[TowerTalk] Turnbuckles with Rod Sides

[Bob Shohet, KQ2M]

Hi Tonno,

I am so glad to learn that your 15M array is alive and well (AWESOME you-tube video!) but sorry to learn that you did lose another tower.  

For guy wires at my qth I only use the preformed PLP guy grips – which are easy to use and incredibly strong – they allowed me to put up my towers without having to use the less reliable and more challenging method of “saddles” which was the method that I learned earlier in my “career” while helping to install towers where I guest operated.   I respectively suggest that you consider using these “guy grips” at your station in the future.

I do however still use the “saddles” with Kevlar cable to make the boom trusses on all of my 15 and 20 meter yagis.  I use three per side with the first one as close as possible to the clamp – (about 1 – 1 1/2”) and then the next one about  2” away with the third about 3” after that.  This way they are clamped as close as possible to support bolt to minimize any possible minimize slippage, and with the second clamp so close to the first one, there is almost no possible “wiggle room”.  

I have not lost a single antenna or antenna boom in 19 years despite direct hits from F0 and F1  tornados, two hurricanes and countless violent thunderstorms and ice-storms.  Even when one thunderstorm had such violent wind gusts that it literally tore the boom-to-mast plate in half and my top 20 fell 50+ feet to “nestle” in the middle 20 which “caught it”, the boom trusses on both antennas were perfectly intact (although quite a few elements on both antennas now have distinct curves.  :-)     Winds in the 60 – 70 mph (88 – 103 kph) range are quite common here and I have had at least 4 instances where winds exceeded 100 mph (146 kph).  Hurricane Sandy on 10/31/2012 had gusts at my qth > 110 mph ( > 161 kph) and devastated my town; so my installations have been well-tested.  Hopefully they will never be tested like that again.  :-)

Your 15m scores have been AWESOME – as is your signal.  I can remember you calling me in that WPXSSB contest on 15M about 2- 3 hours after I had made my last previous EU qso!  I think you told me that our qso was about midnight local time in ES.  

73

Bob  KQ2M

From: Tonno Vahk 
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2017 7:55 AM
To: 'Bob Shohet, KQ2M' ; 'Wayne Kline' ; 'Keith Dutson' ; k1ttt at arrl.net ; towertalk at contesting.com ; 'Grant Saviers' 
Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] Turnbuckles with Rod Sides

Oh, hold on guys!:) The 15m array is still up and running! Good way to get those rumors going:) I did lose another 45m rotating tower 2-3 years ago though due to the turnbuckle failure. The tower went back up last autumn with new antennas. It was a painful lesson and certainly I am using safety wires on all my turnbuckles now!

I did learn about the saddling of the dead horse thing and have fixed the wire rope clips. The only thing that I am probably not doing right is the distance between wire rope clips on the wire. Given I had quite long ends of the wire left over I left also half a meter or more between 4 wire rope clips (the first one right after the thimble).

Is it and why is it crucial to keep the wire rope clip close to each other on the wire (2" or so)?

73
Tonno
ES5TV

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bob Shohet, KQ2M
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2017 5:25 AM
To: Wayne Kline <w3ea at hotmail.com>; Keith Dutson <kdutson at sbcglobal.net>; k1ttt at arrl.net; towertalk at contesting.com; Grant Saviers <grants2 at pacbell.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Turnbuckles with Rod Sides

I’m sorry to learn that Tonno lost his tower and incredible  8 x 5 L array.  It’s terrible that it happened when it was so easily preventable!

For each of my tower guys, I always cut them so that each guy has an extra 5 ‘ – 10’ of 1/4” EHS left over, and then, rather than cut off the excess, I simply run the extra through both ends of all the turnbuckles and then through all the bolts on the equalizer plate.

It doesn’t make any sense to allow the turnbuckles to potentially turn and undo themselves and thereby jeopardize the tower.  I even use ice clips for the same reason on every guy wire – to potentially prevent yet another mode of failure – especially one that is so prevalent at my qth.

73

Bob  KQ2M

From: Grant Saviers
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2017 9:43 PM
To: Wayne Kline ; Keith Dutson ; k1ttt at arrl.net ; towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Turnbuckles with Rod Sides

The wire rope clips are also completely misplaced on the ES5TV guys.  
They should be about 2" apart and first one tight to the thimble.  I can't tell from the video if he saddled a dead horse. l'd also bet there was no torque wrench used.  It looks like pretty skimpy wire and turnbuckles for that load even with 5 levels of guys.  Sad.  So easy to do right.

A figure eight of EHS thru the eyes/jaws and center not only prevents rotation but covers several turnbuckle failure modes as well (done on my tower).  If the thimble and anchor shackle are large enough to thread the EHS thru then with any turnbuckle failure the guy is still attached.

Grant KZ1W

On 9/11/2017 16:34 PM, Wayne Kline wrote:
> If my gray matter recalls,  ES5TV  lost his fantastic  8 -  5 element   H frame ARRAY  because he did not use safety wires  on the turnbuckles and lost  the installation    !    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9fDlbIFhMs&t=7s
>
>
>   Wayne  W3EA