Mail*Link(r) SMTP RE>Basic guywire information request
You have an excellent idea here Steve. I have been doing this for quite some
time....not using pre-forms at the anchor point. Furthermore, I don't use
turn-buckles at the anchor point anymore either. Found them to be more
trouble than their worth .... and added cost.
I use the "come-along" on the free end and use it for tensioning of guys.
When it is time to re-tension, I go thru the same procedure. In the long run,
for me, this is less hassle than running out of turnbuckle.
A couple clues from my "experience" if you're new at this (and I'm not a "pro"
either) ..... use a rope & pulley come-along rather than a ratchet job...more
control and one can even build your own from hardware store parts (assuming
you have access to the cable grips which are a must for this method).
And don't forget the safety part....make sure those turnbuckles, if used, are
locked in place. If close to the ground, a rod inserted thru all turnbuckles
and pushed into the ground will suffice. If off ground, a figure-8 of cable
run thru all eyes and buckles will not only keep the buckles from turning, but
will provide a modest amount of "backup" in case a buckle should let go.
73 Chuck
WA0ROI
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To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: 08/26/96 08:25 AM
To: Chuck Brudtkuhl
From: steve.m.zettel@internet.nps.us
The posting and answers about using EHS wire and preformed guy grips
came at an opportune time in my tower project. I had some of the same
questions. Thanks to the members of this reflector I've gotten help
and answers to my questions every step of the way on my first tower
project. Yesterday I took delivery on eight sections of 45G that were
found through the reflector.
How about a basic primer on the proper measuring, cutting, and rigging
of guy wires during tower erection. Given the limited range of the
tensioning devices (turnbuckles) it looks to me to be a job that
requires some savvy and know-how, as well as a way to put a tension on
the guy prior to and during the final termination. Particularly when
using preforms. I imagine it would be very easy to cut the guywire two
or three times and still have it end up too short. 8*)
One method that occurs to me is to use preforms and thimbles at the
tower, preforms at the egg insulators, and then at the turnbuckle end
wrap the guywire around a thimble, attach a come-along on the standing
end and take a tension while applying and tightening down on
conventional clamps and saddles (never saddling a dead horse). Then
trim the standing end to length (and finish by separating and serving
the wire strands a la the Rohn catalog, for the obsessive). This
doesn't have the simplicity of using preforms throughout.
Another question has to do with the initial adjustment of the
turnbuckle before attaching the wire. All the way out at the limit of
adjustment, or some intermediate adjustment?
I can also see the possibility of getting the tower out of plumb when
taking tension on the first guy and getting some turnbuckles run all
the way in and some all the way out to maintain plumb and maintain
tension. I could see that this part of the whole project could drive
me crazy!
Thanks for your help and your patience with all of my questions.
Steve Zettel KJ7CH kj7ch@libby.org
Libby, MT USA steve.m.zettel@nps.usace.army.mil
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