GUYING SUBSYSTEM

The Guying Subsystem had to meet certain requirements:

  • Meet the requirements of ASNI/TIA/EIA-222 (as of the date of building permit approval)
  • Not cause meaningful interaction with any antennas, especially the 160 Meter inverted "V" and the 80 Meter inverted "V" or other wire antennas which might be installed in the future.
  • Be able to interface properly with the Guyanchor Subsystem
  • Be relatively lowest cost.

That led to three solutions to the requirements:

  • Steel guy wires with strain insulators every 11 feet (per the 1994 ARRL Handbook, page 36-29, Fig 63)
  • Philystran cable with grips
  • Polygon Corporation UV Stabilized Fiberglass guy wire

The least expensive was the Polygon solution:

[Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger image]

Spiral Vibration Dampers. Click for larger image.

  • Preformed Line Products (PLP) GlassGrips, thimble and shackle at the tower
  • PLP Spiral vibration dampers
  • Polygon PGP-504 3/8" fiberglass guy wire
Fiberglass to steel, 20 feet above ground. Click for larger image.

    At 20 feet above ground:

  • Fiberglass guy wire, PLP GlassGrip and thimble
  • ROHN Big-Grip, thimble, Big-Grip End Sleeve (ICE CLIP), 5/16 inch EHS steel cable

Guy anchor/guy wire attachment design. Click for larger image.

  • 5/16 inch EHS steel cable
  • ROHN Big-Grip, ICE CLIP,thimble
  • 1/2 inch galvanized steel turnbuckle
  • ROHN EP-2534-3 Twin Equalizer Plates

Elevated Guy Anchor. Click for larger image.

  • Elevated guy anchor

There are special handling techniques that must be used when working with this fiberglass guy wire.

First of all, it is shipped in a 8 foot roll and must be used soon after arrival at the site, especially in hot weather. This is due to the fact that the fiberglass and the resin that make up the fiberglass rod, when hot from the sun and coiled up in the roll, will separate and the resin cannot hold the fibers together...it then breaks. Once installed and all forces on the rod are longitudinal, it reaches full strength.

While unwrapping the rod from its coil, be sure to wear gloves (to protect against small glass fibers) and safety goggles (to protect your eyes if the coil gets out of control). Also, a minimum of two people should handle the coiled roll since its natural shape is uncoiled and it will try to achieve that shape in a violent way if the end of the rod is not controlled during uncoiling.

You should also be careful not to scrape the rod on anything sharp. The rod may be damaged if abrasive forces are applied to it. The rod is indeed a "rod". It is not very flexible, just flexible enough.



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