Hi Grant! I worked at WDAE Radio in Tampa, FL back in the 80's and 90's. The engineer before me decided to try the new technology Philly-strand guy lines on the AM directional towers because they had constant problems with the original segmented steel guy wires/egg insulators constantly arcing over whenever there was a thunderstorm in the area. To attach the Philly-strand, they used traditional metal saddle clamps on this early ( somewhat experimental ) Philly-strand installation. It was a real neat looking job with 3 clamps 3 inches apart and all within 8 inches of the ends of the Philly Strand. Just like you see on steel guy lines.
It was written up in Broadcast Engineering Magazine with lots of pictures as the wave of the future for AM broadcast guyed towers. In reality, it didn't work well because we were constantly having to re-attach the lines because the inner strands pulled short inside the outer sheath, leaving just the outer sheath holding the tower up! ( nude towers, no antennas on top ). It didn't take long before we realized that we had to use a lot more foldback length and a lot more clamps! We went with 36" foldbacks with six clamps evenly spaced to keep things from pulling apart! That worked and stayed together for the remaining 10 years I worked there. Yes, we had to insert 6 feet of steel line at the anchor points to make up for the lost length at each end of each guy lines. No guarantees, but that was my experience with the original Philly-strand. If you decide to keep it, be very careful and inspect it frequently! They don't make that original Philly-strand for a good reason. 73 Lloyd - N9LB -----Original Message----- From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Grant Saviers Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 1:15 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: Ends for older Phillystran Hoping for some help to be able to use some older Philly. The factory tells me their grips won't work on "parallel strand" construction which is what I have, epoxy potted sockets are required. However, they only pot at the factory (liability etc etc) which means tossing 6 x 300' of 5/8" 45klb ultimate strength. Newer Philly (post 1991) is constructed of 7 twisted strands, something like 7x19 wire rope (not exactly the same, but similar) and the PVC sheath transfers the load effectively with the Philly guy grips. Any reports of success with field potting, materials, how to do it, and where ends can be obtained (or a drawing, I will machine them) would be appreciated. I would have a load test done on each guy post potting. Grant KZ1W _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband