After a recent storm, I discovered high-ish (2.2) SWR on the lower bands and approximately 0 dB Front-to-Back ratio. Effectively, I had a so-so rotatable dipole. (Still, it was fine for many contacts with JT65. Sometimes directivity is over-rated!)
The XX guys found that the inner tapes for one half of the director and one half of the reflector were broken. As a precaution, I had ordered a complete spare EHU (central steppin motor and tape unit). Matt and Andrew were able to cobble together the two good half units into one full element. So we were able to put up a net of two new passive elements, restoring us to normal SWR and F/B performance, saving us having to order another new EHU and scheduling another service day. Amazing!
We hope this fix will hold us for some years to come. Crossing fingers.
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