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Re: Topband: NA activity + Inv-L corner insulator

To: topband reflector <Topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: NA activity + Inv-L corner insulator
From: Pete Smith N4ZR <pete.n4zr@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2021 22:19:39 -0400
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
I had to laugh - I'm sure that the couple of box wrenches I lost in the trees behind my townhouse in Reston, VA are still there - or if not, do you suppose people thought they grew there somehow?

Re the Flexweave, I didn't recognize the name so I googled it, and who knew...?  It sounds like it might work very well for the whole inverted L, and these days it's not appreciably more expensive than #14 THHN.

I got a very nice-looking pulley from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GWLH7WS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for $13, which is made of 304 stainless with a nylon sheave which has a very large and deep groove.  It's hard to imagine a scenario where the rope will hop out of this sheave.

73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
web server at <http://beta.reversebeacon.net>.
For spots, please use your favorite
"retail" DX cluster.

On 9/25/2021 7:32 PM, Guy Olinger K2AV wrote:
In the pulley snag conundrum, I found that the small marine grade stainless
steel, ball bearing pulleys would handle the black sheathed 3/16 in
parachute cord style rope and never a snag. They also pull very easy as the
bearing never freezes up from exposure to merely (vs. salt) water.

I also have a pair of insulators at the bend, one to the vertical wire,
another to the horizontal wire with a loop of "Flexweave" wire from the
horizontal to the vertical. That way in the wind there is no way for the
forces to be flexing a hard connection from the vertical to the horizontal.
After 2 or 3 (or was it 7 or 8) failures at this point with wires on the
ground it finally dawned on me that the wind constantly varied the angle
between the two wires, and fatigue at the joint was inevitable and
frequent.

YMMV but I'll never again have a "hard joint" at that point. I started this
in 2010, and have gone 11 years without the L coming down for that (one
dumb rope thing, though).

73, and long in the future may your heirs have to figure out how to get it
down out of the trees.

Guy K2AV

On Sat, Sep 25, 2021 at 4:23 PM <W3HKK@roadrunner.com> wrote:

. Here in Ohio we are still having moderate QRN especially in the
evenings. When I get on at our SR, the VK/ZL boys are often coming
through fairly well with much less QRN.

My INV-L has a ceramic insulator at the apex, which is held in place
by 3/16" black synthetic rope of some kind ( Home Depot source) thrown
over my 52 ft tall black walnut tree tied off to another tree. I dont
use pullies since so often the rope slips off the roller and into the
crack between the roller and the U-bracket. So I just tied a rope to
the other side of the insulator and hoist.


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