Installing a New Repeater Antenna

Club members Jim and Joe met at Eric's home to upgrade the club repeater. The new configuration will use a 34 foot mast, a Comet GP-9 colinear antenna, and a 117 foot length of half inch heliax. The actual repeater will be also moved from Eric's house to his workshop.

Prior to the tower work day, Eric put ends on the Heliax cable it was a repurposed length which had sat outdoors for years. Members were wary as to its condition and sure enough initial tests showed a high return loss. Eric removed 3 feet from each end and retested the cable. It was now functioning within spec and so ends were put on it and it was prepared for use. Meanwhile members reviewed the site offering suggestions as to tower location and mounting options. Jim offered a large piece of treated beam material to use as a base. After review of the wood it was deemed suitable and later Jim sawed off a length of it and transported it to the site. The tower itself was donated by Ralph who recently decommissioned his beam and tower. All was ready for the installation.

Joe and Jim arrived at 11am to begin work on the tower. First step was to dig in the block of wood and then to drill holes for rebar to anchor it. Once the digging and pounding were completed the mast which already had a hinge attached was bolted onto the wood. The additional tower sections were added along with a length of pipe. Finally the antenna itself was attached and then the heliax. The structure was tilted upward and strapped into place.  The next step was to drill a hole through the 14 gauge steel mesh vent to enable the cable to enter the workshop.

By this time all were quite hot and tired an a half hour break was taken. Being close to done. We decided to finish the whole task and we moved the repeater rack and equipment into the workshop. It was now after 4pm and we felt it had been a good day's effort. Perhaps a bit more work than we wanted but now we can see how the higher antenna and a bit more gain and lower line loss will work.