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CLANSMAN VHF GROUND SPIKE AERIAL KIT,


Surveyor

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Used as a remote aerial for the 350/351/352 when you didn't want the normal aerial advertising your position. It also radiated a bit better so there could be a small range advantage as well. Used I guess by infantry and arty OPs.

If you are collecting kit then you need an EKGSA to go with it. "Elevation Kit, GSA" allows the GSA to be mounted on top of the Clansman 5.4 metre mast, something else to collect!

 

Gordon

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5 minutes ago, gordonb said:

Used as a remote aerial for the 350/351/352 when you didn't want the normal aerial advertising your position. It also radiated a bit better so there could be a small range advantage as well. Used I guess by infantry and arty OPs.

If you are collecting kit then you need an EKGSA to go with it. "Elevation Kit, GSA" allows the GSA to be mounted on top of the Clansman 5.4 metre mast, something else to collect!

 

Gordon

Many thanks, something else to look for.

Richard

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Richard

Also note that there are two versions of the GSA elements - the original design used between two and four 2 foot rods according to the frequency, later ones used between three and eight one foot rods which need a small phosphor bronze adapter to fit the base well enough to make reliable contact. I do have some base  kits and new style rods if you are stuck for one but am a bit short of the adapters (or rather I have a bag of them but it is small and I don't know which box it is in since I moved house!). It should be possible to make one with a lathe. 

The EKGSA kit provides a set of three coax leads 1.5, 1 and 0.5m long, an inductor box and a mast head adaptor to hold the antenna base at the top of a 5.4m mast - I've also used one 5.4m mast fibreglass section on top of a Clark or RACAL telescopic  mast as an adapter. The kit also includes a cord to allow the antenna to be suspended from a tree. The appropriate patch lead for the frequency in use is connected between the antenna base and the inductor unit to form what is effectively a sleeve dipole.

The GSA works very well - certainly better than the ground mounted monopole "washing line" - probably about equal to land rover wing boxes with a 2m whip and TUUAM.  What you do have to watch out for in the EKGSA kits is bad connections due to coax partly pulled out of BNC connectors on the patch leads because although they are provided with strain relief cords I don't think everyone used them all the time :( and buying new BNC cables in the correct length off e-Bay is a very good idea if planning on air use. 

Theoretically the "20W" UK/PRC-352 which really manages nearer 30W with a low loss EKGSA and the 50W UK/VRC-353 and a lossy (about 40% of the power goes to heat the base unit) are very nearly equal at the same antenna height. 

Iain

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sorry for delay work getting in the way of fun.

Pictures attached, I do enjoy having items with units etc on them to follow up.

The one thing a quick look at there does not seem to be an end piece i.e. the top of the mast.

Any clues?

Thanks

Richard

IMG_20190413_142311_resized_20190413_023925002.jpg

IMG_20190413_142330_resized_20190413_023919139.jpg

IMG_20190413_142437_resized_20190413_023920966.jpg

IMG_20190413_142010_resized_20190413_023921911.jpg

IMG_20190413_142017_resized_20190413_023928305.jpg

IMG_20190413_142022_resized_20190413_023923253.jpg

IMG_20190413_142203_resized_20190413_023926528.jpg

IMG_20190413_142256_resized_20190413_023925643.jpg

Edited by Surveyor
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19 minutes ago, gordonb said:

The one thing a quick look at there does not seem to be an end piece i.e. the top of the mast.

It's in your 7th photo!

 

Gordon

G7KNS

Thanks, was looking for something like a rounded piece.

I assume the number of pieces referred to are the longer ones than I have supplied

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