Hi,
In the 'Mother Country' the definition of THRUST may not be the same as that
used in the 'Colonies'. The Oxford English Dictionary regards thrust, in a
mechanical sense, as being 'A pushing force exerted by one part of a structure,
etc. upon another contiguous part'. In a mathematical sense, thrust in a rod
refers to compression as opposed to tension.
I use a a Creative Design RC5B-3 rotator from whose manual I quote:
______________________________________________________________________
1.6 MAST BEARING INSTALLATION
A bearing or similar item is usually installed at the top of an antenna tower
to prevent the antenna from swaying. Such a bearing must be used only for this
purpose. Using it to support any of the weight of the antenna or antenna mast
would have an adverse effect on the rotor. This is not only because the rotor
is more thrust effective than the bearing but also because eccentricity arising
from structural imprecision cannot be absorbed at the top of the tower and so
the resultant, waste force would work on the bearing and rotator. Accordingly
the fastening bolts should not be tightened to the point of holding the antenna
mast when a standard bearing for "ham" radio antennas is used. With bearing
having both top and bottom bolts, the top ones should be removed.
With an antenna having a wind surface area greater than 2 sq m padding should
be inserted between the bolts and the antenna mast. Do not tighten the bolts
down directly onto the mast, as doing so will increase the danger of buckling
in strong winds.
__________________________________________________________
A diagram shows a recommended gap of 0.5mm between mast and bearing bolts. I
use a Creative Design CK-46 bearing at the top of my tower. The specification
for the RC5B-3 allows a vertical load of 700kg, sufficient for most
installations.
A further quote:
... The most important thing to keep in mind here is that the central axes of
the antenna mast and rotor must be within 0.5 degrees of each other.
73,
Chris
________________________________________
Chris Pedder G3VBL/8P9EM
E-mail g3vbl@netcomuk.co.uk
AX25-mail g3vbl@gb7bnm.#45.gbr.eu
DX-Cluster g3vbl > gb7dxd
________________________________________
--
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
|