Antenna repairs

 

After the 13 colonies special event was over I decided to finish the fix on the Butternut HF6V antenna. I first needed to clean up the base because of the weeds and junk that had grown around the area where it was too close to use the gas lawn trimmer for fear of cutting ground wires and feedline. After manually cleaning this area up I started on the Heliax to RG-11 transition by first totally disconnecting the matching stub and taking it to the shack to solder and fix both coax and antenna connections. I reconnected both ends and covered antenna ring lugs and bolt connections with Sanchem no-ox grease to help keep connections from rusting . I also recoated over the vinyl tape around the  lugs with liquid electrical tape and then turned My attention to the coax transition. I first used mastic tape to keep the vinyl tape glue from direct contact with the connectors and then covered that with first super 88 vinyl,then coax seal tape and then coated entire area with liquid elcetrical tape and let dry. After it was dry I taped entire area to a coffee can to keep it off the ground.                                                     

I should mention i also went inside the shack and tested each of these steps to make sure the antenna connections were still good. Would be no fun to finish and need to cut into tape and seal to fix. I also took this opportunity to refurbish the guys and poles used to attach the guys. After this I went through each band and tested and recorded results using the MFJ antenna analyzer. All bands look good!

I also needed to work on My 260' dipole and replace rope at both ends and at one end it needed to be anchored higher.I'm not so young any more so I enlisted the aid of My wife to hold extension ladder and by My ground assist person. That job also went well and antenna tested good. I should be ready for the upcoming winter months with two reliable antennas!!

Tim