Hustler changes and a Winch system for the Moxon

I’m currently working on upgrading my Hustler vertical antenna 6BTV to incorporate 17 and 24 meters. It’s a fairly easy upgrade, in which you tap in to the base of the antenna and fit the 12 and 24 meter elements. By extending out from the base by about a foot horizontally and then rising vertically parallel to the vertical tube hanging and from the top. I found the best idea was some was to attach some plastic tubing to the top and antenna by some zip cable and it seemed to do the trick.

My other project at the moment is building a winch for the main 30ft mast. Raising and lowering has been a physical effort for me and it can be quite precarious, it's right on the border of my lifting capabilities with the 17 meter Moxon and the rotator. So I decided on a winch system and have been planning for a while (see earlier post).

I was going to purchase one to save the bother of having to build, but the prices are not cheap, so I figured I could do just as well in constructing something just to get a light weight antenna raised to a moderate 30 feet. I was thinking about a pulley at the top of my two scaffolds poles, but I think an easier solution is to put it at the base instead, nothing about the physics more it's just easier to build!

Starting the winch build

It’s just two scaffolds pole about 8ft in length bolted together with a pulley at the base and the winch on a steel plate halfway up the poles. The cable from the winch runs down through the pulley to the base of the attached mast. On winching the base of the mast is pulled inwards towards the scaffold poles rotating and raising the mast. Simple but effective, the only hard bit will be digging out two and half feet of hole and mixing up some concrete!

 

The completed winch, simple but hopefully effective!

To be honest while I have been building the winch, I have noticed the light weight rotator with the Moxon has been playing up in the high winds by slipping at the point of its azimuth. Unfortunately there is no lock, so if I leave it facing SW direction sometimes end up with it facing north, which can get a wee bit confusing!

So it may have to come down at some stage while I put up a smaller Moxon or my 2 meter 6 element Yagi, I think the 17 meter one is slightly too big for the rotator, even in a light wind its seems to slip, which is annoying as it can get quite gusty up here.
This of course puts a downer on my purchasing a mini beam antenna, so I may just have to have another think at what's about and works for me. But I'll try something smaller first to see if that solves the issue.