Doctnj

Well I went out on the ledge to prove a point with myself today knowing there was a chance I could damage my stuff. Since reading that those antennas DC grounded I felt that my cable construction was spot on and the test short was not a short. So turned it on turned to the rpt 17/25 and called for radio check and talked to the guy running the repeater one town over maybe 15 miles Los. So it is huge relief that everything is good to go. Now have to learn all it does. Anyone know how I could measure Los on a map application?

Thanks. Yes it was.

Finally looks like I will have a break in the rain to bring the antenna down and test the cable by itself. Im off today which rarely happens so later this morning I will know the answer to the DC ground issue. Im not 100 on the website's feature listing so before transmitting anything I want to test! Yesterday was pretty dry until an hour before I got off then came a monsoon for the rest of the evening. I feel 99.99 % sure there is nothing wrong with my outside cable considering what I learned yesterday. Before I quit, I wanted to take a minute and tell everyone that has chimed in thank you. I have learned a great deal. Ive been reading older posts at least some every day so I am continuing learn. So I have a question while I have the antenna down. ground question. I saw where another member had a buss bar and looked like there was maybe a ground wire in and a ground wire exiting their outside box. I have all parts with their own wire to ground eliminating wire coming from antenna or mast having to route through the outside box but rather taking the path of least resistance. The buss bar has its own ground wire. I couldnt find any "codes" that grounding the way I am is acceptable. I have at leadt two hours before I will be bringing it down. So I will wait to see what the experts here say to do. I have a crap ton of grounding wire. So today barring any unforeseen issues, this thread will be finished. Gracious, John

It's listed right on features. I had no idea what that meant. Or how it would behave when continuity testing. I'll run a ground series instead of just the one pathway. And put in another rod. It seems impossible that the air gap in arrestor would do much with a hit. With three taller trees close by I feel as though it would only take a partial hit if ever. You can see branch of closest tree right on edge of that pic.

The features listed under this antenna state it is DC grounded so hopping its not pouring rain when I get home so I can actually check for sure.

Thankyou very much. That explains a lot. Well now I know what I have and what to do. In the past I've lost two projectors and two high dollar receivers in my media room. Apparently HDMI ports are very susceptible to surge during a close ground strike even though our utilities are below ground. I now take the time to un plug them when possible during electrical storms.

Here are the specs on the antenna. It says DC ground construction in the list. So if this is true Ive been worried for nothing. UHF fiberglass base antenna 5'3" (1.6m) tall Single section 5/8 wave 3 elements 7" (19.5cm) radial length 406-512MHz 10MHz bandwidth 6.5 dBd gain Radiator and coil are hermetically sealed in fiberglass tubing for low SWR in all weather DC ground construction allows static dissipation for low noise ratio and maximum lightning protection Mast diameter accepted is 1 3/16" to 2 7/16" (30-62mm) UHF (SO-239) connector Max power 200 watts 50 ohms Maximum wind 135mph (60 m/sec) Includes cutting chart

FWIW I picked up the shrink sleeves as well as three different kinds of elect tape when I started this project and I must say the scotch brand feels really good. It stretches out nice and doesnt tear very easily at all. It says UV resistant but at least for me my antenna is in a minimal sun area.

Yes both answers help a great deal. I'll report back when I have the answer.

Ok so when I disconect the antenna the cable will test no short then I'll know that is right. That would be a really nice finding.

actually after I looked at the pictures on my laptop and not on my phone, yes the ground rod is in the picture. I have the one shot connector, connecting the outside box and antenna and mast to ground. Right now until I get the antenna pulled down, hopefully today, and bring it inside and test from nose to tail. Im just basically hoping that it will be clear that there was water ingress in the top connection. But the cable coming from the antenna is no longer hooked up to the feed into the house until I sort it out. If it is indeed wet, would you recommend cutting the connector off and putting on a new one or just drying it really well then re install and weather proof? Our extended forecast is rain pretty much every day for a week. I have new connectors on order so no rush. Again I hope by making my install and errors in judgement public, others may learn.

Now it's just out of the frame. It's there. I haven't put the ground wire in yet in that picture though.

This is cable going into and out of outside box. I got connector on the inside of house finally and at least that leg shows no continuity shield to center. So the issue is the feed going up the antenna. I'm going to bet it's up top. We had quite a lot of wind and rain yesterday. I have to order more connectors. Because I destroyed two.... Those were the two 'extra'. Just take a deep breath. Most valuable things in life I learned just like this. The feed into is hard to see but it's a really big loop to have reserve if I needed to go higher. Once I get everything clicking I'll inject foam into the wall to capture the cable insulate it.

yes, Im going to take it all down and test everything again. I was careful to have big gentle curves but who knows. Hopefully I can figure out what the issue is.

