Within the last few months, I was recently made the trustee for the NWC Amateur Radio Club license WX5NWC. I've received numerous queries about the state of our antenna and the station in general.

The station is quite functional using a vertical antenna mounted on the roof of the NWC. There is an auto-tuner on that antenna that should allow its use on any frequency from 3-30 MHz.

After an exhaustive search in our Federal property database, neither the antenna, mast, or rotator appear to be associated with any Federal property numbers.

The antenna that is currently up there is a 4 element yagi array, part number 00204, made by a company called SteppIR, Inc., and will be simply referred to as "the SteppIR." It is an unique antenna because the elements you see (two of which have been damaged) are special fiberglass tubes (radomes) that contain copper beryllium tapes whose length is adjusted by stepper motors such that the antenna is optimized for the assigned operating frequency. One of failed element halves has been found, but the other is lost. This antenna can be used for any frequency from  a bit below 13.9 through 54 MHz, though the forward gain and ratio of front-to-back gain drops significantly above by 50 MHz. The gain figures can be enhanced considerably with the addition of two fixed elements. This antenna is relatively complex and also relatively large. These antennas are also expensive, at $3000 each. There is an upgrade kit available for $665 that allows the antenna to be used as a rotatable dipole for frequencies from 7 MHz through 13.9 MHz. The antenna, along with all accessories, is designed and constructed to withstand 100 MPH winds. For its size and weight, it has far better gain figures, and much less wind loading, than a log-periodic dipole array.

The antenna is rotated using a Yeasu G-2800DXA series rotor. I've been told that this rotor is scaled to handle our current antenna with a 50% safety margin. It is an expensive rotor, coming in at about $1500. Other, more robust rotors are available at appropriately increased cost. If we do not have one, I strongly suggest purchasing and installing a Yeasu G-3000 shock absorber to mitigate shock loads imposed on the system. These are quite inexpensive, at about $140, though installing one may require raising the mast a couple of inches.

Aside from the two damaged elements, the current antenna system has suffered an unknown failure of the rotor system. This has precedent in that happened once in the past and the problem was found to be a shear bolt within the long mast that connects the rotor to the antenna. The shear bolt is intended to protect the rotor by failing before the rotor does, but the original bolt was too soft (grade 5). The bolt was ungraded to a grade 8 bolt, in hopes of preventing another failure. We do not yet know what has failed: either 1) the rotor has failed, or 2) the shear bolt has failed. Regardless of the nature of the failure, there are several cables that have been severed by the free-wheeling antenna. These include transmission lines and control cables, both of which will need wholesale replacement. If the shear bolt has failed, we will obviously need to replace it, but with something that is more robust. If the rotor has failed, it needs to be sent to Yeasu for repair. Either way, we need to determine why the failure reoccurred.

With that preamble, we need to determine how to proceed. We need to  who has purchase authority and then identify a way to execute disbursements. For example I have located a certified climber though the South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) who will work for $125/hr. I haven't called him because I don;t have any idea how to write him a check at the end of the day. We will need to purchase new cabling, possibly repair a rotor, and likely rebuild the SteppIR. If we choose to replace the SteppIR, we need to sell it off and purchase another suitable antenna. How will these decisions be made? How will they be implemented? I'm happy to accept the responsibility, but I can't execute any action without also having the authority to do so.

I'm happy to be part of any needed meetings to get things on track.

73,

Kim Elmore, N5OP
WX5NWC Trustee