W7QR Callsign Page

First licensed as a Novice Class in 1953, and about one year later got my General, and before another year was over, got my Advanced. I Passed my Extra Class in 2000, and wanted a shorter call, so I applied for W7QR and got it. ("W-7-QUALITY RADIO")

I'm using a SteppIR DB42 MonstIR PRO Yagi (SEE THE SPECS BELOW) at 72 feet, which consists of a diople on 75/80, three elements on 40/30, five elements on the rest of the bands, eight elements on 6 Meters, and a three element 144/440 beam at 78 feet.

When I got the DB42 boxes, of all the parts, I got help in putting this large antenna together. It would have been a lot longer getting it on the air without the help I got from Bob, WR7Q, Jed, AD7KG, Jack, W7YUM, and Jerry, W7LEB. All super hams and members of the Utah DX Association (UDXA).

I have been asked "how do you like the DB42"? I tell them "The SteppIR DB42, is by far the finest and best performing antenna I have ever owned, and I've owned quite a few".

YOU CAN ALSO SEE MY ANTENNA IN THE SteppIR AD, IN JANUARY, MARCH AND APRIL'S 2016 QST, (ALL PAGE 28, VERY BOTTOM RIGHT HAND SIDE). ALSO, SEE JANUARY, MARCH AND APRIL 2016 ISSUE OF CQ MAGAZINE, JUST INSIDE OF THE FRONT COVER, IS THE SteppIR AD. MY ANTENNA IS THE ONE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND SIDE, IN ALL THE ISSUES. (I feel very honored to have my antenna in their ad, and was surprised when I first saw it. They sure are great people!)

I have a heavy duty 72 foot crank up fold over tower, that I "beefed up" the pulleys, and changed out all of the cable (tower companies call it "wire rope") to 5/16 inch wire rope, in order to handle the weight of the antenna, which is 242 lbs. Because of the weight of the tower and the antenna, I also changed the cable (wire rope) to 3/8 inch, on the fold over arm that attaches to the tower. When the tower is folded over, it sits about 2 feet above the ground. This way I can do maintenance, if ever needed, on the tower and the antenna, with both feet on the ground. No more tower climbing for this guy! Way too dangerous.

Ham radio is the greatest and the love of my life, after my wife. Hi Hi. (She is a Ham also) I'm a life member of ARRL.

I worked in commercial broadcasting as an announcer for many stations over the first years of my working career. One was the 50,000 watt clear channel station KSL 1160 AM, and at that time KSL-FM, 100.3, and the number one or two in popularity, depending on the rating company, "Rocker" KNAK, 1280 AM, both in Salt Lake City. Then went another direction, and owned my own property casualty insurance agency. Enjoyed that very much but after 32 years, sold it August of 2013. I'm also a Realtor, doing real estate for the past 34 years, and still love helping people buy, sell, or short sell their home. "Short Sales" are my special interest, and I have earned the following designations, SFR, CDPE, LDPD, CDPD.

BECAUSE I GET SO MANY REQUESTS FOR QSL CARDS, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, SEND TO ME A SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE (SASE), WITH ENOUGH POSTAGE ON THE ENVELOPE TO GET IT BACK TO YOU, OR THE CORRECT AMOUNT TO BUY ENOUGH POSTAGE FOR MY QSL CARD TO BE SENT TO YOU. IF YOU DO NOT SEND AN SASE, (ONLY A CARD) OR ENOUGH TO COVER THE POSTAGE, I CAN NOT COVER THE DIFFERENCE. (NO SASE, NO CARD)

THE MONEY I WAS PUTTING OUT, WAS INTO THE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, AND I JUST CAN'T CONTINUE.

