You do not need to use an insulator to attach Phillystran to a steel guy wire
(the Phillystran performs this function). The steel guy and the Phillystran
are both terminated with a metal "thimble" of appropriate size, connected
back to back.
The mixture of Phillystran and steel guy cable is actually a good idea as it
provides a means to prevent damage to the Phillystran from a kid with a
pocket knife or from a grass fire. Typically the bottom 10 or 15 ft of the
guy is made of steel and the cost savings of using the steel in this area
covers the extra cost of the hardware needed to install the steel cable.
I am also a user of Phillystran and appreciate the feeling of the high price
of the material. We are doing everything possible to hold down the price of
the material. In fact, I had a meeting Wednesday with the national sales
manager of Phillystran on this very subject and offered a suggestion that we
try to pool orders from this very group of amateurs to make a bigger
production run to get the cost down some. He was interested in the idea and
promised to get back with an answer soon. I will keep you all informed if
such a program can be arranged.
I know you think more competition will help lower the price but I happen to
be in a position to know that as far as dealer sales go, there is no room to
lower prices and cover overhead. We are as lean as any ham distributor in the
USA and another distributor is only going to dilute an already fairly small
market even further. The reason there is no other distributor for these
products is because it is not financially attractive to anyone. Thankfully,
Texas Towers is well known for tower related products and is able to sell
enough Phillystran to justify the BIG EXPENSE of stocking the stuff. The
factory carries no inventory, leaving it up to us to carry that burden.
Please excuse my getting up on a soap box about this but thought a few words
on the subject were needed to clarify the present distribution situation.
Many thanks for listening/reading.
73 de Gerald Williamson, K5GW, Owner/General Manager, Texas Towers
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search
|