Maco 103c Beam Antenna

[Troubleshooter]

The 1" galvanized pipe is 10 feet long.. It is threaded into the 2" pipe with a 2" to 1 " reducer.. The reducer is in the middle of that 3" sleeve and there is over a foot overlap above and below the reducer, so it cannot break... I wanted to go with at least 1 1/2" pipe but the plumbing supply did not have 1 1/2" pipe.. It is a solid design, it's not going anywhere.. Like I said, we had a front come through and it was pretty windy and it did not even blink.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

I totally understand what you are saying, and I do not take it as being harsh, it's all good.. I need at least 70+ feet to go from the antenna to my radio stuff which is in my basement. He was telling me just to make sure it's in 12 foot increments.. So 84, 96, 108, and that's based on the velocity factor of the rg213 coax. Again I am not an expert that's why I ask for opinions or advice here, and I was a little confused by the numbers with the velocity factor, or other numbers associated with the coax used. That's the coax I ordered and what I will be using to run to whatever antenna I will be using.. But Danny seems to know his stuff and I do not doubt him.. But again, I am no expert and do not claim to be.. I appreciate everyone's help here and enjoy reading and learning...

For real man.....All you need is what it takes to get from antenna to rig, +a few exter feet so you can move things around to clean, and maybe change your shacks lay out every now and then.
All you need is what it takes to get there....And I would do it in one (1) piece of coax....Not a bazillion little chunks.....Any one try'en to sell you crap will tell you , you need all this hardware and crap....Run, and run fast from 123.....or what ever his name is. He's a salesman.

 

[Troubleshooter]

For real man.....All you need is what it takes to get from antenna to rig, +a few exter feet so you can move things around to clean, and maybe change your shacks lay out every now and then.
All you need is what it takes to get there....And I would do it in one (1) piece of coax....Not a bazillion little chunks.....Any one try'en to sell you crap will tell you , you need all this hardware and crap....Run, and run fast from 123.....or what ever his name is. He's a salesman.

Actually my friend 123 is not a salesman, he does not even sell the coax, he just builds quality amps and power supplies.. With that being said, I disconnected the 108 feet or 96 feet that I had hooked up (cannot even remember anymore, but I do know I had 35 feet of extra leftover coiled up in the corner).. I measure and calculated what I needed , and placed an order of 72 feet of rg213, it was a perfect run right to my equipment wth about 3 feet to spare so if I move stuff around I can do so.. I also ordered the correct length of the jumpers that I needed.. Everything is running now like a well oiled machine.. Yesterday the skip was rolling for hours, I was just basically listening because I was still setting up the bench.. Also took my 2nd PC and set it up on the bench so I can run some hi/fi audio..

 

[Mudduckmobile]

Started digging the hole yesterday, we got down about 3 ft and we hit something that was metal, not sure what it was, we could not go any further.. Here is a pic :

View attachment 19159

This hole is 12 inches in diameter and 3ft deep, my friend poked through the piece of metal but we could not make out what it was, and it went across the entire bottom, so my friend dug a new hole about 2 feet away from this hole. We were able to go 4ft down with no obstructions this time.. I had some pipe delivered to the house from the plumbing supply house, it was a 3" 21 foot gas pipe and a 2" gas pipe.. My friends had a hard time lifting the 21 foot pipe because it had some serious weight to it.. After they stood it up in the hole, we all agreed that the 3" 21 foot gas pipe with a ham 4 rotor attached to it would not hold up even in 4 ft of concrete.. Just not going to trust it.. So I called the supply house and they are going to pick up those other 2 pipes and are delivering 3 10 foot section of 2" galvanized pipe. After all the talk about using the maco beam , I have decided to just use a ground plane.. Tomorrow my friends are going to set the first 10 foot 2" pipe into the hole with concrete and we have to wait for it to cure.. I have to run to home depot before they get home to get a 12" 4 ft concrete sleeve to sink into this hole. Then the other 2 sections will go up along with the antenna.. So I am going to sell the maco 103c that is brand new with the upgraded 5kw gamma match rod, along with the ham 4 rotor w/control box that was just rebuilt, with the mast adapter.. I will let everyone know when I get everything set and I am finally on the air.. Thanks to all who helped and the time we spent on this thread..... Hope to be up and running by next week..

