Category: DX Commander

After a complex lowering job yesterday (there’s a video coming out about that), currently the tower is down. Today I am adding more guys to the tower, fitting coax and hopefully raising the tower back up later. I have a Yagi that would be nice to get operational. Videosto be released: Adding the rotator cable and making the Yagi.

Last year, Django (my dog) ran into one of the guy lines and managed to destroy my freshly built and newly designed trib-band vertical which was on an 18m / 60-ft pole. I am trying to rebuild it on a 12.4m telescopic pole.

Last time out, we broke the Create Rotator. We fished out the Yaesu G-450 and we’re going to try again – this time with the whole 13m (42.5-ft) and a 6:1 pulley. Wish me luck!

It went wrong. Can we fix it?

This is a 12m tower project for an HF Yagi / Quad etc. long story.. *BUT* the guys are dual-use as both a 40m 4-Square switchable antenna array – as well as the tower.

So there will be 4 vertical antennas coming off each guy point. Accuracy is mandatory for both the 4-square (impedance matching and gain etc) and you’ll see shortly in another video why they need to be spot on because when we move to a non-stretch Dyneema rope, all 4-guys need to have same tension when the tower is lowered and raised.

Further, the tower needs to be totally detuned from 40m so we have a fibreglass insulator to change the resonance to around 9MHz. We COULD add a further insulator above the rotator to move that to about 24MHz. More of that in later video. There will be a temporary yagi going up on the top of this tower which will give me time to develop the multi-band quad antenna.

The start of the construction is here: https://youtu.be/SbMy_82XRDM

"Part 1" is this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_pQN0pMvmA

We covered the planning of this tower on a previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmgUGuoudb4

We also made a video about Quads – which is the target of this tower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r9ff32j9Yo

And here is some information about 4-Square antennas which will surround the tower (tower will be de-tuned off 40m): https://youtu.be/joWUH2PgGZg

The NEXT video in this series is when we fit the top of the tower, fit all the lines (ropes) and make the tower fully operational – as well as site the 4-vertical elements (non functional currently until we connect it).

The next video after that one in this series is to make a temporary yagi mono-bander for 20m and fire at USA. Then finally, rotator cable, ethernet, control wires etc up the pole.

Finally, we will lay the radials down for the 4-square and connect up the control box.

I drilled out the scaffold guys for the eye bolts, fitted the rotator, fitted the falling derrick system and the first scaffold tube to deliver the first piece of the tower.

This is the UK’s National Newark HamFest, the UK’s biggest. Lots of old friends, some mad jokes and a bit of fun. Thanks to Mike and Jonathan.

https://www.youtube.com/@M0JSX
https://www.youtube.com/@mike-M0MSN

https://youtu.be/q4YSNl6M4O0 – Mike Reacts!

Matt came up with this excellent contraption that you can either buy – or have printed off yourself. I LOVE them.

Matt’s store(s):
Download the "Antenna Element Clamp" here: https://www.printables.com/@Omni_RF
Buy a set of clamps here: https://omni-rf.com/antennas/antenna-element-clamp-kit

Good work Matt!

Previous video with Matt: https://youtu.be/DdvueID3y2U

YouTubers after-party Confessions

https://youtu.be/putc4_QTQfg – The Open Day
https://youtu.be/uXOasWW-TMs – That "VNA" video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lum7_4FmbS0 – A P revious "Field Day"

https://www.youtube.com/@mike-M0MSN – Mike’s channel
https://www.youtube.com/@M0JSX – Jonathan’s channel

5 Operating Stations, 8 towers and 52 antenna PLUS Remote-Control! *YOU* could be operating this 80 Yagi NEXT WEEK! Let’s find out more! Callum.
https://www.w7rn.com/ w7rn’s official website
https://www.youtube.com/@W6IWN_Radio/videos Thanks Bobby for the tower footage

This multimeter is fully automatic – and has a trick up it’s sleeve.. Check this!
PS – this is the link they sent to me:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BLZ7GN2X – UK
https://www.amazon.com/TESMEN-Multimeter-Measurement-Auto-Ranging-Non-Contact/dp/B0BLZ7GN2X/ USA