Well, Steve, here, is giving the standard recommendation, and I want to
note that I own 3 big Force-12 antennas and will soon buy a fourth.
Several of my friends also run big 20/40 Force-12 combinations.
The thing that I want to say here however, is that the single side,
single, double, or even triple rivets are sometimes not enough, in my
opinion. There are tubing telescopes that have enough "play" or
looseness in them that rivets will indeed wear through given the
constant flex and vibration of those elements, and simply fall out. A
friend of mine found element tips laying on the ground after his
antenna was up a year. The rivets has simply worn through. I know my
friend and his meticulousness in everything he does, and I can assure
you that thre was no problem in his riveting or technique. There was
just a little looseness in the fit of the telescoping sections with
rivets only on one side. My strong recommendation is on virtually all
elements, that you double the number of rivets and put in an opposing
set of rivets to those put in in the milling process. By that, I mean,
if the factory has three holes along one side for the rivets, manually
drill three rivet holes on the side directly opposite of the original
holes and put three more Force-12 pop rivets in those holes. I have
found that the three opposing rivets really steady the telescoping
tubing sections much more than single sided rivets. The rivets in
opposition really clamp in the inner tube solidly against the outer
tube.
On my big elements (20, 30, and 40 meter elements), I go beyond that
process and wrap the tubing transitions with Scotch 55 and then coat
that wrap with Scotch liquid tape.
Several of my friends have followed this logic and have had good
success with the telescopes stay in rock solid. I think that it is
worth the time, and worth the effort to reduce the chance of any
problems. If you put in a single side set of rivets, remember to move
the rivets to the top of the element so even if they do some wearing,
they will not all out.
Again, I am a big fan of Force - 12 antennas. I talked all of this over
with Dick prior to doing it, and my modification has he agreed with the
logic of this modification.
73
Gary W5FI
On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:35:38 EDT <K7LXC@aol.com> wrote:
> In a message dated 7/26/2005 5:47:21 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> towertalk-request@contesting.com writes:
>
> > To All,
>
> > I am finally at the point where I will be assembling my C4XLD
yagi. My
> tower is a Hy-Gain HG54-HD. While pop rivets are supplied, I have
heard that some
> users have resorted to using stainless screws, nuts, and lockwashers.
Which
> method is best and why? Thanks, in advance, for your input.
>
> Let me suggest following the LXC Prime Directive and "DO what the
> manufacturer says". The rivets are a nifty solution for element
attachment - a
> definite improvement over hoseclamps.
>
> Only caveat - put 2 or 3 rows of rivets at each point if you live
in a
> high wind area and they won't work loose.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve K7LXC
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers",
"Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free,
1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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