K6IF on the Tower

Here is me - Dan, K6IF, finishing up the install of the StackMatch.  At this point, the top two antennas are mounted on the tower - the upper one built out of KLM parts on the mast, and the middle one, built out of a mixed bag of parts, on the Ring Rotor.  You can clearly see the difference in the element diameters on the middle antenna.  The elements to the left in this picture, the directors, are made from an old Gotham 4 element monobander.  They are 1" in the center, and 7/8" at the tips.  You can see the hose clamps at the joints (I also riveted the joints to be sure).  The elements to the right, the driven element and reflector, are made from the same stock as the elements of the top antenna - parts from KLM Big Stickers.  They are 5/8" at the center, and 3/8" at the tips.  It was this difference in element diameters that made modeling and building the three antennas such a hassle!

You can't see it in this picture, but the StackMatch is mounted to my right, on the triangular mounting bracket for the Ring.  The coax run that goes off to the left in this picture was removed and replaced with a run along the ground prior to the contest.

It was very cold, for California, the week before the event.  I am wearing two shirts and a sweater under the grey fleece that you see me wearing.  I use a Miller full body climbing harness for tower work - you can see the fall arrest lanyard falling from between my shoulder blades.  The positioning lanyard is hidden in the tower lattice, and you can't really see it in this picture.

Go Back