Kathy,
Pop rivets work very well. That is what I would recommend at every
joint - even in addition to the hose clamps.
Stan, K5GO
Sent from Stan's IPhone
On Sep 22, 2010, at 7:48 PM, Kathy Bookmiller <wb2aio@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi TT'ers,
> I was putting together my Hygain Ex 14 today and found something I
> hadn't expected. When tightening up the hose clamps to secure the
> ends of the elements (7/16") that regardless of how hard I cranked
> the clamps, the tips were still loose enough that they could easily
> be pulled out-maybe 10# of pressure! Now I don't want to get this up
> in the air and find that with the wind vibration that they'll move
> in or out.
> My question is what would be a more permanent way to secure them-I'm
> thinking along the lines of aluminum pop rivets or a zip screw or
> two. The pop rivets would be aluminum and the zip screws are steel
> (zip screws is what I call them, I've heard them called other
> things. They are short self taping screws used in duct work in the
> HVAC industry)
> Also, I was surprised to see that Hygain no longer wants one to use
> a mating compound on where the elements slide together, but says the
> raw aluminum on aluminum is sufficient. I remember years ago they
> used to include a small canister of the paste-which I still have
> left from prior antennas from them.
> This antenna was used, maybe ten years old, and whatever compound
> the previous owner used had dried into a hard crystalline compound
> that made taking the antenna apart very difficult. At this point I
> almost wished I had left it alone but I completely dissembled it and
> cleaned out all the elements and traps which were packed with dead
> insect debris, and I do mean packed!
> It is only the ends of elements that have this looseness problem,
> the other sections seem to clamp up tight enough.
> Thoughts?,
> Kathy
>
>
>
>
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