[TowerTalk] Yagis and Rivets
Dave D'Epagnier
depagnier@uswest.net
Mon, 03 Apr 2000 20:01:27 -0600
Dave, I did quite a bit of research on rivets and talked to a few of the
manufacturers about it and concluded that my rivets came loose due to the
extreme wind conditions where the antenna was in service. I bought the
C3-S/D version of the antenna which is the 100MPH version. That antenna
survived winds stronger than that routinely, and eventually the rivets
loosened up a bit, but no antenna failure. My hat's off to Force 12 on
that one. Force 12 uses closed end aluminum rivets with steel mandrel.
These are pretty strong and probably plenty good enough for all but the
most demanding conditions. I found that there are stronger rivets
available if needed. You can get stainless steel rivets with steel
mandrel, but they are very expensive. The best of all is the "structural"
rivet. These rivets have mandrels that break off flush with the surface
of the rivet and plug the entire rivet body so as to be less compressible
and stronger than the standard open or closed end types. They are hard to
find in small sizes though. I ended up buying a box of Pop brand closed
end aluminum rivets with steel mandrels. A box of 500 was $16. My new QTH
is a lot less windy than the old one so they should work out fine.
--Dave
Dave Pomeroy wrote:
> Amazing, this message was orginally posted on 15
> March, and it just showed today, the 3rd of April. Is
> this what they mean by internet time?
>
> --- Dave Pomeroy <dave_pomeroy@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Dave,
> > I don't know about antenna rivits but aircraft
> > rivits hold forever. 60 year old airplanes still
> > flying with tight aluminum rivits.
> >
> >
> > --- Dave D'Epagnier <DDEpagnier@compuserve.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hello,
> > > I'm just about to finally put back up my C3-S.
> > It's
> > > been up for about a
> > > year and a half and worked well all that time - no
> > > problems. I thought I'd
> > > maybe redo the joints with some silicone vacuum
> > > grease and kind of spruce
> > > it up a bit before it was put back into commision.
> > > One thing noticed on my
> > > half disassembled antenna though is that ALL OF
> > THE
> > > RIVETS ARE LOOSE!
> > > Sorry, don't mean to shout but this is
> > surprising.
> > > It looks to like every
> > > one of those once very sturdy rivets are loose. I
> > > can wiggle every element
> > > section with respect to its mate and have to
> > wonder
> > > how good the rf
> > > connection is between them. And I thought rivets
> > > were the best and would
> > > never be a problem.They were installed correctly.
> > > I'm wondering if aluminum
> > > rivets are simply wimpy. Maybe steel rivets would
> > > hold much stronger and
> > > longer, and even though they may cause local
> > > corrosion, the overall
> > > connection might last longer with steel. Has
> > anyone
> > > else experienced this?
> > > How did you deal with it?
> > >
> > > --Dave
> > > K0QE
> > >
> > > --
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> > =====
> > Dave Pomeroy K8DNP Southwest Michigan
> >
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> =====
> Dave Pomeroy K8DNP Southwest Michigan
>
> __________________________________________________
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