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I bought a Sirio Gain-master back in 2011, put it together as per instructions also used self-amalgamating tape on all the joints & stuck it up on 2 x 5ft poles joined together then mounted on T&K brackets, the base of antenna was about 20ft off ground, checked the swr which was 1:4 to 1:5 on 11m band. Well 12 years later after all the high winds & rain we’ve had over the years & also a rise in swr to 1:7 (not much I know) so I decided it needed coming down for a good clean and a spot of maintenance. After 2 buckets of hot soapy water it was clean again (not as white when new but clean), removed the self-amalgamating tape, checked for cracks & movement on the joints as when first put together the 1st & 2nd joint at the right measurement of 1800mm (per instructions) 3rd joint used to adjust swr. I marked all joints with a marker pen so I knew if there was movement, there was movement so moved back to pen lines, pinched up clips then checked swr now back to 1:4 to 1:5 again for another 12 years if I’m lucky, then resealed all the joints with self-amalgamating tape. Because I am rising the SGM about another 3 feet up in the air, I know the PL259 plug is partly protected from the weather but thought what could i do & use to completely protect the plug. So I had a few idea’s but no they didn’t work (yes I know i could of wrapped some tape around the PL259 but wanted something to do lol) so eventually after more thinking & many mugs of tea I got another idea and put to the test, got a small length of car heater hose, the right inside diameter for the PL259 plug to slide in to, then got a sharp knife & cut two v shapes out either side so I could close it up to the size of the coax at one end so it’s like a sock that will slide on and off when required, once cut the v’s out I superglued the hose v’s closed whilst on the coax and held them closed with cable ties (making sure cable ties & coax didn’t come in to contact with any superglue) to close the end up to the same size as the coax, just to make sure the glue had dried & making sure the joints were sealed I left it till next day then wrapped the hose in black self-amalgamating tape and fits perfect, last thing was to do was clean the T&K brackets and give them a good coat of paint then put the antenna back up about 23 feet in the air.
Hope you enjoyed reading & hopefully help someone out there.
GaryWilson, Victor, Alan Pilot and DerekF like this post
Les-1 10 + Year member
Call Sign : 26CT739 / 26GB739 Posts : 59 Times Thanked : 7 Join date : 2019-07-16 QTH or Location : Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire Equipment Used : Superstar 3900n, Magnum S9, Cobra 148 GTL DX, Superstar 360 FM, Nato 2000, Lafayette 1200, Hygain V, Albrecht AE2990AFS, Cobra uk29 LTD ST, York jcb 863, York jcb 861, Uniden Uniace 200, Midland 4001, RM KLV550, RM KL400, Zetagi B300P, Sirio GainMaster, T2LT, 7' Firestik, Atron99, 18' Silver rod, Sadelta Echo Master plus, Astatic echomax 2000, Moonraker power mic Age : 58
Call Sign : 26-CT-3228 / M7VIC Posts : 5803 Times Thanked : 352 Join date : 2019-11-10 QTH or Location : Bedford Equipment Used : Various
Subject: Re: Antenna Maintenance Tue Jul 25, 2023 5:10 am
Excellent posting there Les and you've done a marvellous job with your antenna.
Great write up and pictures which I'm sure will assist anyone wanting to do the same. (Loved the car heater pipe idea!) Thanks for such an informative post.
All the best, Victor
Les-1 and DerekF like this post
Nightprowler New Member
Call Sign : 163TM186...MW6ETW Posts : 40 Times Thanked : 2 Join date : 2020-03-29 QTH or Location : Abergavenny Equipment Used : Yaesu FT757 GX2...Kenwood TS440S...Sirio GM
Subject: Re: Antenna Maintenance Wed Aug 30, 2023 3:34 pm
I wish I never read this as it has reminded me I have to do mine. It's been up since 2013 but still working a treat. Good idea for protecting the PL plug too. Nice job.
Les-1 likes this post
Les-1 10 + Year member
Call Sign : 26CT739 / 26GB739 Posts : 59 Times Thanked : 7 Join date : 2019-07-16 QTH or Location : Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire Equipment Used : Superstar 3900n, Magnum S9, Cobra 148 GTL DX, Superstar 360 FM, Nato 2000, Lafayette 1200, Hygain V, Albrecht AE2990AFS, Cobra uk29 LTD ST, York jcb 863, York jcb 861, Uniden Uniace 200, Midland 4001, RM KLV550, RM KL400, Zetagi B300P, Sirio GainMaster, T2LT, 7' Firestik, Atron99, 18' Silver rod, Sadelta Echo Master plus, Astatic echomax 2000, Moonraker power mic Age : 58
Subject: Re: Antenna Maintenance Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:59 pm
Just an update Had problems with the swr fluctuating up & down badly so took back down to investigate. after cutting open the heat shrinks carefully off I found what look like corrosion on capacitor board and the other board maybe from me using too much power sometimes (under 500 watts) LoL so looks like a job for autumn/winter now, I have sourced another cable assembly from Knights so when i get chance and the right conditions I will get it back together and back up.
Today at 4:50 pm by glenn dog
Subject: Antenna Maintenance 
