Tennadyne T-11 on the way! any advice on using with the 6500?

Ken - NM9P

I just pulled the trigger and ordered a T-11 this morning. It should arrive in a couple of weeks. Now I am looking for tower, rotor, and all the trimmings. Any advice from other 6000 owners about interfacing, use, strategy etc.? I am as excited as can be. I haven't had a beam antenna on HF since 1981, and that was a TA-33Jr.!

Scott AC8DE

No real advice that you don't already probably know. There is nothing specific to a 6500 or any other radio for a log periodic or any beam antenna. Interesting that you bought the antenna BEFORE the tower. A bit "cart-before-the-horse". Let the spending begin! And since you are Indiana, it's a really tough time of the year to plant a tower. But you know that already. 73, Scott AC8DE

Jim Bryce W5HFS

I'm using a Tennadyne T-6 with a FlexRadio 6700. I feed the antenna with LMR-400 and use the "Collins Choke" Tennadyne supplies. It works beautifully. The ATU in the 6700 quickly matches the antenna on 20 - 10 and even on 6. I turn the T-6 with a Yaesu 800 DXA. The antenna is mounted on a 10 foot mast into the rotator in the middle of an 8 foot quadrabod on the roof of my one story house. The antenna is only about 30 feet above ground level, but it performs very well and is quite directional. I am able to fold it over and work on it while standing on the roof. There is a an extensive Tennadyne interest group discussion of how to feed the antenna with suggestions of various balun/whatever configurations and whether or not to strap the feedline to the bottom boom as Tennadyne recommends. I've tried most of the alternatives. None work as well as following exactly the Tennadyne recommendations. I've just received the Tennadyne folded dipole that is 90 feet long and according to their specifications will load with 2:1 or less SWR from 10 - 160. I'm excited about using this antenna on 160 - 30. I hung the center of the antenna with an offset made out of an old wraparound backpack frame to my quadrapod last night and hope to have it up and running this weekend..

k0eoo

I use the M2 rotor with controller RC2800PX. Built like a battle ship. Dennis, k0eoo

Al_NN4ZZ

Ken, If you are looking at a Crankup / Tiltover type tower for easy maintenance, you might be interested in this resource. Over 350 members and a lot of good reference material. http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CrankupTiltoverTowers/conversations/messages Have fun with the tower and antenna project. Regards, Al / NN4ZZ

Ken - NM9P

JFK said that when he was a boy and he and his friends were feeling mischievous and wondered what was on the other side of someone's wall, they would throw one of the boy's hats over the wall so that someone would have to climb over and see what was on the other side. So I bought my T-11 first in order to motivate me to find the tower and other goodies! I have a line on some Rohn 45G but the price is a little high. If I can dicker down to what I can afford, then I will be in good shape. See ya, Ken - NM9P

Ken - NM9P

Thanks, Al. I just put an offer on 85 feet of Rohn 45G and the guy accepted. Now I have to arrange transportation (i.e. rent a trailer and go get it) 4 1/2 hours away from my location. I plan to use about 45-50 feet of it and sell the rest to recoup my costs! I don't think I want to go up any higher than that without lots of guys. I will be putting a home built Hazer lift on it. I have a friend who built his own and it is nicer than the real thing! He is going to build me one. Now all I need is a rotor, control cable and some more coax!

Ken - NM9P

update: I just started assembling the T-11 this evening. So far I have gotten all of the aluminum out of the box and sorted it. Wow! There is a lot of aluminum in that package! I have also separated all of the hardware, nuts, bolts, washers, etc, into a fishing tackle divided plastic box. I have read the directions about six times and planned my assembly strategy. Tomorrow I start putting it all together. I hope to get the last sections of the tower up and the antenna mounted within the next week or two! I hope the weather holds...and my back, too! Ken - NM9P

KY6LA_Howard

As an old antenna builder make sure you use NALOX anti seize on all AL parts that join together and anti-seize on all threaded bolts. These simple precautions will save you future grief when you inevitably Ned to remove or dissemble the antenna

DH2ID

Nice to see what you have got in your bed, Ken ;-)
I'm only jealous! Worked VK3 with my frame antenna on balcony (!) just now, though!

Steve K9ZW

Congrats - have had a T8 with a T28 stacked above.  Works excellent at my station, been low maintenance and withstood some serious weather without issues.

Even heavy icing has been withstood:

(Article with more icing pictures:  https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/hello-winter-ice-snow-at-the-k9zw-qth/ )

Been a very good investment!

73

Steve

K9ZW

BLOG http://k9zw.wordpress.com/ 

Ken - NM9P

I have a new bottle of Penetrox A ready to go. All fasteners have Nylock nuts. This antenna is engineered well. Going to be fun, if my back holds out. Unfortunately there is rain in the forecast for today. I will build the individual boom segments with first element sections in the garage, then move them outside for boom assembly and element built-out if the weather holds.....but first project is to remeasure element pieces and mark them for proper order of assembly.

Ken - NM9P

Initial unpack and sort was done on the spare guest bed. I didn't have a workbench large enough in the garage! I will get my exercise carrying everything out to the garage as I build each section of the double boom...

Ken - NM9P

Looks interesting. I thought about a T11/T28 combo, too. I decided to go with the T11 and a crossed 10x10 beam for 2 meters. It was only $200 and will give me ten elements each for Vertical and Horizontal with separate feed lines. It will be nice to have both.

