Titan DX Antenna Install

I have recently received my Titan DX antenna from GAP Antenna.  As I was intending to mount it on a tripod mount on top of the roof of the house I also got the guy kit.  One note on the guy kit is that there are no anchors included with it.  As I am not experienced with HF antennas it took me a bit to figure out how to put the antenna together, and from everyone that I read online it does take a long time to assemble.  So the first day I got it put together, and mounted on the tripod.  On the second day I got the counterpoise installed and connected the end for the coax and attached the feed line. 

They don't mention anywhere in their documentation what the coax was and it is a house brand with no labels, so I called them and inquired.  GAP uses a RG-8X equivalent.  I needed this information because they had a male UHF (PL-259) to go on the antenna, and I had a connector for a male 259 to go on the feed line coax.  Also in my tool box I have a handful of male N connectors.  So I went down to MRO Electronics in Calgary and got a female N connector to go on the coax.  For those that are not as up to speed on coax a RG-8 and RG-8X are not similar at all.

As I assembled the antenna with the self tapping screws provided, I understand why several people have recommended changing the screws out for machine screws with lock nuts.  As Winter was nearing in Calgary and I did not have many days without snow on the roof I needed this to get done and put that off to a future day.

I was unable to get the grounding installed for the antenna, so that will be a spring project before the lightning comes.  Other than that I just need to poke a hole into the house, do some testing and get on the air. 

Below is some pictures of the build.

 The middle section where the coax attaches to the antenna.

Looking from the "top" down the length of the antenna.

A closer look at the center section

The base where the counterpoise will mount

The top covered with a dust cap and a capacitor just inside.

Push lawnmower

Here is a quick project that I did quickly in early June that never got published until now.  With the purchase of our home this winter I got my small patch of grass, and to be the good neighbor I should mow that lawn.  As outdoor storage space is limited, and the area of grass is small we decided to purchase a reel lawnmower.  I found a Gardena 380C on Kijiji and purchased it.  It had been used for a couple of seasons and I had noticed the blade was dull when I purchased it.

I tried it out on the lawn that was very lush and it seemed more like I was flailing my lawn into submission rather than cutting it and it took about 1.5 hours to do our little patch of grass.  I began to look for a sharpening kit.  They are not very common, but I did find a sharpening kit at Canadian Tire. 

This kit is more accurately called a honing kit.  First you take the wheels off because you will use the wheel to turn the blade against the back bar and sharpen the blades.  I tried getting the wheels off and it was nearly impossible due to the snap rings holding them in place.  So instead of injuring myself, which I came close to doing I went and acquired some snap ring pliers also from Canadian Tire.

Once I got the wheels off and applied the honing compound to the reels I noticed that there was a large gap between the reel and the back bar.  I adjusted the bar to be closer to the reel.  Be careful not to make contact as it will dent the bar and leave a rough bur edge that will knock on the reels.  Following the remaining instructions and putting the mower back together was real easy.  Now my mowing time is about 20 minutes depending on the amount of growth during the week.