[TowerTalk] Insulators for 1/4" EHS Guy Wire

[Dave Clemons]

I want to put up a 67 foot Rohn 25 tower.  I have loads of 1/4" EHS guy 
wire, which I have used on similar towers in my past stations. I would 
like to break up the guy wires to non-resonant lengths.  (I know the 
arguments for not bothering, but want to do so based on information in 
the Nov-Dec 2015 NCJ article by Steve N2IC.)  In previous towers I have 
used insulators similar to the 502, but smaller and considerably easier 
to deal with.  (I measured an old 502 - about 3 5/8" long and 2 1/2" 
wide and wire hole size about 1/2".  I have an old insulator of the type 
I want to use which is the same shape and material as the 502, but 2 
3/8" long and 1 1/2" wide and wire hole size 5/16".)  These smaller 
insulators worked fine through a 100 mph hurricane (Gloria) and a 80 mph 
hurricane (Bob) at my QTH.  They also did not fail when an 80 foot white 
pine broke twelve feet up and fell across my tower guys in 1986.  The 
tower itself folded up, but the insulators were not broken.   I have not 
been able to find any of these smaller insulators for sale (502 seems to 
be the smallest advertised) except there is something that may be what I 
want at MFJ (MFJ-17A01).  I am thinking that what I want to use may be 
intended for 3/16" EHS, but as I noted, they worked just fine for 
previous Rohn 25 and Rohn 45-clone towers. Does anyone know where to 
find these smaller insulators for sale?