NU7J wrote:
< I'm in the process of installing guy wires on Rohn 25. This is my
< first experience using Big Grips. Best thing since sliced bread!
< My first question is whether it's really necessary to install some
< sort of holding device over the ends of the big grip, and if so,
< what?
<snip>
Rumor has it that the grips can open up if a big ice block slides down
a long length of guy wire and slams into the grip. Rumor has it that
the "sleeve" or holding device only serves to be sure that the
installer really snaps down the end of the grip on the guy. My advice:
if you don't get ice and you install the grips properly, the sleeves
are unnecessary. Also, if you have steel guys broken up often with
insulators (in an attempt to make them non-resonant) then the amount of
ice in any one length of uninterrupted guy wire (and the length over
which it can travel) is very limited, reducing any potential "ice"
problem yet again.
< Second question: I purchased guy insulators from Texas Towers. I
< did not specify the size when I made the purchase and they didn't ask
< the question so I assumed there was just one standard size. The
< insulators are much smaller than expected. (For that price, I was
< expecting them to be the size of an ostrich egg!).
The insulators you want are the 502 size and are about the size of a
coffee mug or large clenched fist (I do not know how big an Ostrich's
egg is!). From Texas Tower's site:
"The 502 is required for 1/4"EHS, or when using guy grips with either
wire size, and measures 3-1/2" long, 2-1/2" in diameter. "
In order to get the big grips through and around them, one must use the
alternate alignment marking on the grip (PLP's instructions describe
this - did TT send them with the grips? They omitted mine). Once
grips are installed, the insulators have nowhere to go.
Mike N2MG
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