[Lowfer] Working On Vertical

Mon, 3 Feb 2003 20:05:28 -0600

Hey Lyle,
Send him a picture of your old 45' vertical that stood out by the horse
pasture. Now that was some vertical.

Mike>WE0H
http://www.we0h.us/lf

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Lyle Koehler
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 5:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Lowfer] Working On Vertical

I'll second Peter's suggestions on starting with a couple of pipes and
working up. It's amazing how a small diameter pipe can be transformed from a
rigid body to a wet noodle when you go from 20 to 30 feet. Any load on the
top will aggravate the problem.

One way of attaching guys without drilling holes is with stainless-steel
hose clamps. I usually make the guy-rope attachments from pieces of heavy
wire, #14 or larger, preferably steel. One end of the attachment wire is
wrapped around the hose clamp, and the other end is formed into an "eye" for
the guy rope to pass through. Although an insulator isn't necessary
electrically if you are using insulating material for the guys, I put an
egg-shaped plastic electric fence corner insulator inside the wire loop to
prevent the wire from chafing the rope. Three attachment wires can be held
in place by a single stainless steel hose clamp.

Someone suggested plastic string trimmer line for the guys, which will
withstand the weather for at least several years. Another good material is
Dacron "antenna rope" from places like Radio Works. The stuff is
UV-resistant, and the LEK antenna guy ropes are still flexible after nearly
10 years in the weather. But the Dacron rope stretches, and you'll need to
tighten the guys a few times during the first year.

Another suggestion if the antenna system involves any pulleys: Ropes have a
nasty way of getting bound up in pulleys, and some old-timers recommend
using an eye-bolt instead. This is a good idea, although the rope may wear
out sooner because of chafing. Here again, a wire loop with an electric
fence insulator provides a nice smooth, slippery surface for the rope to
ride over.