Hi All,
I've been off the air recently while I carried out routine maintenance to
my
LF antenna (now completed).
This work included removing; repainting; and re-installing the T and K
brackets
on the back wall. Once again, I have water-proofed the exposed parts of
the
wall fixings (Rawlbolts) and the threaded parts of the 'U' bolts, using
pieces
of synthetic rag coated in thick motor grease. It's a messy job, but, when
I
need to repeat the maintenance tasks, at least I'll be able to release the
wall
fixings again!
[[ TIP:
For the heads of Rawlbolts, I trap two layers of greased synthetic rag
(about 50 mm x 80 mm) between the bracket and the washer. Then I tighten
the
bolt, put more grease on the bolt head, and then carefully fold the rag
over the
bolt head - a corner at a time - to form a firm 'bandage' over the bolt.
Where the external fixing is a nut (in cases where the threaded part of the
Rawlbolt is held captive in the wall), I first tighten the nut. I then
tear
strips of synthetic rag (about 15 mm wide), coating the strips in motor
grease.
After putting grease on the nut, and threaded stud, I then wind two or
three of
the coated strips around the nut, and around any exposed studding, until
they
are fully covered in the sticky bandage.
John G3CCH reminds me that there used to be a product called Denso
(spelling?
but pronounced 'den-zo') which would probably have done the job better.
But my poor man's Denso tape seems to work well enough.]]
The 2-inch mast is now topped with a second-hand fibreglass wind-surfer
pole
(about 4 m long), which replaces a previous aluminium section. The
wind-surfer pole was purchased for 20 pounds, and I have painted it to
reduce possible damage by ultra-violet radiation.
The first station heard after putting my antenna back up was G3CCH, who has
also been busy with antenna maintenance jobs. His recent work seems to
have
paid off, as John's 136 kHz signal is certainly stronger here in Chepstow.
If you've been putting off those outside antenna maintenance chores, it's
probably time to make a start before those gale-force winds start up again!
By the way, Vic G8IK and I will be at the Leicester show for a few hours
on the Saturday.
Regards to all,
Steve GW4ALG
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