K5UJ continued:
I clamp the rope about 2 inches away from the eye. it probably doesn't
matter much except that if you try to snug the pliars right up on the eye,
it would be harder to do and squeeze the two ropes between the pliars and
not tear at the rope. all you want is to clamp the two ropes against each
other like what you would have with a clip. i use 3/16 dacron. Never had a
problem with them unclamping.
thanks to Brett VR2BG who wrote about using knots. I wanted to use a knot
but I really stink at getting tension with a knot. I will study what you
advise and try it. a knot is way cheaper than hardware.
The neat thing about the technique I described is that the tension is
created just like if you were using several pulleys to lift a heavy load - if
you need more mechanical advantage on the guy, then thread it a few
more times through the anchor & the loop you tied in the live end. It
could also be thought of as a turnbuckle made of rope.
My rope skills are pathetic, despite the best efforts of the BSA & years
of antenna work. I form the loop with a figure-of-eight knot & the dead
end is ultimately secured with half-hitches around the whole lot three or
four times (so not only does it secure the dead end of the guy, it also
compresses against the "turnbuckle" to secure it further).
The guy anchor is a big eyebolt secured into a parapet wall with an
expansion bolt, so no need for a thimble there. To be honest, I also
don't use thimbles where the dead end loops through the loop formed
in the live end of the guy - I just help the rope along a bit when I
tighten it. The jacket on this Kevlar halyard I'm using is pretty
robust & once tightened, there really isn't any movement anyway.
Very secure, no extra bits required & suitable for both temporary &
permanent applications - as well as using the rope as it was
intended (knotting as opposed to clamping). I do add clamps on
the other end, but still primarily rely on knots to secure the top end
of the guy.
73 & HNY, VR2BrettGraham
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