Walt - KZ1F

I don't have a T-11 or even T-7. I bought a ruggedized M2 17-30LP7. I did have some issues with unmachined parts and slightly bent sections. It is up about 57' on a 55' TX-455. The problem with the tower is it won't take anything bigger than a HAM-IV rotor, which didn't last a year, maybe 6-7 months. Since I haven't gotten anybody to take it down (go up and get it) it is still there pointing towards the south pacific. There are worse places it could be stuck pointing. Needless to say, I don't do well into Europe or the Middle East. As the tower is a tilt over I do have Al's most excellent TiltPlate. However, as it is pointing 278 degrees and needs to be pointing  200 degrees for the plate to work I can not retract and tilt the tower over. What I need is for someone to go up there, loosen the mast to rotor U bolts and turn the antenna to 200 degrees so I can lower it. The replacement Ham V (Ham IV rotor and DCU-1) has been ordered but apparently back ordered, perhaps because the POS is subject to burning out the solenoid.

My understanding is M2 bought the rights for the Teledyne antennas and offers then in a ruggedized model as well as std models. It is totally impervious to ice now and is virtually flat on 17,15,12, and 10.

The issue with the tower is if I retract it to 23' the rotor will be inside the two outer sections of tower so it isn't clear if good access to the U-bolts is achievable. I believe, if I retract the tower to the point just as the rotor bell starts to drop inside the middle section of tower the height will be about 30'.  If someone is going to try to torque the antenna 78 degrees it is likely better to be doing it at 30' rather than 55'.  Does anybody know a tower guy in the north east? Don't mean to appear highjacking Ken's thread, so you can respond to me at my call at arrl dot net.

The antenna is great and if the tower would have supported the wind load and weight, I would have tried for T-11 or M2 equiv.

Rob Fissel

Keep the pics coming, Ken. I'm a **** for antenna assembly pictures. 

Steve K9ZW

Was unaware Tennadyne and M2 were working together.  The mechanics of the two products are very different, but perhaps electrically they share heritage?

The only safe way to deal with a dead rotor on a crank-up/tip-over tower is from a lift.  Some folks will climb after very extensive cribbing, but usually you need the lift to crib the upper sections so why even consider an unsafe climb.

I've been near a crank-up when a cable let go, and it is not pretty - https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/crank-up-tower-safety/ - and personally would never ask a climber to scale one of these towers. 

Back to LPDA - they seem particularly well suited to the wide bandwidth sampling of the Flex-6x00 radios and hope you get your rotor back alive soon!

73

Steve

K9ZW

Dan -- KC4GO

So Ken once it's built how do you get it out of the bedroom? like a boat in the basement... Good luck and take your time.

KY6LA_Howard

Trick on Renting Lifts

Rent it for Friday Afternoon delivery

Call for pickup Saturday after 3 pm

They normally do not pick up to Monday AM

So for the price of one day rental you get Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

Best deal ever.

Been doing lift rentals that way for years. Plus a heck of a lot safer than anyone climbing towers Well worth the money and a lot less expensive than hospital bills or funeral costs.

Ken - NM9P

Friday, 6/5/2015 @ 2:00 p.m. 6 of 8 boom sections and 12 of 22 element bases mounted. That is over half the element bases. Lunch break, now. Then to finish the last boom section with 5 pairs of element bases. Then put the boom sections together and build out the elements. Glad it isn't too hot in the front yard under the tree!

W7NGA

Ken, I am confused. Your initial posting was created 2 years ago! Did it take that long to get it from the manufacturer or do you just procrastinate as intensely as I do? Good luck with your antenna .. can't wait to hear how it performs. -dan W7NGA

Ken - NM9P

Actually got the antenna within a few weeks, but it was in November and the Indiana winter hit hard. Then it was May until I could get the tower base poured (delayed by winter and board of zoning appeals) then I had a stay in the ER with chest pains, and then delays of various sorts, scheduling with my tower helper/builder, another winter, redesign of the plan (eliminating the Hazer and deciding to go with a shorter, self supporting tower) and work snags... It has been just about a year since pouring the tower base, and now my building schedule allows full speed ahead! It has been a long and tortuous journey into antenna land! Ken - NM9P

AE0MW

Ken, if you're friend is at all interested in talking with me I'd love to discuss a Rohn 45 hazer with him.

I have several sections of 45 under my back deck that I've been unwilling to put up because it's too hard to find climbers anymore. I don't really want a lightweight crank up/tilt over tower because I live in Iowa and just like you we have some brutal winters.

My callsign at arrl.net will redirect to my email address.

-Mike

Walt - KZ1F

Thanks Steve, I am not convinced they are working together. I've had a couple of people tell me it was a Teledyne, looks like, sounds like it, except it is ruggedized. It will laugh at ice, and in the NE, we do get ice. One winter my old KT34XA looked like a shiney upside down U from an ice storm.

Just got notification the new rotor shipped.

W9OY

Buy a rotor that DDUTIL or DXLab can turn for you

Congrats!

73  W9OY

Charles - K5UA

Words can not describe what the band will sound like with the T-11 vs your wire antennas.

Steve K9ZW

Thinking the 4o3a controller will be very Maestro friendly.... 73 Steve K9ZW

Travis Best

Actually I would recommend Jet-**** SS-30 Pure Copper Anti-Seize the Penetrox will dry out and the Jet-**** stays good in the joint for forever 

Ross - K9COX

Nice grass

Walt - KZ1F

I am not going to climb it, I wouldn't pay anyone to 'climb' it. I will, however, pay someone to show up with a scissor lift or tree trimming truck and go up in bucket.

Ken - NM9P

Got all the boom sections done and assembled before it got too dark to continue. Need to mate the booms together and build out the elements tomorrow. Have one snag... One of the spacing brackets does not match the holes in the boom. They are off by about 1/16 inch. Need to re-drill the boom tomorrow to be able to mate the halves together. Shouldn't take long tomorrow to do that and finish build out. Then to finish the tower raising and get the T-11 up in the air. That may be next week, bit I wanted to get the antennas built this weekend. No pictures, it was too dark when I finished.