Steve:

I will check with the guy who helped me put it up, but I'm almost positive 
that we put sufficient strain release on the center feed point.

The strange thing was that as I started to tune the antenna, I knew it was 
acting flaky, but eventually did get it to tune fairly well.  Then, when I 
applied power to it, I lost reception, and, well, now you know the rest of 
the story.

The only way we will know for sure is to get up there and try to see exactly 
what happened.

The antenna is on pulleys, so we may be able to get it low enough to look at 
the center, or at least that is my hope.  Maybe I'll be lucky, and it will 
just be a matter of putting a new PL259 connector on the end, and I'll be 
good to go again.

Problem is that we have at least a foot and a half of snow on the ground, so 
I don't know if it will happen any time soon.

I'm just glad I didn't fry something in the rig.

73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Forst" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: 40-meter Net, February 5


Tom,

All I can say is ouch.  Hope you can get this resolved.  I'll take a
guess here and say that the weight of the coax (with maybe the extra
weight of ice and snow) pulled it out of the pl-259.     I always do
something to attach the weight of  the coax   to the center insulator
with dacron rope, and leave a loop of 2 or 3 feet with the pl-259 to
attach to the center insulator.   This way there is no strain on the
connector itself.

 From what you told us on 40 today, I'm guessing that this thing fell
down earlier and you charred it by trying to tune the amp into a length
of coax laying on the ground.

Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

73, Steve KW3A




On 2/5/2011 8:36 PM, tom behler wrote:
>          Thanks for the round table report, Lloyd, and also thanks again 
> for
> taking the lead this afternoon.
>
> I found out what the problem with my Windom was.
>
> After the round table was over, the XYL looked outside and found the feed
> line for the antenna lying on the ground in the snow.  The end of the
> feed-line, which originally was connected to the feed point via a pl259
> connector was all charred and burned.  What was lying on the ground was 
> just
> the coax with the bare center conductor.  I suspect that the PL259, in
> whatever shape it is, is still up at the center of the antenna.
>
> My theory is that moisture must have gotten in there from our latest 
> storm,
> and caused a short.  I can't figure out what else might have happened.
>
> I thought we had sealed the center connector well with coax seal and
> electrical tape, but obviously not.
>
> I'm not sure when I can get someone out here and up on the garage roof to
> lower the mast and check things out first-hand, so it may be a while.
>
> Fortunately, I still have my trusty Alpha Delta DXCC antenna, which at 
> least
> will get me on 40 through 10 meters.
>
> Will look for everyone on 14.258 for the Cross-country blind ops net
> tomorrow afternoon.
>
> 73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lloyd Rasmussen"<[log in to unmask]>
> To:<[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 8:18 PM
> Subject: 40-meter Net, February 5
>
>
> The following 22 stations checked in today on 7198:
>
> W3IUU
> K1EIR
> WB9R, harold, Taylorville, IL
> WA9TOP
> WB9SLM
> W4HC
> KA9YIU
> KB8TYJ
> WD8INW
> K1EIC
> KW3A
> KB3UAK, Mark, PA
> KK2DOG, Mike, Watertown, NY
> VO1RYN
> WA1RTB
> K5TAH, Indiana
> KD8MWR, Lew, Cincinnati, OH
> WA4CNI, Dean, Asheville, NC
> KZ5AT, artie, (station in Erie, PA, remoted from Costa Rica)
> W2TAW, Tom, Vincenttown, NJ
> K2ALS, Steve, near Cooperstown, NY
> W8JOD, John, Youngstown, OH
>
>
>
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, Maryland
> Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
> Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
>