline worked great about 21Mhz but at 28Mhz the SWR across
> the cable was 1.5:1.
>
> Ok decide that I need to go back to the station and do what I can. The
> Stackmatch is attached to the tower at 50 feet. Not looking forward to
> climbing at night. Full moon though. Is that a good or bad omen? Check
> the coils they are fine. Now the eerie part. I get the crazy idea to
> disconnect the feedline from the rig switch to the cantenna (My age just
> showed!) dummy load in the shack. Turned on the analyzer. At 28Mhz the SWR
> is 1.7-2.0:1?!?!?!?! Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a problem, but where?
>
> After tearing apart the shack and taking out the switchbox, the amp, the
> wattmeter I finally find that the coax jumper from the amp to the wattmeter
> is acting odd. Replace it and SWR on 28Mhz is back to normal. Reassemble
> the shack and everything is working great.
>
> When I put the 10-4CD on the tower last weekend I noticed that the SWR curve
> was off. Checking the Spec's noticed that the Gamma match shorting strap
> was no where close to what was called for in the directions. Took the
> Analyzer up the tower and adjusted it. Windy as heck that day so I settled
> for 1.2:1. Got in the shack and tested it and the SWR was 1.5:1. This
> should have been my first clue. The antenna seemed to work great. Tested
> it out and got good reports. Never gave the higher SWR another thought.
>
> Thanks again Jay for your assistance! Taking calls at that ridiculous hour
> and generously offering to send me another unit without hesitation is a true
> sign of someone who cares about his products. I offer my opinion solely as
> a satisfied customer and have no financial interest in Array Solutions.
>
> See you all on the Air!
>
> 73,
>
> Mike
> W0MU
> http://members.xoom.com/W0MU
>
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- --
73,
Richard Thorne - N5ZC (Ex. KA2DSY, N2BHP, WB5M)
Amarillo, TX
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