Force 12, Inc. Element Assembly Examples

Force 12 has compiled several pages of photographs and descriptions showing element essembly examples, element attachment and antenna mounting. These can either be printed from this document, or down-loaded and printed off-line.

Note: all of this material is copyrighted; however, you can print it for your own use. If you want to make more than a personal copy, please contact Force 12, Inc. for authorization. Thanks.

"If its riveted, its a Force 12" has been a trademark of our construction since the first antenna came off the production line. We are the original for riveted elements, pre-drilled, pre-assembled elements and element to boom mounts that are already on the boom and marked for element placement. Larger elements are both riveted and through-bolted and some element to boom mounts are not only riveted, but also through-bolted. Some mounts (like on the C-49XR) are welded in place and others (as on the new Magnum 40 meter and 80 meter elements) are element weldments that are bolted to the boom. The following three pages show riveting and rivet removal techniques for typical elements. Bolted elements and mounts are described in more detail within the manual accompanying the antenna. The download command line follows each page.

The EasyOn mount is another Force 12 original. Developed in 1993, it is the answer to a easy method of mounting antennas. There is a larger model, the Magnum EasyOn that uses plates 9" x 14" and twice the large U-bolts on the boom and mast for more strength. Still larger antennas receive the welded drop-in tilt mounting cradle. This allows the large, heavy antennas to be easily dropped into the mount and then secured.

Force 12 mounts the elements underneath the boom so that the antenna remains stabile. Elements above the boom make the antenna tend to rotate, causing a difficult installation. The page below shows some of the typical element mountings, with the riveted mounting evident. Larger element mountings are covered in the appropriate manuals. The PVC element sleeve is also shown. This sleeve is mainly a mechanical device to prevent compressing the elements during installation and is also an insulator on the driver elements. When used as a driver, the PVC slot should be aligned as indicated. Under normal operating, this is not critical; however, some users utilize the antennas on other bands (such as a C-3 80 meters!) and high voltage can occur here, so this PVC slot alignment aids in maximizing the air gap.