Always call before you dig....lost a goood pal to getting electrocuted when he hit a line "that was not there...."

 

[BBB]

Always call before you dig....lost a goood pal to getting electrocuted when he hit a line "that was not there...."

Coming from an electrical contractor...Oh God, Yes Please:

http://call811.com/

Had that sinking feeling when he said : We poked through this metal thing a few feet down. We could have been easily saying "I wonder what ever happened to that guy setting up his antenna pole?" Gulp.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

Actually my friend 123 is not a salesman, he does not even sell the coax, he just builds quality amps and power supplies.. With that being said, I disconnected the 108 feet or 96 feet that I had hooked up (cannot even remember anymore, but I do know I had 35 feet of extra leftover coiled up in the corner).. I measure and calculated what I needed , and placed an order of 72 feet of rg213, it was a perfect run right to my equipment wth about 3 feet to spare so if I move stuff around I can do so.. I also ordered the correct length of the jumpers that I needed.. Everything is running now like a well oiled machine.. Yesterday the skip was rolling for hours, I was just basically listening because I was still setting up the bench.. Also took my 2nd PC and set it up on the bench so I can run some hi/fi audio..

Yes, the dx was grand yesterday. My best for the day was Turks and Caicos Islands, out of Cooper Jack Bay Settlement, most was just Fl., Al., Nc., Oh. for some reason...You know how is...Propagation can be. Not bad from Central Oregon in my little mobile sitting at 4400ft.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Coming from an electrical contractor...Oh God, Yes Please:

http://call811.com/

Had that sinking feeling when he said : We poked through this metal thing a few feet down. We could have been easily saying "I wonder what ever happened to that guy setting up his antenna pole?" Gulp.

It was on the side of my house, there are no electrical lines there. It was a barrel or something, not really sure. Most likely when they constructed this neighborhood a long time ago they probably buried stuff instead of throwing it out.. Weit around it though by digging another hole, not a big deal.

 

[BBB]

there are no electrical lines there.

Famous last words... unless you have X-Ray vision.

811 is a free service for home owners. Only have to pay when you are a contractor.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Famous last words... unless you have X-Ray vision.

811 is a free service for home owners. Only have to pay when you are a contractor.

It depends on where you live. I would not even think about calling about buried electrical lines where I live. I would hear nothing but laughter on the other end of the phone. For one thing there are no buried lines of any type going out the road and I built the house I am living in. Most rural or semi-rural areas are like that and unless there are obvious signs of buried cables (like a service without visible overhead lines) then digging on your own property especially right up next to your foundation is pretty safe. All I found when landscaping here was lots of old horse shoes, a couple ox shoes, an old rake head, an old potato fork head, several broken pieces of old grist stones and one whole intact stone that is on my lawn now. There used to be an old road house/hotel on the property that my father lived in as a kid and an old water powered grist mill as well on-site. Some subdivisions however may be a different story.

 

[Road Squawker]

.... All I found when landscaping here was lots of old horse shoes, a couple ox shoes, an old rake head, an old potato fork head, several broken pieces of old grist stones and one whole intact stone that is on my lawn now. There used to be an old road house/hotel on the property that my father lived in as a kid and an old water powered grist mill as well on-site. Some subdivisions however may be a different story.

The day after I bought this place, I found an 8 foot dia and 30 foot deep cistern that the previous owner had covered with plywood, and conveniently had forgotten to tell me about.

My realtor called the sellers realtor,... and 45 minutes later, a construction contractor called me and asked when it would be convenient for me to have him fill it with gravel.

 

[2RT307]

The day after I bought this place, I found an 8 foot dia and 30 foot deep cistern that the previous owner had covered with plywood, and conveniently had forgotten to tell me about.

My realtor called the sellers realtor,... and 45 minutes later, a construction contractor called me and asked when it would be convenient for me to have him fill it with gravel.

Wow! You're lucky no one found it the hard way . It's amazing what people do.

73,
Brett

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Wow! You're lucky no one found it the hard way . It's amazing what people do.

73,
Brett

Oh yeah you never know what someone has done if you buy a property especially an old property. I have to wonder if what troubleshooter found was an old steel septic tank. Lots of them were abandoned and left to nature when municipal systems were extended into some communities.