>I have a question regarding tensioning guy wires and
>keeping the tower plumb while this operation is being
>performed.
Does
>anyone have any suggestions as to how to perform the
>tensioning (the order), and how to preserve the plumbness
>of the tower. Should I tension all the guys to some
>intermediate, arbitray, tension, like 200#, and then
>repeat the process until the desired tension is achieved.
>
>Theoretically, if the tower is plumb, and the guy
>wires are on level greound and equally spaced from the
>tower, the tension in the guys should be the same.
>Correct? The real world doesn't always present perfect
>situations. What happens if the guys are not on level
>ground and/or the distance to the guy anchors is not
>exactly uniform? How does one tension the guy wires
>in this instance. I suspect the tension will not be
>equal on all guy wires.
>
>Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
>
>73 & CU this weekend from N2WM.
Walt,
I prefer not to mess with tensioning the guywires at all. As you've pointed
out, there are just so many variables that it's a real can of wires, er,
worms. Instead there are two methods you might want to investigate.
If your Rohn 55 was built on the "pivoting baseplate" or "pier pin"
construction, place the appropriately sized hydraulic bottle jack under the
plate instead. Then, simply jack up the tower instead of reefing in on the
guys. However, try to resist the urge to get a few more feet of elevation
for that 40M beam. You'll know you've gone a bit too far if you see the
ground starting to buckle up over your guy anchor points.
The second, and perhaps more elegant approach is to tether several helium
weather balloons to the top of the tower. With the proper winch and feed
arrangement you can even use this set up for a killer 160M antenna. Hell,
go whole hog, use it for that 75 khz "lowfer" vertical. Don't forget the
required lighting and notices to airmen. Once again, if you note more than
the usual amount of tower foundation concrete being exposed, you might back
off a tad on the number of balloons.
Let me know how this works out for you.
73,
Steve "We don't need no stinkin' Loos gauges" Zettel KJ7CH
Libby, MT USA: Home of the Flying Towers! FD at KJ7CH
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