[TowerTalk] Shorty Forty Hose Clamp thread

[Stan Stockton]

After about 40 years of making my own antennas I learned something a few years ago when faced with assembling 65 tribanders (520 elements) we made for WRTC2014.  

I was introduced to the element joint attachment method I am told is used by Optibeam.  I was skeptical when I heard the verbal description, having settled on pop rivets after every other conceivable method about 20 years ago.  

I made one element with pop rivets and another with a single stainless steel socket head cap screw with a counterbore (head clearance on socket head screw) for one wall of the larger diameter tubing for each joint, then grabbed each one in the center and violently shook them back and forth.  The one with SHCS joints felt like one solid piece of tubing as compared to the pop riveted one. 

It is so easy and so solid, I will never mess with pop rivets again.

A V block fixture with stops, drill press and some of these bits along with straight bits for the smaller diameter tube drilling are all that is needed.    

 http://www.wttool.com/index/page/category/category_id/14686/  

make the job easy in comparison to many methods.  The counterbore is important.  Use stainless nylock nuts.

YMMV but I'm sold on it.

73...Stan, K5GO

Sent from Stan's IPhone



> On Aug 13, 2015, at 7:42 AM, Jim Thomson <jim.thom at telus.net> wrote:
> 
> The rest of the yagi should be using  3 x rivets
> at each joint. 
> 
> Jim  VE7RF