[TowerTalk] Loos Tension Gauge

[Tom Rauch]

> Since it is recommended that the lower 15 ft or so of any
non-metallic guy system be EHS for physical protection.
Since the Loos is designed for EHS/stranded systems, what I
do is measure the tension in the short length of EHS which
is at the bottom of my Polygon FRP guys.  The tension in the
EHS is the same at the Polygon and therefore I don't need to
worry about differences between materials.  Now, if you
don't have any EHS at the bottom of your non-metallic guys
then you'll want to "calibrate" your gauge accordingly.


Phil,

At this point I'm not so sure how accurate it is with seven
strand EHS. There was a HUGE difference here (about 2:1)
between readings of Phillystran and EHS seven strand with
1/4 inch OD cables when both had the same tension, and I'm
positive of that result.

I'm positive the Loos gauge is very material sensitive,
there is no possible way my test was wrong. I did not
measure absolute tension against a standard, and that really
needs to be done to see if it is off on the fiberglass, the
guy strand, or both and how much it is off on other sides.

Until that is done all we can say is materials definitely
affect it.

73 Tom