I have used both the hoop and loop arms from KF7P. Hoop = tied at each
section and all coax off the ground when tower is collapsed. Loop =
cable free runs and ends up on the ground.
On one HDX589 the hoops worked ok. On the second HDX589 I could not
make them work. The cable bundle is 2 or 3 Buryflex or 9913F7, RG6,
Cat5, rotator, and Steppir or Tornado control cable. In both cases
there was a lot of fiddling to get the cable lengths correct between the
loops (5 section towers). A slight hoop downside is more cable is
needed since a slack loop is needed at each hoop with the tower fully
extended.
Even with the working hoops I would never raise or lower a tower without
continuous monitoring. Working = not yet seen to snag. On the other
tower they snagged almost every time, which is a PITA to resolve
depending on how they snag. My cables are #33 taped together every 24"
or so. How they lay in the bundle seems to have some effect on the hoop
results. All individual cables were run without twist.
When I ordered the first sets, Chris had not yet produced hoop or loop
arms for a 589 so I did the measurements and he fabricated them. He
later exchanged the hoops for loops for both towers and they have worked
fine since then, 4 years ago. Note that hoops want the arms to be
straight so the suspended cables are offset the nesting width of the
tower sections. For loops, the support arms are bent or offset so loops
are directly in line vertically and the cable runs free thru them.
The 589 base concrete is large enough that I can flake the cable bundle
on top of it. I use the "no twist" figure 8 flake
http://www.animatedknots.com/fig8flake/ that is used for large hawsers,
hoses, fiber optic cables, etc. I'm always watching any tower as it
comes up/down so need to be at the base anyway. The "8 flake" uncoils
freely on the way up without minimal supervision. My practice is to
keep the ground clear of brush and debris around the base. Even if the
cables end up on the ground I say, "so what, the first rain washes them
off".
Chris is terrific to work with and makes very nice stuff.
Grant KZ1W
On 6/7/2017 6:44 AM, Clay Autery wrote:
Well, I came here to ASK question, but as I have been advised, I now
know that:
1) There are videos and pictures that show the arch arms work to create
PRE-loop starts in the feed. Pretty cool... NOT OCD-friendly, but
functional.
2) Chris at KF7P is willing to make me a set for the Tash tower I am
planning to acquire.
3) The feedline does NOT have to end up on the ground.... and done
properly, there is little chance of it fouling anywhere.
73,
______________________
Clay Autery, KY5G
On 6/7/2017 6:34 AM, Jim Thomson wrote:
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2017 21:49:17 -0500
From: Clay Autery <cautery@montac.com>
To: "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Experience with crank up towers....
<Like that idea, but looks like they don't have the curved arms for the
<Tahjian towers... just hoops.
<I like the idea of keeping the feed line off the ground...
______________________
<Clay Autery, KY5G
## so what is the procedure to tie the coax etc, up...at each arm?
I think the only way to do it would be to extend the tower to full height,
then climb up there, and tie off at each arm? That or approximate 17 feet
of cable between arms...and hope you guessed right.
## Even then, if the tower is partially extended, the coax will sag, and form
its own
loop at each arm. Wind gets up, then blows the loops towards the tower, which
then
could easily get hung up, when retracting the tower.
## UST makes no mention about tying off at each arm. The only place coax is
tied off
is on the top arm, the rest goes in and out of each lower arm. With tower
partially
extended, or lowered, it all ends up on the ground.
Jim VE7RF
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