The Lift

Finally the big day arrived. A crane was hired to lift the assembled antenna to the top of the tower. The actual lift was straightforward and required very little time.

Once the antenna and mast were in place, the thrust bearing and rotor connections were secured and all wiring was connected. This angle provides a good view of the vertical and lateral truss system provided by Cubex. The lateral truss provides greater strength and resistance to wind damage. One of the nice things about this QTH is that winds are typically moderate, although the antenna  experienced winds in the 80kmh range just shortly after installation without any issues at all. Another nice thing about this location is that winters are relatively mild and we don't  have problems with ice storms.

The final step involved the installation of a 4 element 6 meter quad in the center of the array. Although no before and after testing was done, experience to-date indicates that mounting the 6 meter quad inside the array has had little perceptible impact on performance of either array.