[TowerTalk] No Tool Fast Assembly HF Beam

[Martin Sole]

* How about making the 'wings' bigger by bolting something to them?

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 14:25
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] No Tool Fast Assembly HF Beam

On 7/8/2010 3:16 AM, Martin Sole wrote:
> 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,
Standard nut drivers work just fine on those, but you need to remember to
mark the elements in a manner so they do not require measurement at assembly
time.  That's what I like about the "tent stake" approach although it'd be
much more complicated to implement, it would be the simplest to use.

> 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.
>    
The SS hose clamps are available with this type of tightening head on the
screw, but you often need a good pair of leather gloves or pliers to tighten
them.

* How about making the 'wings' bigger by bolting something to them?

> 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.

The old Cushcraft ATB-34 used a center insulator that the halves of the
driven element just stuck into and were held in place by tightening two
1/4-20 SS Round head screws with nuts on them to grip the feed line
connectors. Re the photo in the thread (what kind of antenna is this)


> 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.
>
>    
Like a computer program the easier you make it to use the more difficult it
is to implement. <:-)) OTOH I think the above will work fine.

73

Roger (K8RI)
> 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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>>
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