[BC] While Jeff's away...

[Milton R. Holladay Jr.]

Put in a well and water pump, or..........
Removing the blue dots is _not_ the right thing to do; resetting the input
match at the ATU _is_.
Borrow a Delta bridge, or failing that, try moving the coil taps over one
turn one way or the other, one at a time, until you get a better match.
Be sure to make notes on what you've got now so you can get back there
later.......
M
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JYRussell at academicplanet.com" <jyrussell at academicplanet.com>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: [BC] While Jeff's away...


> Ok, I'll ask...
> Description:
>    the unit is a 1996 ND1 1Kw  AM non-d 184' stick, 1400cycles.  Got a
> really strong ground system... I'm not looking at the license right now,
but
> it's got the full complement of both long and interspersed short
radials...
> it all works out to at least 1 degree apart spacing.
>
>    Traditionally, this rig shows total TPO and reflected power rock
steady.
> No IBUZ , just straight stereo audio.   About 21amps/71volts.    1Kout,
> around 4 watts reflected.
> ATU looks fine, no fire ants, or weirdness.
>
> The only fluctuations come about seasonally with ground water
saturation...
> in the wetter months, the soil conductivity improves significantly, so the
> reflected power drops to nearly 0, the transmitter can then start to show
an
> increase TPO which you'll have to trim out manually until the unit settles
> in to the new "wetter" conditions.
>
> Of course, the opposite is true as the soil dries out.
>
> Well... here we go.
>    This is NE texas, and we've again had a serious drought. Cracks in the
> soil as much as 6 inches across, and you can look down into them several
> feet.  Of course this is exposing radials, haven't as yet had the chance
to
> see if any are broken, but remember, as the soil shrinks, it also shrinks
> AWAY from most fixed items which cannot also shrink... so the radials are
> likely doing fine... just loose and very dry., at least for the vast
> majority, as well as the ones I can reach in a wiggle, I'm sure.
>
>     PROBLEM this year is that I'm running out of 'twiddle room' for the
TX.
> You can twiddle it all you want... 925 or so is all you're going to get.
> Maybe 950. Normally, you can dial it up and down well beyond the +5 -10
> percent...
> Now, it's just down with a ceiling below 1k.
>
> So....
>     I thought before I pulled any of the "sticky dots" off pots inside to
> get a bit more range on the front adjust ment, I'd start asking to see how
> likely it's simply a matter of soil wetness... or if I need to look
> somewhere else.
> the reflected power is still low, but I am noticing more +125 spikes on
the
> mod monitor than is proper, so I've pulled things back a bit coming out of
> the processing.
>
>    I've even thought about asking the local FD to start flushing their
tanks
> on the property (without blasting holes, TYVM!) to see if that helps.
>
>    Think I ought to just leave it be?  If it continues to drop it will be
> too low for the license.
>
> Jason
>