Base Maco V-Quad

Got a Maco V-Quad assembled. PITA to assemble it.

Going to redo the reflector coil form that has the three wraps of wire. No way I could keep the wraps evenly spaced on slick plastic. Thought about it, and I am going to use electrical tape to keep the wraps spaced. Pretty sure the the three wire wraps are not supposed to touch each other.

The way the gamma match capacitor adjustment is mounted it looks like water could get down inside of it. Should I drill a small hole on the end closest to the boom that houses the capacitor adjustment?

Any tips or advice before I raise it? Hopefully, I will raise it tomorrow!

http://www.macoantennas.net/files/Assembly_V-Quad.pdf

Redid the reflector wire assembly coil form wire wraps, and used Scotch Super 33+ to keep the wire wraps evenly spaced. Worked out great doing it that way!

Still going up tomorrow if it does not get too windy. Poured rain here all day in NC, and then cleared off this evening giving me enough time to fix the reflector wire assembly.

Hoping it works good.

Got V-Quad up yesterday in the V shape mounting position.

Borrowed a friends MFJ 259, and tuned it for lowest SWR at the antenna. Boom was 12 ft. above ground. Used the Maco initial setup measurements for 11 meter, and channel 40 was was just a smidge over 1.5:1. Pulled it back down, and moved the capacitor about an inch toward the top of the elements...not towards the boom.

Put it back up, and ended up with 1.2:1 on channel 1, channel 20 was just shy of 1.2:1, and channel 40 was 1.3:1. I called it good to go!

Stuck it up on some one inch black pipe 20 ft. to the boom and guyed. Had 20 mph wind gusts yesterday, and it was swaying too much, so I ended up taking it down...bummer. Mounted on my other mast 12 ft. above ground for now.

Anyway, even in the V mounting position, it has to have some vertical polarization. I could hear my friends talking 20 to 23 miles as the crow flies. One at 23 miles was barefoot, and I had about 3 S-units on him, and he said he could hear me good, but I was running little pair of shoes. Could also talk to a friend of mine that is about 32 miles from me, and he is talking on Maco V58 vertical.

Talked to another friend of mine that has a Maco Shooting Star. He is about 17 air miles. Said I was putting 3 S-units on his Super Penetrator.. He went flat on the Maco, and said I was doing 9 S-units on him, and we were not dialed into each other. He said yes it's working real good!

My neighbor has solar panels, and they tear my ears up during the daylight hours. I put the backside of the V-Quad to him, and yes I could knock some of the noise down...about half. On the side rejection, the V-Quad could knock it all the way out. I am happy for a change!

I got the director wire right on the money with a little bit of bow. The reflector wire was sagging just a bit, and the wire length and wraps were spot on.

What I did was loosen one side of the V element at the boom, and force the wire to level up some by rotating the element away from the boom. Then finished it off doing the other element the same way. Just had to keep an eye on element spacing.