Use plenty of anti-oxident! Could be the previous owner did not use a
sufficient amount at each connection. If the clamps were not very tight
water may have migrated into the joints and over time washed away most of the
compound. Penetrox or Oxguard are good products available here in the States
and are designed for aluminum. A trick KS1L showed me was to "pin" every
tubing connection with a small stainless steel sheet metal screw. Measure
out the antenna first & test the SWR at low heights before you drill the
holes! The element segment lengths on the KT34 & KT34XA are very critical,
so follow the manual precisely. Even small deviations affect the
performance. The "pin" screws are a little overkill that can prevent the
antenna from having to be brought down sooner rather then later.
73 -- Jim KC1SJ
|