Hi;
Since I too have r8 adventures I wonder what problem your local ham had with 
it?  If I could have kept it up it was fine.  Didn't give me any band 
coverage below 40 meters but electrically it was great.  Mechanically its 
performance was another matter.  Wonder if your acquaintance had mechanical 
or performance problems with his?
Richard
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lou Kline" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2007 10:30 PM
Subject: Re: hf9v


Hi.

The primary reason why I ended up going with the GAP was because I was
looking for something that would be ground independent, and I had already
ruled out the Cushcraft R8 because a ham that lives a couple of miles north
of me has had nothing but trouble with his.

My situation differs from yours in one major respect, however, and it is an
important one.  I do not run very much power--100 watts is all I run on
HF.  That capacitor that I discussed in my previous post is in my
estimation the weak point in the design of that antenna if you are going to
run large amounts of power and use a tuner with it because under certain
conditions you can develop large voltages at that capacitor and puncture
the capacitor.  Also, even at 100 watts, one known problem with the GAP
Titan is that the capacitor is under a plastic weather cap  that protects
it from moisture.  However, it took just two years for the weather cap to
break down under UV light, and the first time that capacitor was exposed to
rain and RF at the same time, I punctured the capacitor.  After obtaining
another capacitor, I fashioned a new weather cap out of a 35 mm film can
that was just the right diameter.  But, that is probably trouble to come.

It's too bad this antenna has this one weakness in its design, because the
physical construction of the antenna is otherwise very sturdy.

The one antenna that I probably didn't really look at as closely as I
should have is the HyGain DX88.  We have another blind hame over here who
is using the DX88 and thinks quite highly of it.

73, de Lou K2LKK


At 08:11 PM 7/14/2007 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Lou and Group;
>In a prior message you mentioned that another ham suggested that you go 
>with
>the gap rather than the butternut that you were considering.  Without
>starting the great debate, I wonder if you recall some of the reasoning
>behind the arguments?
>Richard
>
>
>
>--
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Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
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