[TowerTalk] No Tool Fast Assembly HF Beam

[Martin Sole]

I've thought about this one before and came up with the idea of using worm
drive hose clamps. Where you have a split in the end of the larger tube and
then using a compression worm drive hose clamp should work okay, many beams
come with them. The problem is the need for a screw driver or socket that
fits the hexagon head of the worm drive clamp but I have seen clamps, and I
think you could fabricate this, where instead of a slotted head there was a
large flat wing like appendage such that sufficient torque could be applied
by finger and thumb alone to ensure a reasonable if not overly tight fix.
Mark the tubes at the appropriate points and then at assembly just slide
together until the marks line up and finger tighten the modified worm drive
hose clamp. A similar arrangement could be done at the boom if the antenna
is appropriately modified. Fix the boom to element clamps permanently to the
boom and use wing nuts on the element clamps or fix a short stub at the
element mount and then having cut the centre tube use the same process as
for the rest of the elements. Not losing the clamps might be the biggest
problem so you may need spares or find some way to tie them to the elements.

Cheers
Martin, HS0ZED


-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Roger (K8RI)
Sent: 08 July 2010 13:45
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] No Tool Fast Assembly HF Beam

On 7/7/2010 10:26 PM, gdaught6 at stanford.edu wrote:
> Joe wrote...
>
>    
>> Has anyone equipped the elements of a beam with some neat quick 
>> assembly scheme?  I was thinking of the buttons often found in 
>> telescopic tent poles, or the quick and easy clamps that keep the 
>> legs of my camera tripod extended.
>>      
I'm assuming this would be a temporary "quick to set up and tear down" 
temporary set up like FD, or a camping trip.

I would think the above would be a good idea.  A round headed pin or ball
with a retainer and spring loaded. IOW just like the telescopic tent poles.
> Force-12 recommends putting a pop-rivet in, but NOT popping it.  Just 
> put it in and hold it in place with a turn of black electrical tape.  
> When it comes time to disassemble it, it goes really quickly!
>
> The element to boom connection depends on what your antenna is.  I'm 
> guessing that a set of minimally tightened U-bolts would be most common.
>    
Which is what the Force 12 C-19 uses.
73

Roger (K8RI)
> 73,
>
> George T Daughters, K6GT
> CU in the California QSO Party (CQP)
> October 2-3, 2010
>
>
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