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Old March 13th 12, 11:34 AM
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Location: North of Chapman Ranch, Texas
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Default Howdy & what is

Hey y'all - I'm new to this web site. I have an old Cushcraft R7 vertical antenna that's going up one more time. It was new in '92 and got took down by a tree in a tornado storm in '96 in Zion, IL. I fixed it up and it spent the next five years above my mom's garage in Rocky River, OH. I took it down and it's been mothballed since. It's going up again because I cannot decide between other antennas. It is most definitely a compromise, but I do not contest or compete, and the ground here on the gulf coast is pretty salty, so I'm giving her another try.

This is so much fussing. I really need the two meter yagi up and running.

I wish y'all every one the best.
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Old March 13th 12, 02:07 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
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Default Howdy & what is


Nice antenna, looks pretty practical.

Good luck

73s





"K5RIX" wrote in message
...

Hey y'all - I'm new to this web site. I have an old Cushcraft R7
vertical antenna that's going up one more time. It was new in '92 and
got took down by a tree in a tornado storm in '96 in Zion, IL. I fixed
it up and it spent the next five years above my mom's garage in Rocky
River, OH. I took it down and it's been mothballed since. It's going
up again because I cannot decide between other antennas. It is most
definitely a compromise, but I do not contest or compete, and the ground
here on the gulf coast is pretty salty, so I'm giving her another try.

This is so much fussing. I really need the two meter yagi up and
running.

I wish y'all every one the best.




--
K5RIX


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Old March 13th 12, 07:30 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
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Posts: 220
Default Howdy & what is

It's one of the best antennas I ever used in over 50 years
of hamming. I've had wires, towers and beams, but the
R7 was great! I never considered it a compromise. If you
do have problems with it, just google it and you can get
all the information you need to fix it quickly and easily. You
shouldn't have problems though. I set mine up according to
the manual and it worked perfectly for a number of years until
I moved into a senior's lodge and coudn't take it with me.

Irv VE6BP

"K5RIX" wrote in message
...

Hey y'all - I'm new to this web site. I have an old Cushcraft R7
vertical antenna that's going up one more time. It was new in '92 and
got took down by a tree in a tornado storm in '96 in Zion, IL. I fixed
it up and it spent the next five years above my mom's garage in Rocky
River, OH. I took it down and it's been mothballed since. It's going
up again because I cannot decide between other antennas. It is most
definitely a compromise, but I do not contest or compete, and the ground
here on the gulf coast is pretty salty, so I'm giving her another try.

This is so much fussing. I really need the two meter yagi up and
running.

I wish y'all every one the best.




--
K5RIX



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Old March 13th 12, 08:29 PM
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Mar 2012
Location: North of Chapman Ranch, Texas
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Thanks! The R7 worked well for me and later for my mom. I had it up on a ten-foot mast in Zion, IL. A nice op up in Kenosha, WI about twelve or thirteen radio miles to the north also had an R7 up on his garage and we could just about pin each other's S-meters on 40 with 100 watts. The tornado storm caused a big tree to fall on one of the 3/16" Dacron guy ropes and the antenna bowed severely, but I was able to fix it (the insurance paid for a new one!).

At some time during one of several Navy moves the counterpoise spokes and the x-hat rods were lost. I ordered replacements from MFJ and it took them five months to get the parts to me. A local ham has advised me to wipe the aluminum a few times per year with WD-40 against the salty air here on the Gulf. One concern is the longevity of the fiberglass base insulator in the South Texas sun, and I am contemplating coating it with roof tar. Any suggestions along this line are most welcome.
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Old March 14th 12, 11:20 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
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Default Howdy & what is

On 3/13/2012 2:29 PM, K5RIX wrote:
One concern is the longevity of the
fiberglass base insulator in the South Texas sun, and I am contemplating
coating it with roof tar. Any suggestions along this line are most
welcome.


Dunno.. I think I would use something else.. That roof tar can
really get to be a mess if you have to work on anything.
And it possibly could effect the fiberglass being an oil type
product. Don't know how it's built, but maybe heat shrink tubing,
or some coating that wouldn't be so messy. IE: I'd much rather use
black color weatherstrip adhesive to cover it, than roof tar.
It will dry to be like rubber, and could be peeled off if needed.



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Old March 15th 12, 06:44 AM
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Mar 2012
Location: North of Chapman Ranch, Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NM5K[_4_] View Post
On 3/13/2012 2:29 PM, K5RIX wrote:
One concern is the longevity of the
fiberglass base insulator in the South Texas sun, and I am contemplating
coating it with roof tar. Any suggestions along this line are most
welcome.


Dunno.. I think I would use something else.. That roof tar can
really get to be a mess if you have to work on anything.
And it possibly could effect the fiberglass being an oil type
product. Don't know how it's built, but maybe heat shrink tubing,
or some coating that wouldn't be so messy. IE: I'd much rather use
black color weatherstrip adhesive to cover it, than roof tar.
It will dry to be like rubber, and could be peeled off if needed.
Yes I agree. A big tube of heat shrink custom cut sounds much better.

