Beam went up today. Pics

[ke7trp]

I am dead tired but very excited to have my first beam.  A Mosely TA53M.  I spent weeks rebuilding the beam, ordering parts, gathering hardware in preperation.  I got a T2X rotor at a ham fest and had it rebuilt. 

Today at 8am I lowered the tower down myself and started working.  I had the some help from my good friend John w5wvi and then Kw7V.  We worked through the day and got everything finished and raised up. 

Off this tower is the Open wire line inverted V on an insulated mast at 55ft.  On the front will be the L with coil for 160.   The beam covers 10,12, 15,17 and 20.  I am now relaxing inside and hearing stations I have never heard before. 

Tomorrow, I need to make a receiver switch out so I can use the GK500 with the NC183D.  Then I can load the king up into the beam on 10, 15 and 20..  I cant wait.

C

[ve8xj]

Look forward to talking to you again on 10m . You were plenty strong last time so I imagine now you are going to blow out my speaker.

Looks Great, a ways off from antenna season here but I am already getting the itch.

Tim Ve8xj

[ke7trp]

If 10 is anything like 20 is now with the beam, this will be lots of fun.  I am blasting into Galgary now with 70 watts out of the icom.   

C

[KA0HCP]

Your whole setup looks great!

[KB2WIG]

You'll get some leg for sure!!


klc

[ke7trp]

Beam works great.  Just hit 3d2ri rotuma island on 20 meters with 80 watts.  Not bad.  Learning about beam headings now and where to face this thing.  Cant wait to get up tomorrow and swing her around east for 15 meter AM.   Going to be alot of fun.  I also have to install the Coil and the L back on the tower and retune that. antenna for 160.  The neighbors are probably in a state of shock right now. It was about 5pm when we raised this thing up and everyone was out and about in the hood. hahaha.


One thing I just noticed while I was mapping out the SWR is this beam also has a flat SWR on Six meters. Its not advertised as having 6 but it is flat there.  I wonder if it works at all. I will have to test this soon.
C

[flintstone mop]

You will have a lot of fun with the beam. I hope Mosely is constructed better than the Cushcraft.
Antennas can breathe out your way. There is more flat land.
If your tower is 60 feet that is about optimum for a beam antenna.

[W2VW]

That will be tons of fun.

What's up with da fence?

[KX5JT]

or some 14.286 AM Clark! (I'm home today)

[ke7trp]

Fred. Thanks. Its been alot of fun already.  I just walked out and set the beam at true north using my smart phone GPS. 

The low band open wire line antenna seems to work great also. I used it last night and had the same signal. I think 50 to 70 ft is not much difference under 1000 miles but out to the east coast, I think I will be down a bit. I dont know. Maybe its just me. 

The fence?  ITs new.  The storm came through, destroyed my old tower, antennnas, roof, and that fence.  The neighbor is a cheap ass and claimed the fence "was not his" and would sue me over it.  He claimed his house was built after mine and therefore the fence was mine and not his.  The insurance CO said the fence was to old and would not pay for the damage (it was very old and falling apart) I had to pay for and install 200ft of new fence out of my pocket.

I will try 14.286 any time John. Just email me or txt me and I will get on. I am sitting at 21.425 now with no action.  I know the band is open as there is an SSB net down the band with strong signals from the east.

C

[W2VW]

The fence?  ITs new.  The storm came through, destroyed my old tower, antennnas, roof, and that fence.  The neighbor is a cheap ass and claimed the fence "was not his" and would sue me over it.  He claimed his house was built after mine and therefore the fence was mine and not his.  The insurance CO said the fence was to old and would not pay for the damage (it was very old and falling apart) I had to pay for and install 200ft of new fence out of my pocket.

Great to have cooperative neighbors.

I thought Solomon somehow may have been involved with the design of the fence.

Next time the neighbors inform you of your voice over their electronics ask them how the audio sounds.

[K6IC]

Hi Clark,

Congrats on the new Beam.  A good directional antenna sure opens the door on the higher bands.

The only caution that I would mention,  is,  to watch your SWR when running AM power into that (really, any trapped) antenna.  Mosely builts stout antennas,  but high duty-cycle modes at power can be hard on traps.   Sometimes one can watch the SWR change during a transmission,  which could indicate something in the trap heating and changing tuning.   Not trying to overly concern you,  tho.

Have Fun,   es DX,  73  Vic

[ke7trp]

I am not concerned.  Its rated at 2500 ssb constant and 1500 CW.  The king only makes 300 watts or less on the higher bands.

