Tom Dailey's Vintage Radio Sales and Repair, ATAS Antennas, Denver, CO

Thomas C.Dailey,Owner Office & Fax: 303/455-0889 Cell: 720/839-8014		3783 N. Highway 67 Sedalia, Colorado 80135 WØEAJ

SHIPPING ADDRESS:

3783 N. Highway 67
Sedalia, CO 80135 USA

Mark Shipping label "HOLD AT POST OFFICE"

ATAS

Having Problems with your ATAS?

Check out the FAQ's below, for info that may help

Q. My antenna won't go up or down.

A. Check the voltage AT the mount - the center is ALWAYS positive (+)... It should read around 12v for "longer" and 8v for "shorter." Verify the RADIO is putting out tuning voltage - shorting across the coax or mount CAN result in failure of the antenna-tuning components IN YAESU radios.

A. Can you hear the motor turning? If you hear the motor, but nothing's happening - the plastic follower is broken; the gearbox is broken; there is corrosion, rust, or debris in the bottom of the main tube.

A. If the motor is NOT running, there is a break in the PC board; damage in the lower matching section; lack of continuity FROM the drive board TO the motor; or damage to the motor & gearbox assembly due to water incursion or mechanical damage

Q. My antenna appears to be going up and down, but the SWR stays high.

A. Broken coil or components; corroded contacts at top or corroded lower section of tube = poor counterpoise ground.

A. Damaged components in lower matching section / mount.

A. Loose or corroded mount.. including poor connection at center pin & "fingers"

Q. My antenna is stuck on xxxx frequency and works fine, but won't move.

A. See two previous Q's

Q. My antenna appears to go up and down, and DOES work, but goes into "search" mode a lot and the radio seems confused.

A. Reports from many users reveal that sometimes, especially when REconnecting an ATAS antenna to a Yaesu radio, the radio doesn't appear to automatically tune the antenna, and appears "confused". Try MANUALLY tuning the antenna for highest "noise", then hit AUTO to see if the radio will "capture" it again.

A. Often, the antenna will go FULL LONG (< 40m), and NOT REVERSE. Try the above to "net it in"

If your ATAS 100, 120, or 120A exhibits these problems and you can't make it work again, Email us for shipping instructions.

Lee Devlin has an excellent Knowledge Base at http://k0lee.com/ft100faq.html

The Yaesu ATAS 100, 120, & 120A are all similar in design. They use a tiny motor, fed through a planatary-drive gearbox (using nylon gears) to drive the threaded rod, which moves a nylon "follower", that because it's "captive", makes the coil, that extends through the end of the antenna, stick out further or less, thereby tuning the antenna by the useful inductance of the "extended" coil. There IS another matching section in the BOTTOM portion of the antenna, but we won't discuss that here.

Yes, I've developed a control box that manually moves the coil up-and-down, for use with an ICOM IC-706 (any variety), or IC-7000, or perhaps just about any radio that you'd choose to operate into the ATAS. I've made a couple of these boxes and use them with good success. A variety of mounts have also been made (by my gunsmith buddy, Barry) for mobile use.

Shown here are a few of my implemented ideas - your results may vary. Should you wish to BUILD a control box, simply send an email for more information.


Mount Detail	ATAS-706 Control Box


Base Mounting	Box Control up-down xmtr. key


Control Box in Car	Final Antenna Mounting


Cover Plate and Screws Control Cable from IC-706	Parts Layout

Testimonials

Thank you, thank you, Tom. My ATAS120 works better than it did when new. I've had good reports from both coasts.
Best wishes to you. 73,
Dick Anderson W9YBH/5

I am very pleased with the work you put into repairing this antenna. I know it was a disaster on the "fried" circuit board. Even with the slow response time from Yaesu for parts, you got it back in good time. Thank you for the very good and solid communications keeping me up to date on the repair. I really will recommend your service to anyone looking for a good repair service.
Thanks again & 73'
George W2AGR

Got it this morning......Thank you very much for the super fast service. ------------------ Judson Bracewell KJ4IDH

Thanks Tom. The antenna is working great! The next project is get the old tower down and the new tower up and continue to practice my newly learned morse. Thanks again!
Regards, Mike Johnson, NØVF Broomfield, CO

Needless to say that antenna would not have ever worked again if the board had not been replaced too. I was lucky the rest of the antenna could be salvaged. Also, just looking at the dirt on the board it would appear that area of the antenna was pretty dirty from road grime and corrosion so I'm sure you really had a task getting this antenna to work properly again. Again, I appreciate you're taking the time to work on the antenna and getting it back into operation again.
Gary A. - WØMNA

Hi Tom, Hopefully all is well with you. My ATAS is working great since repair. I really enjoy having the radio in the car.
Marty Lamar - KE7EWM

Hi Tom, Your antenna fix is working great. Thank you.
73, Dick W9YBH/5

Thanks, antenna works great, 73. Mark Lencioni