This was an excellent antenna for me, and I set it up for my mom prior to a Navy transfer after my dad passed away. She had very good luck with it. I'm glad to finally have all the parts again. The R7 was really good, especially on 30 meters for me. I will forget the roof tar! I'm sure it would work, but what a mess! I need to open the box that contains the feed circuitry and verify everything is nominal, and check it all out. This should be a good location for the R7. Thank y'all for the excellent observations. Ric
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Old March 15th 12, 02:06 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
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Default Howdy & what is

On 3/13/2012 2:29 PM, K5RIX wrote:
Thanks! The R7 worked well for me and later for my mom. I had it up on
a ten-foot mast in Zion, IL. A nice op up in Kenosha, WI about twelve
or thirteen radio miles to the north also had an R7 up on his garage and
we could just about pin each other's S-meters on 40 with 100 watts. The
tornado storm caused a big tree to fall on one of the 3/16" Dacron guy
ropes and the antenna bowed severely, but I was able to fix it (the
insurance paid for a new one!).

At some time during one of several Navy moves the counterpoise spokes
and the x-hat rods were lost. I ordered replacements from MFJ and it
took them five months to get the parts to me. A local ham has advised
me to wipe the aluminum a few times per year with WD-40 against the
salty air here on the Gulf. One concern is the longevity of the
fiberglass base insulator in the South Texas sun, and I am contemplating
coating it with roof tar. Any suggestions along this line are most
welcome.


Have you seen the product called "Rescue Tape"
Resisting salt water and UV rays are a couple of it's
characteristics. I bought some at a hamfest, but I saw it yesterday at
West Marine.
It doesn't leave any sticky residue when you remove it.
Here's the website.
http://www.rescuetape.com/
Mikek

I don't work for the company, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn.
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Old April 21st 12, 02:51 AM
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Location: North of Chapman Ranch, Texas
Posts: 5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amdx[_2_] View Post
On 3/13/2012 2:29 PM, K5RIX wrote:
Thanks! The R7 worked well for me and later for my mom. I had it up on
a ten-foot mast in Zion, IL. A nice op up in Kenosha, WI about twelve
or thirteen radio miles to the north also had an R7 up on his garage and
we could just about pin each other's S-meters on 40 with 100 watts. The
tornado storm caused a big tree to fall on one of the 3/16" Dacron guy
ropes and the antenna bowed severely, but I was able to fix it (the
insurance paid for a new one!).

At some time during one of several Navy moves the counterpoise spokes
and the x-hat rods were lost. I ordered replacements from MFJ and it
took them five months to get the parts to me. A local ham has advised
me to wipe the aluminum a few times per year with WD-40 against the
salty air here on the Gulf. One concern is the longevity of the
fiberglass base insulator in the South Texas sun, and I am contemplating
coating it with roof tar. Any suggestions along this line are most
welcome.


Have you seen the product called "Rescue Tape"
Resisting salt water and UV rays are a couple of it's
characteristics. I bought some at a hamfest, but I saw it yesterday at
West Marine.
It doesn't leave any sticky residue when you remove it.
Here's the website.
http://www.rescuetape.com/
Mikek

I don't work for the company, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn.

Mikek - THANKS for the link to Rescue Tape! That looks to be exactly what I need to protect the fiberglass base insulator, which is actually still in pretty good shape. I replaced the short section of braid between the matching box and the radial spokes with a nice bit of tinned braid strap. Everything came apart pretty easy and was cleaned with a green ScotchBrite pad, and this time I used plenty of Penetrox at the joints and on the threads. Excellent so far.

The antenna is mounted atop a ten-foot + length of hurricane fence rail which is mounted to a cheap three-foot RS galvanized tripod. The tripod is bolted to a T-shaped base fabricated from 1 X 8 pine such that the whole thing can be tilted down by removal of a stainless wing nut that holds down the rear tripod leg. The base is fixed to the ground with three really big tent stakes; a set of three dacron guys completes the simple installation.

Once again, many thanks to y'all for the good ideas!
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Old April 21st 12, 05:00 AM
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If you were happy with it's performance when it was new - you should have bought a new one when the storm damaged it - before MFJ got their grubby paws on the company and cheapened it up.

It you was good at fabrication - you probably could have made the replacement parts yourself.
And how did it work great for your mom if there was parts missing.

This whole post is a misnomer.

Throw it away, buy a new one, put it up according to the manufacturers specifications and hope that it works as well as the one you bought years ago.

My theory is sentimental value is always 100 cents on the dollar.
Real world tells me that unless you put up the same exact antenna on the same exact location and had the same exact propagation - nothing ever works the same 100% of the time...
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Old April 27th 12, 09:59 AM
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Location: North of Chapman Ranch, Texas
Posts: 5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Channel Jumper View Post
If you were happy with it's performance when it was new - you should have bought a new one when the storm damaged it - before MFJ got their grubby paws on the company and cheapened it up.

It you was good at fabrication - you probably could have made the replacement parts yourself.
And how did it work great for your mom if there was parts missing.

This whole post is a misnomer.

Throw it away, buy a new one, put it up according to the manufacturers specifications and hope that it works as well as the one you bought years ago.

My theory is sentimental value is always 100 cents on the dollar.
Real world tells me that unless you put up the same exact antenna on the same exact location and had the same exact propagation - nothing ever works the same 100% of the time...

No parts were missing any time the antenna was in use. I was able to fix the storm damage myself. The parts were lost during subsequent storage while I was overseas. Anyhow, all's well that ends well.
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