removing insulators from backstay

[MM5AHO]

I need a new backstay. My old one has SSB insulators in it bout 1m from each end. There are swage studs screwed into each insulator at each end. But I cant get the studs out. Some anti-sieze oil hasn't done any good, nor has a little heat. And if I get one end loose the other end will still be a problem. There's nothing on the insulators tro put a spanner on, only on the studs. Any suggestions?

 

[pvb]

As I recall, these insulators generally have an interlocked section inside them, electrically separated by the insulation, so that the unit is mechanically fail-safe if the insulation material breaks. If that's the case, you may not be able to remove the swaged ends.

 

[AndrewB]

I find your problem a little hard to understand. Normally when you replace an old backstay, you change the whole thing from chainplate to mast, including the insulators. Are you thinking you can reuse the insulators? This isn't really a good idea. Otherwise I do not know why you want to remove them from the old backstay.

Incidentally it is usual to have the lower insulator rather higher than 1m from the bottom, to prevent the aerial section of the backstay from accidentally coming in contact with anything on the deck.

 

[MM5AHO]

I find your problem a little hard to understand. Normally when you replace an old backstay, you change the whole thing from chainplate to mast, including the insulators. Are you thinking you can reuse the insulators? This isn't really a good idea. Otherwise I do not know why you want to remove them from the old backstay.

Incidentally it is usual to have the lower insulator rather higher than 1m from the bottom, to prevent the aerial section of the backstay from accidentally coming in contact with anything on the deck.

Yes I want to re-use them in a new stay. The length of the antenna between the insulators is important, and my arrangement on my boat doesn't contact anything with the "live" part. The stay suffered damage causing one strand to break. The other components can be re-used.

 

[Neeves]

Geoff,

I assume the portion you need to replace is 'high up' above whatever you use to tension it. We inserted the aerial cable itself in to a hollow batten (fibreglass tube) to stop people grabbing the 'wrong thing' and attached the tube with cable ties (in our case the part of the stay below the lower insulator).

I cannot help - except the people from whom you buy the new length of stay must surely have had this problem previously.

Stalok make them, or used to. Another contact is s3i Group in Harworth s3i.co.uk I might have thought Stalok and s3i might have had instructions - somewhere. I thought ours were from Ronstan (not sure now why I thought that) - but cannot find them in their catalogue.

Jonathan