Ham Radio Forum

If rainstorms that are currently in area move out by tomorrow as forecast, the Salt Lake City receiving site delta loop antenna will be lowered to allow replacement of the existing 1/8 inch diameter Dacron support ropes with 1/4 inch diameter Dacron ropes. The existing 1/8 ropes have a 350 lb breaking strength, which should be adequate, but they are rather small for pulleys they loop through at each end. I have been concerned that they might jump off during a windstorm and become jammed. The 1/4 inch replacement rope has a 900 lb breaking strength, which is much more than needed, but it has a large enough diameter to make jumping off a pulley impossible.

The Salt Lake City receiver will be temporarily switched to a base-fed 100 foot vertical antenna during rope replacement. There isn't currently enough lightning protection on the vertical antenna feed-line to make it safe to leave it connected to the receiver 24/7, but feed-line lightning protection eventually will be added, so users will be able select either antenna remotely via the web.

-Bob

The delta loop antenna support ropes were replaced this afternoon. The Salt Lake City receiver now is back on that antenna.

Later in the year when daytime temperatures drop we are going to move the support for one end of the antenna about thirty feet west to a different tree to gain a little more height and to rotate the antenna slightly counterclockwise. The support trees are about 200 feet apart, so the antenna orientation won't change much, but it will rotate slightly.

-Bob

The loop antenna support change mentioned in the post above was accomplished this afternoon. The primary Salt Lake City receiving antenna is now about 6-feet higher and rotated a few degrees counterclockwise compared to before.

If reception was poor this afternoon it was because the antenna was lowered to the ground for a couple hours during the change so the wire, insulators, rope and pulleys could be inspected. Everything was in good condition, so hopefully the antenna will survive the severe winter weather that probably will be coming in the months ahead.

-Bob