Did you check the gap on the slotted tubing to see that it is not completely
collapsed? It is possible after cleaning the joints, you increased the
clearance slightly and now it will no longer clamp tightly. Hy-Gain uses
extruded ends on a lot of their antenna and I'm not sure how precisely they
hold the diameter. The extruded area is not that long and the amount of
rivets that you can install is limited and I would try to use the clamp.
I'm not sure if you have the old style clamp with a bolt and nut or a hose
clamp, but either one should work. It should clamp fine, unless the slots
are closed up and then you'll have to open them up with a saw or something.
I use Penetrox on all of my antenna joints, but it is a habit after having
antennas in a corrosive environment. I still think it's a good thing to
use, but it's not always necessary.
GL
John KK9A
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] securing loose element ends
From: Kathy Bookmiller <wb2aio@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:48:16 -0700 (PDT)
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hi TT'ers,
I was putting together my Hygain Ex 14 today and found something I hadn't
expected. When tightening up the hose clamps to secure the ends of the
elements
(7/16") that regardless of how hard I cranked the clamps, the tips were
still
loose enough that they could easily be pulled out-maybe 10# of pressure! Now
I
don't want to get this up in the air and find that with the wind vibration
that
they'll move in or out.
My question is what would be a more permanent way to secure them-I'm
thinking
along the lines of aluminum pop rivets or a zip screw or two. The pop rivets
would be aluminum and the zip screws are steel (zip screws is what I call
them,
I've heard them called other things. They are short self taping screws used
in
duct work in the HVAC industry)
Also, I was surprised to see that Hygain no longer wants one to use a mating
compound on where the elements slide together, but says the raw aluminum on
aluminum is sufficient. I remember years ago they used to include a small
canister of the paste-which I still have left from prior antennas from them.
This antenna was used, maybe ten years old, and whatever compound the
previous
owner used had dried into a hard crystalline compound that made taking the
antenna apart very difficult. At this point I almost wished I had left it
alone
but I completely dissembled it and cleaned out all the elements and traps
which
were packed with dead insect debris, and I do mean packed!
It is only the ends of elements that have this looseness problem, the other
sections seem to clamp up tight enough.
Thoughts?,
Kathy
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