Wet Beam. Weird readings on 20 meters this evening.

[ke7trp]

You always gotta put that kick to the gut, at the end dont ya Carl?   

C

[ke7trp]

Pete, I think you where right. It is likely the coax.  It rained all day.. ALL bands are acting up now.  No more then 500 watts on any band.  Radio alone works fine.  Trying to work cambodia on 15 meters right now.   

Mosely is probably ok.   Going to have to lower the tower down next week and fix it.

C

[ke7trp]

I have been reading on cable types.  Is RG213 considered water proof?   I walked around the back of the house and found about 15 feet of my cable run under water in a flooded section of property next to the concrete slab.  No connectors on that section. But it was under inches of water for all that way. 

I cant find any data showing me if this is ok, at first thought, i would think it would be and the only source of water ingress would be the connectors itself.

C

[KD6VXI]

I'll bet you find the water damage a qtr wave or thereabouts, electrically, from either the antenna or the feedpoint...  On 20 meters.  Then it got more water shoved into it, and now you're experiencing all bands.

You could have my problem, I've got 1/2 inch of radial ice on the dipole...  Makes for wide bandwidth, though..

The fact that their is no coass connector on the beam side is troublesome enough.  Add in the fact of wind driven rain, and you have another good spot for ingress.

No matter if the coass was waterproof when it left the factory, those nice mild summers with the limited sunshine on your lot (tongue in cheek) means you could have problems with the jacket itself....  Gotta check the jacket where it's laying in the water, too.

Good luck.


Shane
KD6VXI

[ke7trp]

Thanks Shane, I think I will replace it all soon.  I dont know where the water is. I used to have access to a cable tester but no longer have one.  I ran run some tests when I lower it to find out and inspect it.  I weather proofed the bajeesus out of this install with coax seal, Black tape AND silicone. Really.. I was overkill.  I worked on it for days.  Thats why I wondered if the water can go through the jacket itself? 

I do have a Drop loop of 213 up there so the beam can swing around.  Maybe it pulled on something and the jacket got worn. It does slide over the edge of the tower. 

BTW, Did you see my EF johnson room?

C

[KD6VXI]

BTW, Did you see my EF johnson room?

C

Newp.  Is it the old radio room, or the storage room LOL.


--Shane
KD6VXI

[ke7trp]

Naw. Lots of changes here,  There is no storage room anymore. All surplus gear is gone except for a small stack and I have been trying to sell those radios off.  That room is now a small work shop with a desk for repair of old receivers.  The guest room was redone with a new bed for mom/people to visit. 

The EJ johnson room was the old game room/ bar area.  I never use it as I am not 20 anymore   So I sold all of that stuff and installed the three johnson stations.

New in the box J500-HRO60,  Ranger1, Johnson Tbolt, and HRO50, Valiant and NC183D   All on Steel case desks from the 50's.

I think the are some Youtube videos of the new room up.

BTW,  10 meters is wide open right now.

C