[TowerTalk] Guy tension gauge

[john at kk9a.com]

If your tower is plumb and you have perfectly level ground with equal anchor
spacing and have a pier pin base the guys will have equal tension.  I use a
transit level and a Loos gauge for my towers. I believe that the Loos is
accurate enough for my towers.  I am more concerned that the tower it plumb
over equal tension on each guy although if I recall they seems reasonably
equal because I adjusted my anchor spacing for the unlevel ground.

73 and happy Thanksgiving,

John KK9A (W4AAA in last weekend's SS contest)


Steve lists at oakcom.org

On 11/25/2020 7:39 PM, Steve, NR4M wrote:

> What is the Loos gauge telling you?
> Those things were intended for the type of cable used on boat rigging.
They probably do that just fine.
> The finer stranding of the boat cable deflects more easily than the EHS
cable would, so I think all bets are off as far as accuracy goes.
> The best you can do with a Loos gauge, and it probably does it just fine,
is show you if the EHS tension is equal.
> But, if I recall my physics correctly, -if- all guys at any given level
are identical ( same distance to each guy anchor, etc) then the tension on
any one will be the same as the other two.
> I have a nice, brand new tension dynamometer and I have been intending for
several years on taking pieces of 3/16, 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 inch EHS, putting
them in series with each other and the dynamometer between BIG trees, and
try and calibrate a large Loos gauge.

Mostly correct. If you consider the tower as a flexible column, the three
guys at any level will be fairly equal in tension. Anyone who installs
taller R45 & R55 towers knows that intuitively. If it were a rigid column,
not so much. It so happens though that even big towers when engineered for
maximum efficiency turn out to be fairly flexible because the guy levels are
spaced way further apart.

When I mentioned deflection gauge I was thinking of something like a
Penn-Tech, which comes with a table letting you measure either EHS or bridge
strand *fairly* accurately.

-Steve K8LX



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