I'll take my chances and ask a dumb question. Any possibility you mixed
up the 2 cables? Wrong antenna going to wrong radio?
73, Steve KW3A
On 7/11/2014 10:32 PM, John Miller wrote:
> I now wonder what was used to seal the coax at antenna ends, I hope it
> wasn't anything that might have had the wrong action.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 9:59 PM
> Subject: Re: Huge disappointment!
>
>
>> yep, a standard dual band type antenna will show a short on an ohm meter
>> across the feed point/coax that is connected...
>> same with a balun.
>> I would have thought maybe the balun is bad on the 80 meter loop, but
>> because both coaxes are showing a short, I think it has to be connecters
>> or
>> coax if it's old or has been seriously damaged during installation.
>> A serious excersism is in order me thinks.
>>
>> 73
>> Colin, V A6BKX
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Butch Bussen" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 5:28 PM
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: Huge disappointment!
>>
>>> First thing to do is check coax with an ohm meter and see if you show a
>>> short. Some antennas do and I usually check this out before just so I
>>> know. You obviously have a short on the loop likely the coax. Who
>>> soldered those and did they check after soldering? Stupid question I
>>> know. Also, I am not sure if the dual band would show a short or not,
>>> but I'd check it. SLimple thing to try is redo the connector on the
>>> bottom end, easy to do and if you're lucky, that may be where the
>>> problem is. Good luck.
>>> 73
>>> Butch
>>> WA0VJR
>>> Node 3148
>>> Wallace, ks.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, 11 Jul 2014, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman wrote:
>>>
>>>> I was so excited. Last night I told my wife, Palma, that I felt like a
>>>> kid
>>>> on Christmas Eve in anticipation of finally getting the guys over this
>>>> morning to help me get my antennas up. Well, the fellows from the local
>>>> ham
>>>> club came over early this morning, and we got busy working on all the
>>>> little
>>>> details in preparation for erecting my antennas, the Dual Band vertical
>>>> for
>>>> 144 and 440 and the full-wave, 80 meter loop. We drilled holes in the
>>>> foundation and wall for my coax and ground wire, got the loop attached
>>>> to
>>>> the pulleys and the vertical on top of the mast. Finally, it was time to
>>>> hoist up the mast and position it in the wall bracket and secure the
>>>> base.
>>>> Then, the time came to connect the coax fittings and check it out with
>>>> the
>>>> antenna analyzer. Much to everyone's shocked and massive disappointment,
>>>> we
>>>> got SWR readings of 25 to 1, and even 31 to 1, which is as high as the
>>>> meter
>>>> would go. That is when the sick feeling developed in my stomach. What
>>>> greatly exacerbated the situation is that we got almost equally high SWR
>>>> readings on both coaxial feedlines. Just to see what would happen, I
>>>> connected the loop to my TS-590, and tuned across 20 meters and could
>>>> hear
>>>> nothing. I started unscrewing the coax fitting from my rig, and as I
>>>> did,
>>>> the noise level in my TS-590 got really loud and then, dropped back to
>>>> very
>>>> low. That is when I discovered that if I completely unscrewed the outer
>>>> shell ground side of the PL259 and just kept the center conductor
>>>> plugged
>>>> into the antenna input jack, that the noise level remained quite high,
>>>> and
>>>> as I tuned across the band, I could hear several signals, still not what
>>>> I
>>>> would expect, but I could hear signals. As soon as I screwed the outer
>>>> ground shield on the antenna jack, the radio went almost completely dead
>>>> again. Sounds like something is shorted somewhere, huh?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> To have one antenna system not work is one thing, but to have both of
>>>> them
>>>> not work is almost beyond chance. So, the guys left, and I still don't
>>>> have
>>>> any operational antennas. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but I
>>>> think
>>>> we need to do two things: One is to disconnect the coax from the ballun
>>>> I
>>>> have connected to the loop and connect a dummy load to the coax and see
>>>> what
>>>> it shows on the SWR meter, and second, connect the antenna analyzer
>>>> directly
>>>> up to the ballun which is connected to my loop and see what it shows us.
>>>> Those steps will help us isolate the problem. As for the vertical, I
>>>> don't
>>>> know what to do with that one because it is way up on the top of the
>>>> mast,
>>>> and it was one hell of a job getting that mast erected up and in place.
>>>> It
>>>> took five guys to do it, and it was all they could do to keep it under
>>>> control while they worked it up and in place.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> So, guys and gals, it will be a little longer before K8HSY is up and
>>>> operational on the ham bands.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 73,
>>>>
>>>> Ron, K8HSY
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
>>>>
>>>> Retired Professor of Marketing
>>>>
>>>> President: A3 Business Solutions (a3businesssolutions.com)
>>>>
>>>> President: M&M Properties
>>>>
>>>> Chair: American Council of the Blind's PR Committee
>>>>
>>>> Chair: American Council of the Blind's MMS Committee
>>>>
>>>> President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB.ORG)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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