[TowerTalk] securing loose element ends

[Roger (K8RI)]

On 9/22/2010 9:45 PM, Stan Stockton wrote:
> Kathy,
>
> Pop rivets work very well.  That is what I would recommend at every
> joint - even in addition to the hose clamps.
If you use the pop rivets there is no reason left for the hose 
clamps...Unless they made the mistake of sawing the outer element, or 
they fit too loose.  Those screws used to hold the elements together 
really are less effective than the pop rivets.  The force is to the 
sides, not in the linear direction and it's not a solid fit . IOW it's a 
shear force against the screw or rivet.

73

Roger (K8RI)
> Stan, K5GO
>
> Sent from Stan's IPhone
>
>
>
> On Sep 22, 2010, at 7:48 PM, Kathy Bookmiller<wb2aio at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>
>> Hi TT'ers,
>> I was putting together my Hygain Ex 14 today and found something I
>> hadn't expected. When tightening up the hose clamps to secure the
>> ends of the elements (7/16") that regardless of how hard I cranked
>> the clamps, the tips were still loose enough that they could easily
>> be pulled out-maybe 10# of pressure! Now I don't want to get this up
>> in the air and find that with the wind vibration that they'll move
>> in or out.
>> My question is what would be a more permanent way to secure them-I'm
>> thinking along the lines of aluminum pop rivets or a zip screw or
>> two. The pop rivets would be aluminum and the zip screws are steel
>> (zip screws is what I call them, I've heard them called other
>> things. They are short self taping screws used in duct work in the
>> HVAC industry)
>> Also, I was surprised to see that Hygain no longer wants one to use
>> a mating compound on where the elements slide together, but says the
>> raw aluminum on aluminum is sufficient. I remember years ago they
>> used to include a small canister of the paste-which I still have
>> left from prior antennas from them.
>> This antenna was used, maybe ten years old, and whatever compound
>> the previous owner used had dried into a hard crystalline compound
>> that made taking the antenna apart very difficult. At this point I
>> almost wished I had left it alone but I completely dissembled it and
>> cleaned out all the elements and traps which were packed with dead
>> insect debris, and I do mean packed!
>> It is only the ends of elements that have this looseness problem,
>> the other sections seem to clamp up tight enough.
>> Thoughts?,
>> Kathy
>>
>>
>>
>>
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