From the Beatles song of the same name.
Except I be the "fool on the hill".
My dipole ANT is on the hill behind the QTH - a 40 ft rise in about 20ft run...
you can approach it 4 ways, direct left and right and around right and around left.
Around takes you on a walk of about 250ft or so by the time you get to the base of the ant. And, it is uphill at least one way.
Well, if you've been on 3885 recently you've heard my signal cutting in and out.
It went to nearly deaf today, and wouldn't load.
I assumed it would be due to the splice - the barrel connector near the base of what is left of the old tower which holds the center insulator. Or else one of the piggie tails that go to the ant wire had gotten loose inside the goop that seals the solder connection to the #10 copper ant wire.
Sooooo... I go with the gut feeling, it's the barrel connector and it's full of liqueed wa-wa.
So I get the tool kit with the butane solder torch all set, find the PL-259s, a new barrel connector with teflon insulation. Up the hill. Take the goop off the connection... razor knife... don't cut the leg or the fingers off... arrrgh, it's on pretty good. Open it up. Yep, soaking damp. Ok, cut off the old connectors, take the good one (a PL-259A) down to the lab for clean up/out. March down the hill. Find and fire up the big arse 200watt soldering iron. Clean it up. Now where is my Cantenna?? Here? There? Maybe near the 440 by the bed? In the Henry pile-o-parts? In the parts room? Under the bench? Where is the Cantenna?? Grrrr... the cantenna would be really GOOD right now!!
Phooey on the Cantenna! Out of the lab, up the hill to the left.
Did I mention that the top of the hill before the tower is full of plants that make very nice
berries in the fall, that I mow down whenever I can, but that grew right back before the fall and are now 2-4 feet high and have very sharp barbs?? Well I did now. OUCH!
Over to the coax, you know the drill, two sides. DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE THREADED PART ON THE COAX BEFORE YOU SOLDER (fool)!! Ok, got the regular one on. Cut and peel back the insulation (about a foot back from the original splice), yay! the copper is bright! Install the PL-259. This is gonna go ok, fine!
The butane fired calalyzed combustion solder device is workin' great! Ok, that went fine business! Let's do up the other side (the ant side) and wrap this baby up!
Cut the coax insulation off... whooo... not so good. Let's go back a bit more. Clip clip. Ooops, that's
worse. Back some more... ughh, even worse. Looks like major water infiltration has happened, it's black now. Bad.
Ah, screw it, it needs replacement, I'll get some next weekend at Mt. Beacon or at NEARFEAST... fix it for now, get on the air... yep got the two rings for the PL-259A type connector on the coass, clean the copper with the razor knife, solder... well, looks ok, and besides it only has to last a couple of weeks... Now we'll put the connector together...
Ah carp! I put the two rings in the wrong order! Ok, desolder, we wanted to get a visual on that solder anyhow... pull it off... mmmm, not so good. Strip, clean the braid better, resolder... reassemble (this is the short version...)
put it all together. Now, back down the hill!! Yay!
Fire up the reciever, doesn't sound right, try the rig, key it, blaaaaatttttt. No good.
Geez... ok... go up the hill. Short the coax at the barrel connector. Go back
down the hill put the ohmeater on it... yep shorted, so that is ok. WHERE IS THE CANTENNA!!?? Look some more - nope. Back
up the hill. Ok, so I wish my old Deere garden tractor was still running, I could at least take the 440 up there and see how it works from the splice up... I could drive the car? Nah. It's got to be up in the air.
Drop the ant? Yeah, drop the ant. I had already tried wiggling the guy ropes, lowering the guy ropes, dropping the center... all with TRIPS UP AND DOWN THE HILL...
So I determine to drop the ant. Dropped the ant. Grabbed the ohmeater and the end of the coax and removed the goop and tape from the connector on the insulator, check ohms, ok fine. Wait, there's a bit of PVC insulation off the ant wire on the center wire side... check that - ok fine. And some missing on the ground leg - checks perfect. Geez. Put the sealer tape back on, wind with tape... by this time it is sprinking... pull it back up (an adventure in its own right).
Back down the hill - test. NG.
Wait, let's check the area where there is some ham gear in the parts room again... AHA! The stupid Cantenna! Ok, let's poot the cantenna up the hill! Wait, wait, first put the dummy inside the shop where the Waters ant switch is... see if the coass is good out to there. Yep, ok fine. Now
back up the hill put it on the end of the coass splice... back
down the hill try it again. NG!! Geez, what's up wit dat??
Try the ohmeter. Yikes!! NOT 50 OHMs! Not even much of any indication! Wha??
Makes no sense - it worked with a short!
Well, it looks like the run from the ant switch up the hill to the splice is DOA.
And since the one going up to the ant itself is corroded inside, looks like it is time for new. Oh boy... work...
So, that's the wasted day's report from The Fool On The Hill... the short version, believe me, there were double or triple the trips up and down that hill today compared to those documented here!! AND, the ant still doesn't work!!
How was your day?
_-_-WBear2GCR
