Replacement Trap Cover for Hustler 4BTV 5BTV 6BTV

thingiverse

Replacement trap cover for Hustler (n)BTV antenna.The Hustler 4BTV, 5BTV and 6BTV multi-band HF antennas all use the same base and lower sections. The differences are above the 20m trap.I received a 6BTV from another amateur who is downsizing and who herself received it second-hand. While complete, age and the weather have taken their toll. I found an STL for a trap cover online, but wasn't happy with the tolerances or dimensions, or approximating circles with 20-sided polygons - my printer's not perfectly dialled in dimensionally, I know, but the flats were binding on the tube and fractured the cover. Plus, it needed a lot more support than I was comfortable with because of the overhang angles. So, I designed this. I've printed a complete set for my 6BTV - a couple of the originals are intact, but I'll replace them all as I'm disassembling and inspecting all four traps anyway. This is meant to be printed narrow-end down, and should need minimal support - set a support angle of 45 degrees in your slicer and it should hit that sweet spot between not using too much filament on wasted supports and having enough grip to the workplate to not bounce off half-way through. I printed with 1.5mm walls, 10% cubic infill, and 1.6mm top and bottom thickness. That should give it enough strength while keeping the weight down - but I don't know how well it will stand up to cockatoo attack. I printed in PETG for weather resistance and strength, compared to PLA - as PETG is about as exotic as I can print with my current setup.