[BC] about STL dishes and jumpers

[Broadcast List USER]

Wrap-lock has it's place.  On larger Stainless towers, with X-bracing  
in the inter bay spaces, as opposed to H-bracing (no diagionals), or Z- 
bracing (one diagonal per bay), Stainless frequently recommends  
stainless Wrap-lock to tie the diagonals together where they cross.

For attaching transmission line to towers, it is BAD.  It will cut  
through the insulation.  WHY?  Because heating and cooling makes the  
line, AND THE TOWER, expand and contract.  This will cause rubbing.   
WInd will also cause rubbing.  Wrap-lock is fairly thin and has fairly  
sharp edges.  It doesn't need to be sharp.  If I cut on your wrists  
with a razor blade, I will find blood fairly quickly, but if I use a  
butter knife, I will get there, just not as quickly.

Use the right stuff and your installations will last a long time.   
Don't and they won't.

Some people feel that if their installation fails in 10 years, it  
doesn't matter because they will be long gone.  I just hate that  
position.

--chip

On Nov 15, 2010, at 9:00 AM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 6
> From: Glen Kippel <glen.kippel at gmail.com>
>
> Yeah, I did some contract work for a station in the Central Valley  
> -- originally licensed to Los Banos, but then the COL changed to  
> Merced.  A 500' stick with a 5-bay fed by a 25-kW AEL.  The Heliax  
> was stuck on the tower with Wrap-Lock instead of proper hangers, and  
> of course after a few years there were holes rubbed through the coax  
> jacket and it was burning through a tank of nitrogen every few  
> days.  The transmitter was on its last legs, and the antenna  
> probably had water in it.  I suggested replacing the antenna with 10  
> bays, replacing the line and getting a Continental 11-kW XMTR to  
> save about $2,000 monthly on their power bill but their corporate  
> engineer, from the Philippines, said that wouldn't work.  We parted  
> company soon after that, and then the whole thing burned up.  They  
> blamed "lightning" but I knew better.  I'm glad I wasn't there to  
> have to lie to the insurance company.
>
> On Sun, Nov 14, 2010 at 12:54 AM, Broadcast List USER <Broadcast at fetrow.org 
> > wrote:
>
>> if you are gong to use Wrap-Lock or #12 solid twisted copper instead
>> of the proper mounts, you deserve what you get.  Sure, it will last a
>> few years, but it won't last.