[TowerTalk] I finally figured a way to stop mast slippage

[Alan Beagley]

How about a picture? I'm having a hard time figuring this out.

Alan AB2OS


On 05/04/04 08:35 am FireBrick put fingers to keyboard and launched the 
following message into cyberspace:

> My old Wilson rotatable has two small bolts that serve as set screws to clamp the mast in
> the tube.
> Tighten the two bolts is SUPPOSED to stop mast slippage.
> But I was always reluctant to really crank down on them for fear of breaking them off or
> stripping them out.
> 
> I really didn't want to drill out the chrome moly mast either.
> The recent 40 mph+ winds in Chicagoland had me 'correcting' for windage frequently.
> 
> So I finally came up with a design that was cheap, easy to install, and seems to have
> solved the problem of misalignment.
> 
> I got two small 'clip angles' from work.
> These are 4" long 4X4 wide angle irons, about 1/4" thick.
> 
> I drilled two sets of holes for 2 1/2" U bolts in one and two sets of 2" U bolts in the
> other.
> 
> 
> The 2 1/2" clamp piece was put on the mast insertion tube.
> The 2" clamp piece goes around the mast.
> 
> There will be a slight difference in position due to the 'insertion tube on the tower'
> being a larger size than the mast, but the two clips angles should line up in the
> horizontal plane.
> I then clamped them together and drilled two 3/8" holes through the horizontal plates.
> Make sure the antenna is properly oriented and bolt the two plates together and tighten
> all the U bolts.
> 
> Fortunately for me, my Wilson tower is right next to the large chimney on my roof so I
> could stand on the chimney and easily do the final drilling and tightening.
> 
> Hope this gives someone an idea on solving a similar problem.
> In my case, where the rotor is mounted at the bottom of the Wilson tower, this does not
> add appreciable strain on the rotor.
> In the case of a top mounted rotor, you may want to consider the slippage vs. rotor damage
> before adding my clamp system.