Tensioning tipz
We have had great success using a Chicago Grip, the good ole locals call it
a "pork chop" - if you have ever seen one you know why.....this is a "vise"
of sorts that grabs onto the sides of the guy wire and when under tension
only gets tighter....if you mount one of these a little above the tail ends
of where your guy grips will lay down you can then take a comealong and
attach it to the pork chop and at a place near where the bottom side of
your turnbuckle attaches.....this is almost the same line your guy will
ultimately run in.
Ideally you will have three gentlemen, or at least three hams, at your
sight when it is guying time. Each of them has brought his comealong and a
pork chop. What not everyone has brought a pork chop......what do we do!
Not to worry, JP....all you need is another guy grips......mount it along
the guy wire - invert its placement on the guy so that the loop end of it
is where the pork chop would be....do NOT fully attach the guy grip, leave
about 1 or 2 inch of its tails NOT twisted onto the guy wire - this will
make its removal easy once everything is tensioned up....the guy grip will
have plenty of hold without being completely seated.
Last Fall before K1TO stomped our butts in SS CW, WC4E and I went down to
Dan's place to help him get his towers up...it was only a partial
installation, but sure enough we allowed Dan to whup up on us - geez.
There were three of us with three comealongs and two guy grips. This
worked really slick, we could station a man at each guy point and we all
could simultaneously be tensioning our own guy. If you are a one man team
you must be VERY careful not to over tighten the first or second guy, you
do not want to bend the tower!
By having three guys on three guys it is slick.
I recommend you do NOT put the guy grips all the way on initially - but
leave the ends free as I mentioned above....in new installations everything
has to settle in place and sometimes that can take a couple of months til
everything is stretched into its new existence...thimbles will distort
slightly, guy grips mounted around tower legs will settle into shape, etc.
Follow up on this with the easy to use Loos gauge and you will know that
they are not just tight "to the eye" but you will have a repeatable
standard of comparison from guy to guy....do not trust your eye.....even if
it is that of a jeweler!
Summary, ideal installation tools/procedures are:
three ops,
three comealongs,
three Chicago Grips
....and a case of really cold beer for when its all done.
73,
Jim, K4OJ
Florida Contest Group - visit our website at:
http://www.4w.com/deemer/fcg.htm
The Florida Contest Group sponsors the Florida QSO Party, check out the FQP
website@:
http://home1.gte.net/wd4ahz/fcg/ssqp.htm
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