[TowerTalk] Stainless steel hose clamps

[Jim Thomson]

I have been using Tridon brand stainless steel hose clamps since the 70’s.  These are made in the usa.
No lube was ever applied to any of them. http://www.idealclamps.com/catalog/clamps/catalog.php?sid=en&ID=16   and also http://www.idealclamps.com/catalog/clamps/catalog.php?ID=7
The telco’s also use   Tridon SS clamps in the larger diam size  for some outside applications. 

In addition, they also offer clamps for extreme heat/cool  applications, when the part to be clamped is constantly heat cycled. 

Never had a problem with any of their SS clamps.   These days, I use rivets for ele connections,  but SS clamps with worm gears are used on either ele tips, or one
section inboard, in applications where an adjustable tip is required.  I’m building a pair of T bars  ( capacity hats)  for my 80m rotary dipole, to be used in conjunction
with a motor driven compressible  tornado drive.  (A pair of  6-12 uh compressible .25” plastic coated tubing coils).    I took my F-12 EF-180B  80m rotary dipole and
tossed the oem LL wires.....and replaced with a 16 foot long capacity hat, located  aprx  half way out each side.  The compressible coil does the rest of the loading.
On paper it should tune deaf flat from 3200-4100 khz.   I also have issues with a row of pine trees across the back end of the property.  Until I get it up there to test
it, I need adjustable tips on both ends of both capacity hats.  I also need adjustable tips on the main ele. 

Ok, once it’s all tweaked correctly,  either the SS tridon helical gear clamps can stay put, or rivets installed.   Bottom line is, I have tridon SS clamps that have been around since
1977, and they still work like new.   I was buying them in box’s  of 10  to be cost effective.   Years ago, on my hygain 204BA and also the wilson 15m yagi I had at the time, both used the 
same style mickey mouse  clamp with the set screw etc.  m2 still uses that same scheme on a lot of it’s ants.   I tossed em all and replaced with tridon ss hose clamps...and never looked back. 
Their quality is the same today as it was years ago.  I still buy em but not too often. 

On a side note, on the F12 ants, I re-enforce the boom splices on some of their yagi’s  with extra 3/16” rivets.  If you do that,  it’s  extremely difficult using a hand riveter.  I used a POP brand
25” long riveter, looks like garden shears.   These will easily do .125” rivets, .187” rivets and also .25” rivets.  POP also makes  a riveter that is driven by any standard 90 psi compressor....
which also  collects the ejected mandrels, so they don’t end up all over the lawn.  I found that the F-12 boom slices that use rivets on one side and .25” SS bolts on the other side would result
in sloppy boom splices, due to the pair of .25” bolts used.   Either more rivets can be used to supplement the bolts, or the bolts can be removed, and replaced with .25” rivets. 

Later.... Jim   VE7RF