MY M-400 starDuster Antenna Long term Journey!

[lords]

MY M-400 star Duster Antenna Long term Journey!

Well it all started with me buying a star duster antenna.
Most say its just as good as the older one,couldn't tell the difference!
Not a bad antenna at all i was thinking.
I opened the box,looked over all the parts and said,not bad at all but this Antenna needs to be updated badly,for structure!
All self taping screws, not worth a 30 MPH wind..looks like it can get blown or shaken apart, as fast as I put it up!!
So i decided to goto my local Hardware Store and get some screws and nuts..
I ended up getting stainless steel #4 screws with nuts.
First was the top Radial..it was to be locked into the down stair
element(lower radial) using the Anti-Noise element with grub screw.
I had to slide the top radial into the bottom radial with the anti-noise element in-between this and make sure that it was from top radial to bottom 133cm(52.3622").
Not a problem this was to lock it into frequency,So they said!
Well 1 grub screw locking all this into place, was to me,a wind nightmare.
I mean it moved around just shaking the whole assembly.
Flimzy i say!
NO more stock on this, as you see the picture!
1 set screw and 1 screw and nut sealed in silicone.Now its ready for wind.

As you see now the Anti-noise element can rest easy right above that screw as soon as the silicone drys!

Now came the ground Radials.Stock 1 set screw ,1 hole to screw it into.
Time to update!
I drilled the hole all the way through and used a #4 screw and nut with silicone. all preped and ready for assembly.

All put together and waiting to dry (3 ground Radials).

Now for the frame (holds the ground radials to Prevent Wind Whistle).
Ok, so if these needed to be sturdy,why use set screws..I didn't think this would be long term for wind and weather!
So I added a #4 screw and nut.

Now came the hub..So now it has 2 grub screws to secure it to the mast,not a problem that looked ok,but the hub stock,
with 3 set screws, holding the ground radials in?
I thought within time will loosen up.

This looks a little sloppy but works great!
I drilled a hole 1cm into the hub through the set screw hole,then reamed out the inter part of the hub for a #4 bolt to fit. total 3 #4screws and nuts. bolted all ground radials to hub.

Mission Completed 80 channels of 1.2 on the SWR meter!

50 feet in the air is a m-400 Starduster Antenna, well worth its weight in gold for a long term.
I can rest now, knowing that my Antenna bought from Italy for $65 Dollars is secured sealed and going to stay up!

 

[Dealer]

M 400

Looks nice and the pictures are great...

I had one back in the 70,s and it was a great antenna
however as I recall it was of much better quality and
did not require this extra work.

I believe you indicated such in your build and did what
it took to correct its short comings.

Lightning seemed to love mine, I hope thats not the case
with yours...

Great Job

Regards,
John

 

[lords]

thanks, I am making sure this is staying up for a while.
and hopefully good old mother nature (Lightning) don't
get it..

I was a bit upset at first because i am a buy it in USA man
but i got a deal(so most say)on this shipped along with
a CTI SpitFire 327 3 element beam antenna(which i haven't even looked at that yet!

so far no problem on DXing or SWR issues running 500+ watts
gets me 1.5 SWR around 80 channels.
I do know so far its rated at 800-1000 watts but i see some of my buddys running them at 1400-1600 without a problem!
and no static what so ever..hell my usb devices don't even unconnect on my pc now P

 

[lords]

weird..

Just great but not to bad
I have this antenna mounted in a water pipe inside the chimney
about 1 foot down my mast is.
1 bolt 1 nut,with a lock washer and a long muffler clamp on the bottom part of the mast ..
well heres the thing I come home from work today about 2:30pm
and see my antenna..not vertical..its kinda slanted now

Funny thing about all this is the antenna caught the inside of the chimney as the muffler clamp snapped..So this saved me from it dropping down on to a power line 5 feet lower from where its hanging..
the amazing part is I can hear skip from all over on the channels
now..
is it just skip time?? Is it because of the rain?
or is it because of my antenna is in between 50% vertical and 50% horizontal? i mean skip is really coming in and i haven't heard skip since I put this antenna up!

 

[SR385]

Guy wires on a mast that high...save yourself some time.

Also, do you have anywhere else to position it to keep it from being able to fall on a power line? I don't think the problem with that is less than obvious. If a fire started, you might even be denied your insurance claim.

Nice job otherwise, you prepped it well, should last a long time.

 

[Marconi]

385 is right and if the high line is high voltage and gets grounded you will likely see a big black mark where your house use to be. You better be careful when you try to fix that thing also. That length is very unstable and will fool you even though the antenna is light. I would call the power company to come get that thing down before you get hurt.

 

[Master Chief]

Water Pipe is used to hold water. You should use TUBING for a mast material. Pipe is OK for short lengths (like out the top of a rotor) but is NOT structurally sound......as you found out.

Take a look at your picture. You will notice that you almost have a 1/2 wave dipole in the horizontal position. Sometimes a vertical works well for skip and sometimes horizontal. Its MAGIC!

Also, these copies suck. Mechanically and electrically. You were smart to seal the joints though. This will help. If you take it back down, do yourself a favor and pick up some Noalox and apply a thin film on ALL of the aluminum joints! Then go ahead and seal it up again.

Noalox has suspended zinc particles that will actually etch into the aluminum and help maintain a good electrical contact for years and years. It also makes it real nice when you disassemble the antenna in the future.

You can buy Noalox at Home Depot.

 

[Dealer]

385 is right and if the high line is high voltage and gets grounded you will likely see a big black mark where your house use to be. You better be careful when you try to fix that thing also. That length is very unstable and will fool you even though the antenna is light. I would call the power company to come get that thing down before you get hurt.

I am with Marconi 100% all the way.

To Hell with that antenna !! Call the power company.

It isn`t worth your life or your familys home.

Nuff said from me and good luck.


Best Regards,
John

 

[lords]

its already fixed...did it yesterday after the rain...(updated to a 1 1/2 " heavy duty muffler clamp)
its a 2 inch water drain pipe its mounted to(that been in the chimney since 1960 something)..so thats all said and done...
updated the clamps...as for the antenna its still up and runing
and talking just fine..dam...dollar junk clamp.almost got me in trouble..
now for the spitfire 427 beam going up ...well thats going on a 5 foot tower...with a 20 foot mast
BTW this is and apt not a house..and the roof is 30 foot from the ground...