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Re: [TowerTalk] Inverted L questions

To: Peter Dougherty <w2irt@comcast.net>,TTalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Inverted L questions
From: Dave Fuller <rfcdma@spinn.net>
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:45:21 -0600
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
How about on the "bend" end put a pulley there with a nice 1/4 in dacron 
rope though it long enough so that both ends reach the ground.   Then 
you can raise and lower the inverted L anytime you want.   For the 
"bend" insulator I would just let the wire slip though the hole in a 
ceramic insulator so that its position is selected by the tension you 
put on the system.   That way you can also easily change the length of 
the wire to trim it and not have to reposition a tie point in the wire 
when you make changes.   I have done this in the past even with Mason 
twine and just tied a figure 8 knot in the mason twine and let the wire 
slip through the rope.   It will eventually break of course but it will 
usually last for a few years before it does.

-Dave


Peter Dougherty wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Sorry, not a question about Plastic Owls....
>
>I'm expecting the tree service company to be by in a week or two and 
>one of the things they agreed to do was mount my 160 Inverted L for 
>me. They won't let me up in the bucket with them, thus they'll be 
>doing the actual install. So I'm wondering about the actual mechanics 
>of making this antenna. The support end will probably be an eye-bolt 
>screwed into the top of an oak tree, with a marine pulley attached by 
>an openable-link or karabiner type deal. This will be for the end 
>support rope, and I'll have a weight on the end for tension.
>
>What I'm not so sure about is how the "bend" in the inverted L wire 
>should be accomplished. I'd thought a marine pulley was the answer 
>for that end, too, but I've been told absolutely not by several 
>folks. This needs to be something the tree service company workers 
>can install (with me supervising, of course). I can't pre-make this 
>portion since I don't know the height of the tree or where the safest 
>place will be in the tree to actually mount the "bend."
>
>Since I'm not a climber by any stretch of the imagination, I need 
>this antenna to be as securely erected as possible, and should the 
>wire break in a windstorm/ice-storm, etc, I'd like to have some 
>arrangement to be able to put it back up with fairly little fuss. 
>Since it will be held up by trees on each end (as opposed to a fixed 
>height tower), I need to account for sway of the trees (worst-case 
>scenario, one's going one way one the other - not likely, but I 
>suppose in high winds anything's possible).
>
>On a related note, any idea of a good place to source the 
>air-variable cap (~1000pf) that I'll need to mount in the box at the 
>base of this L? And for that matter, will an air-variable be able to 
>hold up under legal limit or am I now in the realm of vacuum-variable only?
>
>Finally, what gauge and type of wire should be considered for the 
>radials, or does it matter? Solid? Stranded? 14? bigger/smaller?
>
>As always, thanks to all for your assistance.
>
>
>
>Cheers,
>
>Peter,
>W2IRT 
>
>
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