I, too, have stripped hose clamps during installation, but it was my own
fault. Who knew the darn things had torque specs from the manufacturer...
;-) Now I use a torque wrench (a small one, calibrated in inch-pounds as
well as some weird Klingon standard - Newton something or the other), and I
tighten the large ones to 35-40 in-lbs and the skinny ones to 15 in-lbs,
and they don't strip.
Then I add the rivet!
73,
geo - n4ua
On Sat, Aug 8, 2015 at 1:02 AM, Robert Harmon <k6uj@pacbell.net> wrote:
> Doug,
>
> I no longer use hose clamps after having them strip as you had happen or
> the connection
> loosening after flexing back and forth in the wind (I am also in the
> Pacific NW)
> Now I only use rivets. I have had a number of Force 12 antennas and no
> problem
> at all with the connections. Their riveted conns sold me. The HF beams I
> have fabbed have riveted elements
> and no problems. I wipe on Penetrox when assembling and later when taking
> apart
> the tubing is like new. Plus to change element lengths it is super easy
> to drill
> out the center of the rivets, they pop right out. Now I can sleep easy
> while the winds blow, hihi.
>
> The Cushcraft XM240 at 85 feet should be great. I will be hoisting up a
> Force 12 20M 3EL / 40M 2EL
> interlaced on a 28 foot boom in a couple of weeks. For 40 the best I have
> had is a rotatable
> dipole so it will be fun to see how two elements will do.
>
> 73,
> Bob
> K6UJ
>
>
>
> > On Aug 7, 2015, at 9:06 PM, W7ZZ <w7zz@wavecable.com> wrote:
> >
> > It's ironic that this thread just showed up. By coincidence, I put up a
> > Cushcraft XM240 just last Friday at 85 feet. Since I managed to "strip"
> > several of the hose clamps as I built the antenna, trying to tighten
> them to
> > the max, I decided to augment the hose clamps by drilling holes at each
> > joint to insert a stainless steel self tapping screw to eliminate the
> danger
> > that the elements could move or, worse still, fall out after the antenna
> was
> > at an unserviceable height. We get some hellacious windstorms here in
> the
> > Pacific NW and I could just envision that antenna at 85 feet, totally
> > unreachable without hiring a crane again, with a missing end piece. I
> will
> > sleep better at night knowing that the screws are in there. I don't know
> > anything about pop rivets, but they sound even better but the screws
> should
> > work well.
> >
> >
> >
> > W7ZZ
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
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>
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