Specification	DB42	DB42 with 80m Dipole Option
Boom Length	42.5 feet / 13.0 m	same
Boom	1.75 to 3 inch/4.45-7.6 cm (tapered)	same
Longest Element	49 feet / 14.9 m	same
Turning Radius	29 feet / 8.8 m	same
Weight	238 Lb / 108 Kg	242 Lb / 109 Kg
Wind Load	19.9 ft^{^2}/ 1.85 sq. m	same
Wind rating	100 mph	same
Adjustable elements	5	same
Power Rating	3 KW continuous	80m – 1.5KW; otherwise 3KW
Feed points	3	same
Frequency coverage	6.95 – 54 MHz	3.5 – 4 MHz, 5.3 MHz, 6.95 – 54 MHz
Tuning Rate	1.3 ft/sec	same
Control Cable	25 conductor 22 gauge	25 conductor 22 gauge

Performance for Ham Bands	DB42 Forward Dir Gain DBi	DB42 Forward Dir Front to Rear, DB	DB42 Reverse Dir Gain DBi	DB42 Reverse Dir Front to Rear, DB
80M (option)	1.7	n/a	1.7	NA
40M	8.0	25.5	8.0	23.2
30M	9.0	12.4	9.0	12.3
20M	10.1	22.0	10.0	23.2
17M	10.8	22.2	10.7	21.9
15M	11.0	25.7	10.6	20.0
12M	11.9	24.1	10.4	8.9
10M	12.2	20.0	10.5	11.7

6M – with optional passive element 50.0 – 50.3 MHz	14.0	25	NA	NA

Below are pictures of my tower and the winch motors. The first is a picture of the 3/8 inch cable and the "Keep" that holds the cable from coming off of the pulley. The cable (wire rope) is coming from the motor to the tower over the fold over arm. The dark patches are rust preventative paint (known as "Cold Galvanizing Compound") sprayed on the Fold Over arm and tower, which is very noticeable on the first and second pictures. The "Cold Gal" is special paint for galvanized steel, that towers are constructed of, and can be purchased at most hardware stores.

Below, is a close up of the 3/8 inch wire rope going over the fold over arm, through the "Keep" and to the tower. Please note the bolt going through the Keep with the slotted hole. This is so that the Keep can be taken off with out removing the bolt. This way the 3/8 inch wire rope can be positioned over the pulley, and then the Keep can be placeed over the wire rope with just enough room for the pulley not to rub as it turns, and then the bolt tightened. It works very well to keep the 3/8 inch wire rope on the pulley, as the tower folds over. I made the Keep, after one time having the wire rope come off of the pulley as the tower was being folded over. It was not a pretty sight. Thank goodness nothing was damaged. The Keep, is made of aluminum, so that it is malleable enough to fit over the Fold Over Arm, and won't rust, damaging the wire rope.

Next, are pictures of the winch, that I use to fold the tower over. Please note, the winch is a 12,000 lb winch, that comes with the 3/8 inch wire rope.

The following are pictures of the winch (runs off of 110 volt ac) that I use to "crank" up the tower to 72 feet. Sure beats cranking by hand, or using a drill to turn a crank handle and getting your fingers taken off by the handle flying around, or worse yet. Getting the electrical cord from the drill, caught in the flying handle, causing fire and flames, and shocking your pants off !!

Disclaimer: Winches are for moving loads Horizontal, and Hoists are for moving loads Vertical. (Go to w4abc.com, and then click on "Tower Drives" for a full explanation. He does a VERY good job).

The following are pictures of a Professional Tower and Grounding Expert, who put up over 3000 commerical towers for radio staions and cell telephone companies. I was very lucky to get him to put in my grounding system. It was put in to commerical specs. with "Cad-Weld" on the grounding rods, and to my tower. The pictures show the "Cad-Weld" device with before and after the weld.

You will notice this picture shows the grounding was done prior to adding the winch motors.

The pictures below show how the ends of the ground wires from the tower, are cad welded to the 8 foot ground rods

The following are pictures of my DB42, showing the tower folded over, and how large the DB42 is, and why it performs so well. Also notice that I painted the fiberglass elements with a paint called Flex Cote, to help keep the fiberglass from deterioration. Also notice I chose white to keep the heat from the sun as low as possible.

Below is a closeup of the "Middle" of the antenna, showing the connections, wiring, and top of the tower.

DB42, not "cranked" up but in the "nested" position, and my owl watching out for things.