[TowerTalk] Polyamide (Stauff) Insulator Clamps

[Byron Tatum]

Hello-    I am a little confused about the UV and electrical properties of the polyamide insulator clamps (hydraulic and tubing line support clamps) used on the VHF LFA yagis. I have viewed commercially produced VHF LFA yagis that utilized green colored ones to support 13mm tubing elements. I have read the black ones are better in regards to UV resistance. However, some antenna manufacturers state the black colored clamps have additional carbon in them and the antenna element lengths will need adjusting.    My head is nearly spinning after trying to research this. I have tried to look through the thousands of polyamide clamps in the Stauff catalog. Can anyone shed any light on whether the green colored polyamide clamps, such as used on an E-Antenna 6 meter 7 element LFA yagi, are inferior in regards to UV resistance? I see where a competitor (making mostly HF yagis) states the black clamp assemblies they use are better in regards to UV resistance of the green ones that E-Antenna uses, but I wonder if the black clamps have identical electrical properties or would corrections need to be made to elements? I see where G0KSC, an authority on the LFA and their construction, offers the green colored clamps.   Thanks,   Byron W5FH