Saturday saw the XYL and I take the short run to Bickershaw, for South Lancs Amateur Radio Club's Summer Rally at the Bickershaw Labour Club.
I didn't find much to enthrall me at the event - but I was tempted by a scanner antenna, which looked as if the telescopic section could be just the thing to repair my Walkabout mk II's top section, recently damaged on Aldeburgh beach...
I paid £3 for the donor part - which seemed fair for the complete antenna, even though it was a bit steep for a cheapskate like me who was intending to take it home and tear it to pieces!
On getting back home and stripping off the heat shrink at the base, I confirmed that the telescopic section was indeed exactly the 48 inch length that I needed to replace the broken section of the Walkabout - seen here below the donor scanner antenna...
I removed the loading coil and BNC from the donor and decided I would try to recover the brass base from the broken Walkabout part to save the female 3/8 inch 24 TPI thread...
Unfortunately, in unscrewing the antenna from this base component, the threaded stud from the antenna sheared off and could not be removed - so I drilled it out and tapped the over-sized hole 2BA.
I then made a brass coupling piece with a 2BA male thread at one end and an M2.5 female thread at the other to accept the new telescopic whip from the donor...
A final covering with heat shrink and the new antenna top section is complete - differing only from the original by being slightly less stealthy (in its bright chrome finish) and a little longer when fully extended (which won't hurt tuning at all)...
Not a bad result for £3 - for anybody else wishing to follow in these footsteps, I note that 48 inch telescopic antennas can be had on eBay from Far East sellers for around £3, including shipping.
I haven't had any QSOs on my new antenna - but I have confirmed it tunes up on 40m and the FT817 gives exactly the same indicated SWR and Power Output as before - result!
Sunday offered the LAMFEST Rally at the Elsecar Heritage Centre, so a blast over the backbone to Yorkshire was indicated.
Now this is what I call a Rally location - combining Radio and Railways AND some entertainment for the XYL (gift shops, antiques, vintage clothing shops, cafes etc) all on one site.
We were met by views of a little ex-Coal Board 0-6-0 Saddle Tank plying her trade in front of the car park as soon as we arrived...
I got myself a Sealed Lead Acid brick to enjoy longer visits to future beaches with the repaired antenna. There was even a COMPLETE Walkabout mk II on offer for £25 - a good deal for somebody!
A great weekend.
...-.- de m0xpd
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