It's funny you should talk about a problem with your X-500. I too had
a simular problem a couple of years ago. I installed my antenna up in the
spring and it worked fine (no SWR) all summer. About December I started
having a problem with high SWR. I too replaced the feed line but it didn't
help. After I took the antenna down and dissassembled it I found the
problem. I has a 17' hose. The antenna had asorbed water and was soaking
wet inside. I then got in contact w/ RF PARTS and talked to them about the
problem I shipped it back to them where they checked it out for any dammage
to the componets. They informed me that the gasket that is used to assemble
the sections had gotten damaged in assembly and water had found it's way in.
I would recomend taking it apart and checking for water inside. Also the foam
blocks used in keeping the element from banging against the sides will also
soak up water so be sure to completely disassemble the unit. You can remove the lower fiberglass section from the base by using the "armstrong" method. Check
for any corrosion that has started and clean it up. As an added safety measure
I soldered all the connections within the antenna. It's been up 2 wet years
since I did the repair and no trouble yet. I would call RF PARTS for any help
or recmondations. They were very helpful.
-
>>>> "There's more ways to skin a cat than stickin' his head in a boot <<<<
>>>> jack and jerkin' on his tail", Texas Bix Bender <<<<
