Spare Part Required

gsteigwiler

gsteigwiler

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East Anglia
Hi Guys,
I recently required a spare part for one of my amateur antennas so I contacted the dealer that I purchased it from but no luck, I then tried a couple of other ham radio shops in the UK and again no one had the required spare part, so I the turned to google, it directed me to an ebay.com article which whilst it was a kit it would have rectified my problem, on reading the postage it specified " posting to 50 states " so I thought, anything is worth a try, so I sent a nice message via google saying that I realy needed the part and is there any chance that they could send one to the UK. I did not even get a reply.

Yesterday I did another search on ebay and the same person is now selling the exact part that I require but alas they have put in huge red letters " Shipping to the 50 States Only ".

I really do not understand why they would not send items abroad as the purchaser pays all shipping costs, or am I missing something ?
The other annoying thing is that in May of 2017 we were in California and had I required the part then I could of had it delivered to the campsite that we were staying at in Lake Tahoe. If as they say that they will only send to the USA then our friends in Canada are also out it. This has become a bit of a pain, all for the sake of a $20 circular spring

The Item required is a High Sierra Antennas Contact Spring For ALL High Sierra Antennas HS1800 Sidekick

Anyone got any good ideas ?
 
Hi TJ,

Yes that is the part, but they don't stock it anymore, and why they still advertise is beyond me.
 
Have you tried looking for a "Garter Spring"
Worth having a Google and also try places that sell engineering or hydraulic equipment, especially bearing and seals type places. Air conditioning companies will use these too.

I doubt it would be custom made, get the measurements of if, most probably an imperial size.

I don't bother with Radioworld any more. Had hassle with them over a power supply that I ordered and never came in to stock.

Failing that, I've got some Ham friends in the states that would post it here if it got sent to them im sure?
 
I just looked up the info on that antenna, it says that the spring should be replaced at least every year, if so then there should be a ton of these things out there.

Cheapest shipping from here to the UK is around $34.25 to $61.95 USD, so it may be better to see if someone is traveling to/from US/UK and can put one in the luggage.
Shipping.webpShipping.webp
 
Being an ignoramus on such ham equipment, what is the spring for and what is it's actual purpose?
 
It maintains electrical contact between the moving part of the antenna and the internal feed, the type of antenna is called a "screwdriver" as a small motor in the base drives it up and down, almost like a "C" band antenna actuator.

Other brands use some beryllium fingers to maintain contact, beryllium is not that good for you.
 
Why not drill and tap a couple of screws into the two parts and bridge them with a good bit of wire ?
 
I just wander what is the diameter of this spring? Is there a lock somwhere in the torus?.... other wise it is interesting how they could make such a spring :-ohmy 2 screws in parts and wire between them can not be used as moving part should turn more than 360*.
@gsteigwiler I have couple of 5mm springs, perhaps they can be shortened and connected again. If you wish you can have them IMG_20180310_084445.webp
 
Last edited:
Looks like the bag spring from a Eureka/Sanitaire vacuum...
 
gsteigwiler said:
I really do not understand why they would not send items abroad as the purchaser pays all shipping costs, or am I missing something ?
Click to expand...
I don't understand it also. In the US shipment cost is doing a lot of damage to doing business with overseas.
The US has terrible postal services the USPS is too expensive and I am told it is unreliable.
This is why they insist on shipping using UPS which is extremely expensive, especially when I don't need to get the item in few days. I can wait few weeks if this cuts down on the shipment cost.
Amazon US with it's Global shipment really do a good job on shipment cost, but they don't always ship to Israel.
The Chinese have a better business attitude. AliExpress for example offer free shipment but it can take up to 45 days which is OK for me unless I need the part urgently, or it will cost me few more Dollars to select other shipment methods.
I hope you will find a solution to your spring problem.
 
HB13DISH16 said:
I don't understand it also. In the US shipment cost is doing a lot of damage to doing business with overseas.
The US has terrible postal services the USPS is too expensive and I am told it is unreliable.
This is why they insist on shipping using UPS which is extremely expensive, especially when I don't need to get the item in few days. I can wait few weeks if this cuts down on the shipment cost.
Amazon US with it's Global shipment really do a good job on shipment cost, but they don't always ship to Israel.
The Chinese have a better business attitude. AliExpress for example offer free shipment but it can take up to 45 days which is OK for me unless I need the part urgently, or it will cost me few more Dollars to select other shipment methods.
I hope you will find a solution to your spring problem.
Click to expand...

I would wager the manufacturer would rather you buy a complete new product, see if they will ship those abroad.
 
2cvbloke said:
Looks like the bag spring from a Eureka/Sanitaire vacuum...
Click to expand...
It is difficult to determine the dimensions from the images, though I would think it smaller in diameter, based on the pole specifications
 
Hi Guys, Thanks for the replies and input

@Terryl,
Thanks for the info, High Sierra stopped trading about 2016 and they are like " Hens Teeth " in the UK and the USA, I was lucky to find them. $34 is still cheaper than $450 - $550 to buy a new antenna from Tarheel.
They are not heavy, less than 1 ounce so would go in a paddy bag, I shall see if I can find someone going to your side of the pond, if I had needed them when I was in Tahoe it could have been easy.


@Topper its is stainless steel coil spring which makes contact with a moving coil to tune the antenna as Terryl said.



@CH - Unfortunatly it would not be tunable then, there is another company that make something similar TARHEEL but the dealer here in the UK did not even reply to an email - they I think would rather I spent £450 on a Tarheel.



@RimaNTSS - the actual spring coil is 1/4" and the large diameter is 2". In the centre of the antenna there is a coil that is driven up and down by a screw rod and motor, the stainless steel spring rubs against the coil and as it moves and the resonant frequency of the antenna changes, it will tune from 80 metres down to 6 metres, I would like to take you up on your offer for the 2 springs and I will gladly pay the postage and packing, thank you very much.
 
Based on Rustyspoon's info about a garter spring I have found this place, they make springs that may fit your needs..

Code: 
http://www.airedalesprings.co.uk/springs/garter-springs/
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks very much to both dmaavrigdo and Terryl for both those links, I shall have a look at both sites.

Regards
 
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