The Main Element On My 1/4 Wave, Vertical Antenna Broke Off, Regardless Of How Secure I Had Made It With

I'm not a man of great means, so when I look at antennas, like my purchase of the Moonraker GPA-80, I need it to be versatile so I can take it to the field if needed and collapse it relatively fast if needed. I've been eyeballing alot of these telescopic masts but most won't work with the Moonraker, but I still have the field expedient 1/4 wave 40m I made that I could run up a crappie rod which is relatively cheap. If anyone wants to take a look at the source for the one in the picture, the link is below.

I removed the other shelf thinking that it would relieve the pressure on the power and reset buttons, but this turned out to be wrong.

After filing the 3D printed buttons down and removing the other shelf, the pressure on the power and reset buttons was relieved enough to tighten the screws and finish assembly. This one is ready to be Bluetoothed to a phone.

Home brew 1/4 wave vertical 2 meter antenna. These are one of the easiest antennas to make yourself, and my very first home brewed antenna.

I apparently live in a soldering replacement tip black hole, so when I need a new tip I have to buy a new iron. The Chicago Electric soldering iron ($3.99 @ Harbor Freight) and the Weller soldering iron ($19.99 @ Ace Hardware) appear to be the exact same, aside from color. I've looked online and haven't found any specific manufacturer for thr Chicago Electric iron aside from "various Chinese" production companies, while the Weller is produced by Apex Tool Group, LLC out of Apex, NC. Still yet, the packaging for the Weller says it's made in China. Here's to hoping that the tip on the Weller is a bit better quality and doesn't deteriorate as quickly as the Chicago Electric one.

After being a Technician Class since 1997, I passed my General Class exam last month. I only missed one question! *pats self on the back* It took about two weeks to be updated on the FCC website.

I have been very busy the past month +, and only just today learned about the Twelve Days of Christmas special event! As a new General Class Operator, I had never worked HF bands before, and looking at this I know I won't likely get all twelve, but that won't keep me from trying! I have made two contacts this afternoon, W2D and W2S. I failed to contact K2L before he had to bail but he said he'd be back on later this evening, and I'll be here listening for him.

The twelve stations you're looking for are:

W2P - Partridge

W2T - 2 Turtle Doves

W2F - 3 French Hens

W2C - 4 Calling Birds

W2R - 5 Golden Rings

W2G - 6 Geese A-Laying

W2S - 7 Swans A-Swimming

W2M - 8 Maids A-Milking

W2L - 9 Ladies Dancing

K2L - 10 Lords A-Leaping

K2P - 11 Pipers Piping

W2D - 12 Drummers Drumming

Bonus: VE9XMAS1 (Canada)

Bonus: VE9XMAS2 (Canada)

All done printing the faceplates!