The installation of conductors on poles and towers must be accomplished in a manner to provide an electric circuit that will operate reliably and not endanger the public. Conductors with surface scratches or defects energized at high voltages will have corona losses and generate radio-interference voltages that will be transmitted through the atmosphere.

Slack Conductor Stringing. Slack conductor stringing is limited to short lengths of line operating at low voltages utilizing conductors with a weatherproof covering or installations where scratches on the surface of the conductor are not important. Scratches on ground or neutral conductors will not cause problems if the strength of the wire is not impaired.

The reels of wire can be mounted on a vehicle in such a manner that the reels are free to rotate. The ends of the conductors are fastened to a pole, tower footing, or other fixed object. The vehicle is then slowly propelled along the route of the line, allowing the conductors to unwind as the reels are moved forward. In this method the conductors are not dragged over the ground, causing them to become scratched or damaged. They are simply laid out on the ground without being pulled over it. The method, however, cannot be used on one-circuit tower lines or on X-braced H-frame lines because the center or middle conductor must be placed over the internal framework of the tower or over the X braces of the H frames. This obviously is impossible if the reels are on the...