There has been a lot of discussion on this reflector about
replacing guy wires. A lot of the methods described are
unsafe. The only safe way to replace guy wires is to use a
temporary guy. This method is fast and simple. You need a
cable at least as long as your longest guy, 2 nylon straps
of sufficient working strength to take the pull, a good come
-along, a Klein cable grip, and some carabiners or shackles.
There are different types of Klein grips for different types
of cable. There are even Klein grips for rope. A grip that
is designed for EHS cable won't hold on 7 x 19 aircraft cable,
however a grip designed for 7 x 19 will work on EHS.
Attach the temporary guy to the tower near the existing guy,
then have your ground man attach the other end to the anchor
using the nylon strap, come-along and cable grip. Tension the
temporary guy enough so that the existing guy just starts to
go slack. Remove the old guy, install and tension the new
one and back off the come-along. If you do this carefully you
won't have to re-plumb the tower. Check all your guy tensions
using a dynamometer or a Loos tension guage. Please be safe.
These towers have guy wires on for a reason. Removing them
indiscriminately places stress on on the tower that it
wasn't designed for.
I hope this helps.
73,
Paul
Paul Nyland K7PN/5V7PN paulnyl@teleport.com
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Sponsored by: Akorn Access, Inc. & N4VJ / K4AAA
|