Greetings all- I tried posting this, but no luck, so here we go again-
After checking all else out first (figures) I replaced the 80M Comtek ACB4
inside switch box with my Comtek 40M switch box and the problem is gone- The
RX was never effected, just the transmit on the VK antenna that was down 50%
for some reason, that must of lead to the other problems, with the cause in
the box still unknown. Checks on the array with stations monitoring from day
one showed that the array was working fb- just the power port dump readings
were screwy- and I'm sure that now that the readings are back to normal, the
array would sound even better-
What in the world inside the Comtek ACB4 array switch that could cause the
array resonant point to jump 400KHz from 200KHz, to have various resonant
points depending antenna selected, and cause 50% of the output power reading
from the rig to show up on only one of the four antennas while the others
were working 100%, and not to kill the F/B, and to have the big swings in
power dumped at the same frequency, are questions open to answer now the
source of the problem has been found- I kid you not, replaced inside switch
box, and now all these problems gone!
BTW, the fence replacement cured a lot of concerns over the changes of the
individual antennas caused by the proximity of all that wire. They are now
all now back to where they were with the array once again resonant at 3.750
with the individual antennas disconnected from the array showing resonance at
around 3.550+- 5-10KHz. And the cows look better through a 3 rail wood fence
vs goat wire- Har!
So two problems, the fence and the box, appearing as one, now fixed-
Jim at Comtek as others have been extremely helpful in helping me
troubleshoot this array- (although no one suspected the inside switch box)
thx to all for the advice and suggestions-
73 Paul N0AH
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