I hate learning things the hard way. Just checked and still dead short. I'll be pulling the antenna and cable from arrestor up and bringing it in. I hope this part will help others to not make the same mistakes. I guess I should be able to used some compressed air to clear any water enough to test if there is a mechanical short and not liquid???

Well I came home to put the last attachment on so I could hook up the radio inside but kept getting continuity from shield to center conductor. I didn't take the time to waterproof last night and woke up to hard rain all day. There has to be moisture in the top connection to the antenna because the run that goes into the house was fine after I disconnected it from the lightning arrestor. I had already cut off and re did the inside attachment three times thinking I messed up the cable. But after testing all the way out I'm pretty sure the issue is up top, with water ingressed into the connector. Just glad I didn't skip the continuity test and just turn on the radio. Bad news is, it's supposed to rain for a week. Note to self.... Check forecast. This is one of those "throw in the towel" nights. Worst case I'll bring it down and take antenna off and bring it in and dry out w dehumidifier. If it's not one thing it's your mother. I even had the seal wrap outside yesterday and skipped it to do today......

The reason I asked, there was a line of jeeps coming through town Sat and they were loud and clear so I knew they were close. Then sure enough they passed right by me. We have lots of trails in the Ozarks. I keyed up and asked where they were from and no one even skipped a beat so I was pretty sure they were running a tone. It is a really cool idea going to a trail where people are everywhere using the same channel.

You have no idea of how happy I am to not trim anything again. I didnt do any water proofing of the connector after it was screwed on and of course today its raining. I will work on the grounding after work and after I make the final decision where the radio will sit I will put the final connector on. woo hoo. It was very nice to hear folks talking on a few different channels while I had the radio plugged in. So seems to be more popular than expected. There were on HP channel so I know they werent just frs. This may be a dumb question but can you run a tone between members of a group on a non rpt channel?

Here is the challenge with trimming. The measurement starts at a coil. That alone is complicated as the measurement looks like it starts at the outside edge of the wire diameter just below the 85° bend. If the coil rotates then that length moves a little and angle changes to 90°. I had to measure in mm as I don't have any tapes that break down to 1/32".

When trimming antenna, what results would say "don't go any further. I would probably use the high power channels as well as repeaters. Zach

I was afraid you would say that. It has to come down anyhow to run ground wire and snug up mounts etc. I was just so excited to see such good numbers right off the bat.

Got it up and running!! So I had two of my soldered connections in line lol. On high power channel the swr showed 1.54 : 1. On low channel it showed 1.03:1. Would you even bother trying to improve it? I am not finished complete install yet. I have to put up one more brace and run grounds and snug up some screws so it has to come down one more time any how. The antenna is in three pieces and I stopped a quarter or just under on each segment or so I thought.

Took a Vet friend out to the range for some R & R so didnt get an early start. About to get things rolling. Im pretty sure my father probably did a cartwheel in his grave seeing my first solder job in years lol. I started over three times. Its pretty ugly but there is no continuity between the center conductor and ground so Im calling an ugly dog a success for now.. About to put the antenna up and get to testing. And no I wont show a pic of it otherwise I would have to cut it off and start over again

Thanks for the guidance. I specifically bought a new soldering iron. I've had one since I was a kid. It's so old I'd be worried it will catch fire :). Another hobby = more gear. I was talking to someone on the channel that is programmed for a repeater. I was only using my handheld and it was shocking how far that repeater is. I plan to find out how to donate to that repeater for upkeep. I think it's really cool you guys are out there!

Well got some things accomplished today before the rain hit. FINALLY, made it all the way through the wall. I was off a good inch in a half from where I was guessing it was coming through. I put the mast up to decide on height. I think the top of the mast will be at 21". That will leave me some reserve if needed. Since the chief household engineer required the mast to blend in, I painted the mast in three areas to somewhat match the shingles, siding in the middle and brick at the bottom. Swr adapters come tomorrow so I can put connectors on and finally start testing swr. I have two questions. When testing swr does the antenna have to be at altitude or can it be upright at ground level? Secondly, thinking more about going ahead and doing the truck install and if I did I think I would cut the pl 259 off and replace it after I get it routed and then put on a new one. The coax is the thin rg-58 a/u . Can someone give me a link for the proper 259 fitting I need to put back on if I do cut it off? Thanks in advance