Antennas at WY6K
Grounding and other details Nesting Fixture The First Tribander
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On top is a Force 12 Magnum 715 (7 element 15 meter monobander) and on the bottom is a Hygain 205BA (5 elements on 20 meters). The top of the mast is at about 88 feet. Since then I've added a 5 element 10 meter beam just above the rotator. Notice the mast steps that are made from aluminum angle stock with anti skid applied. They allow me to easily climb up the mast to work on the antennas. There is a pulley (a sailboat block) mounted on a plate at the very top of the mast (just barely visible). I run a halyard through this pulley to lift the antennas into place. |
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| This is what the antennas looked like until a few months ago. I had
this arrangement in place for about eight years. On top is an old 15 meter yagi
(Hygain 155BA), in the middle is an equally old 20 meter yagi (Hygain 205BA), and
on the bottom is an even older 40 meter yagi (KLM 3 element). I took
the 40 meter yagi down since there isn't much action on 40 during this portion
of the sunspot cycle.
The tower is a TriEx LM470 motorized crankup, which is about 68 feet high when extended. The mast is 22 feet long, with about 2.5 feet in the tower and the rest above the tower. The rotator is an HDR 300 and its shape prevents it from being mounted any lower inside the tower. This is a controversial setup that many said would not hold up because the ratio of 19.5 feet out of the tower and only 2.5 feet inside the tower created too much leverage against the rotator and the side of the tower. But it has taken the worst weather that our area dishes out for the last eight years without any problem. |
| This picture provides a better perspective. It is not possible to mount the rotator lower down in the tower because part of the rotator sticks out the side of the tower. So the rotator can not be mounted lower than the point that lines up with the top of the lower section when the tower is retracted. The only way to improve this situation would seem to be to use a different rotator. |
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| I put this up in the spring of 2000. It is a 7 element 15 meter monobander made by Force 12. When this photo was taken, I had taken down the three antennas seen in the previous two photos. This is the antenna that I used in the 2000 CQ WPX contests (both for CW and SSB weekends) in the single band single operator category. It must have worked okay because I placed first in the sixth call area. |
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| Here's the Cushcraft R7 vertical that I use for 40 meters. It doesn't work all that well, but I have been able to work a few countries with it. You get spoiled by monoband yagis. |
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