C

[DMOD]

Nice setup Clark.

When will you be on 15 meters and at what freq?

Phil - AC0OB

[ke7trp]

Fred, I have the A4 and A3 cushcraft.  The mosely is built about twice the strength and the traps are twice the size.  No comparison. The mosely is known for its strength and durability.

Phil.  I was on 21.430 with Robert.   Big signal then mis sentance the band turned off completely.  20 over to NOTHING in about a second.  I am going to try again in a few minutes.  Maybe I will hear you there.

C

[ke7trp]

Phil.  I wont be there. Someone forgot to put two dyno tunes on my schedule today and I have to run to Scottsdale right now. Maybe tomorrow or on another band tonight?

[Jim, W5JO]

The mosely is known for its strength and durability.

Make a record of reflected power readings on that beam Clark.  I have one I purchased in 1995 and it is well built but for one flaw.  I am not sure as to the reason and the folks at Mosley can't explain what caused the problem.  The forms that the coil form inside those traps split in all but 3 of the traps on the antenna.

The split was enough that is caused the coils to deform which caused the reflected power go go up slightly ~ 5%.  I moved about 1.5 years ago and decided to see what caused the problem so as I removed the coils on the 10/15/20 meter element I found those forms split.  At the time I was unaware Mosley would make and sell individual coils for each trap so I replaced the units.  When I got to the other traps that had split coils, I just ordered the ends that were split.

Now the beam is back to original operation and is a very good antenna.  Mosley does not build cheap stuff and this antenna has been up through strong gusts over 75 mph and sustained winds of 50, and has not given any other problems except for those split coil forms.

You will notice a slight change in the reflected power which will increase slowly with time.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

My Wilson System 1 still seems to work well after almost 34 years although I've noticed a higher SWR on 15 meters then what I've had in the past. Plan to pull it down this summer and diddle with it.

[wb1ead]

Excellent Clark!..I'm a Mosley convert myself..mine's smaller but just as potent..a TA33jr..best band lately has been 15mtrs..of course AM up around 21.430 give or take..no problem I would think working you..you mentioned 6mtr capability..ur correct..also get this..40mtrs is quite do-able as well..if it works for you too on 40..tell all..I'm on just about every day Clark..usually start at 21.430 and move about accordingly..actually there's a fair bunch of ops here on as well..only "odd" thing I've encountered with my Mosely is it WILL NOT work with the grounding strap on either 20 or 15mtrs..had to remove it entirely..SWR now is never higher than 1.9.1 on any band..I DO use a tuner on the 15mtr band but only to get the last ounce of fire out........enjoy!!         73 de DAVE

[K6IC]

Yep, Clark,

Have had several Mosely antennas over the years,  including the S-33,  which had really huge traps -- about three inches in dia.

Still have a Mosely 20 M mono (no traps,  of course),  that needs to be redone.

Was speaking from some,  small experience,  YMMV  have Fun,  Vic

[flintstone mop]

Yous guys are making me sick with nice working Beam Aerials.
I CANNOT justify $500 just to take down the DAM A3S and find out what's wrong this time!!!!

An A3S in a former lifetime (1998) was perfect throughout its time of ownership and only 30 feet high.
Something fishy here.......All bands except 10M are acceptable/working. And we have had a lot of rain. Warmer temps.... Winter months, all bands were non working except 40M.
Time for dummy load testing, pushing legal limit, to the line going out to the pole.

[ke7trp]

I wish you where closer Fred.  I have an A4 with 40 meter add on and A3S sitting in the backyard not being used.  I was going to stack them as the previous owner of this tower did but decided not to push things and just use the little Mosely. 

So far so good guys.  Made lots of contacts with the beam. This beam looked so big on the ground but now that its up in the air, it looks so small. 

C

[Jim, W5JO]

This beam looked so big on the ground but now that its up in the air, it looks so small. 

Have you ever seen the beacon apparatus that houses the flashing bulb on top of a broadcast tower?   Talk about a size difference on top of a tower vs. on the gound.

[ke7trp]

I bet that light is big! 

Talking to KL7of on 14.286 with the beam faced at him.  The king and SX28A tuned up on 20 meters am with 275 watts of carrier.  Lots of fun!

C

[KX5JT]

I bet that light is big! 

Talking to KL7of on 14.286 with the beam faced at him.  The king and SX28A tuned up on 20 meters am with 275 watts of carrier.  Lots of fun!

C

Oh now you got the classic gear going!!  You fixed the bandswitch on the Hallicrafters?