Vineyard Preparation Work Party 2012
March 24th, 2012

 

At the beginning of every season, the HAMCOW gets
a thorough work over, preventative maintenance,
all antennas are tested, along with all of the coax
cables.  The interior gets a Spring cleaning, and
it's the season for preparing any new upgrades.

 

The day started with N1JOY& W2DAN hosing off
the roof of the HAMCOW to clean off any dirt
that had settled on the PVC membrane roof.  All
of the antennas had been previously removed,
so this was an easy task.  N1RHS handled the
cleaning of the living space, and KB1G was on
the injured list, so he took photos and helped
as much as his knee would allow that day.
A lot of work was accomplished thanks to the
dedication of the Team HAMCOW members.



One thing that helps make our setup go so smooth
is the color coded base plates and guy stakes,
all painted to match the color of the guy ropes of
each antenna.  KB1JBC lays down the paint after
hammering any bent guy stakes straight.


Next we install every antenna, telescope them to their normal operating
elevation, then check SWR across all bands.  Today we discovered a
problem with the A4S Yagi that needed attention.  It's a lot easier to
identify and repair these problems now rather than in the field
during a contest.

 


N1JOY telescoping the antenna under test.

 


W2DAN makes the feed line repair to the A4S HF Yagi.





HAMCOW preparations at N1JOY's QTH for the 2012 Martha's Vineyard
DX-Pedition.  N1JOY, W2DAN, N1PMB, KB1JBC, N1RHS, & KB1G
all pitched in.



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