Feb 23

Almost there….

We’re just about ready to do an new antenna installation within the next week or so here at N3QO. This project was a chance in opportunity with everything lining up completely unexpectedly. The Yaesu G800SA rotor just arrived today. I’m still waiting on the mast mount bracket for it and the shipment of replacement parts from Mosley for the beam. Weather permitting I’m planning on the installation next weekend.

Soon the homebrew hexbeam and light duty rotor will be available to the highest bidder. I’m also looking forward to the days when the “large” expenses are over to get this station to where I want it. Almost there!
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Feb 18

A conversion to the conventional

A new addition is on it’s way to the N3QO station, a used Mosley TA-33 beam. I’ve been told about Mosley antennas over the course of the last year, but much like the hexbeam, I overlooked it. Probably because I didn’t see them in the magazines or supply catalogs. Most recently after speaking with a local ham on 160m and assuming his beam was a Cushcraft A3S, I was again re-introduced to the Mosley TA-33. From what I’ve been hearing, this particular design has been around 40-50 years and it’s the one design other vendors seem to copy.

So this weekend, we travel down to Maryland to pickup our new addition. It needs a few little parts here and there, but I’m anticipating a large jump in performance from the ever popular hexbeam that graces these pages. Of course I’ll post my findings once the new antenna is installed.

This also creates the requirement to replace the existing TV style rotor with a Yaesu G800SA or better. I’m choosing the 800 as my baseline because of the planned additions to grace the mast that the Mosley is expected to populate.

More updates soon..