On Wednesday morning 6/10 at 9AM I was informed by county that the tower work would be done that day.  I called Doug W3CF to let him know and he sprang into action going to the EOC to oversee.  During his visit he brought the tailtwister rotor he wanted to donate to have mounted under the yagi.  He was able to gain permission to have the rotor installed!  Doug and I were in communication that morning and found the rotor control cable at Allied Cable in nearby Collegeville for 90 cents per foot (compared to the $2 a foot at HRO).  They were able to cut the length needed in just an hour or so.  Doug was running around getting the control box for the rotor and picking up the cable but when he returned to the EOC the tower crew was finishing up due to needing to go to another job. 

 

They did tighten every bolt on the tower.  They also tightened the arms for the VHF and UHF antennas at 60 and 40 feet.  Also the yagi on top was taken down for repair of a replacement part and reinstalled with the hard line coax connector issue being fixed as well.  Penn Tower will be coming out free of charge to complete the installation of the rotor at a date to be determined. Also the county will provide a pipe to tie off dipoles to since they would like us to not use the fence as a tie off. 

 

Within a month the EOC will have a  a rotor for the Yagi which will greatly increase our HF footprint during an emergency and allow for great training opportunities for operators!

On an another note, filters for the VHF/UHF, and HF positions in the RACES room are currently in purchase order mode through the county.  The hope is sometime in July these filters will be in place in the RACES room to cut down on the county intermod.  

 

Thanks to Doug W3CF AEC/DRO for going above and beyond the call of duty!  Our thanks for a job well done Doug! 

 

73, 

Bill Henderson

WM3L

Emergency Coordinator/Radio Officer

Montgomery County ARES/RACES