[TowerTalk] torque arms or not?

[Steve Maki]

I think you're over-generalizing this topic.

On larger commercial towers, one ALMOST never sees guy brackets 
encircling the tower (except for the guy levels requiring a 6-way star 
guy). The normal attachment is via a heavy tab welded directly to a leg. 
The tabs are generally located at horizontal braces, so that the guy 
forces ARE distributed to all three legs. Rest assured that the towers 
are engineered properly.

-Steve K8LX

On 1/14/2017 21:15 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:

> The Farwell MI 2-meter repeater was on a commercial tower about the
> equivalent a city block distant from our house when we lived up there.
> I did the antenna maintenance. I had to climb around a guy bracket that
> was made of either 3/8ths, or 1/2 inch steel that completely enclosed
> the tower. Similar plates were used higher up. Guys were 1" and looked
> like wire rope. The tension? Hit one at the tower and it'd ring like a
> high pitched tuning fork well above middle C.
>
> Whether u-bolted, or wrapped around a leg, using a single leg, weakens
> the tower at that point.  If engineering determines the tower load is
> insufficient to cause a problem, then it's fine, but I wonder what the
> insurance co would say if it failed?  Now days they have become very
> cost conscious and look for ways to invalidate coverage.

>> The guy bracket on larger towers is u-bolted to the tower leg and
>> bracing,
>> it does not encircle the tower. It is not necessary to encircle the
>> tower.
>> My Rohn guy brackets look like this
>> https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/roh-ga65gd