On 15 Aug 2003 10:54:26 -0700, (Brian Kelly) wrote:

Roger Halstead wrote in message . ..
On 12 Aug 2003 09:08:08 -0700, (Brian Kelly) wrote:


snip

http://www.rogerhalstead.com/tower.htm

Yumpin Yesus! Whatta "backyard" antenna farm!

Thanks...I think...:-))

All put up by hand...Mine...with the aid of a friend pulling on the
rope to the gin pole now and then. Took something like 2 to 2 1/2
years to finish. When I started I figured maybe a couple of months.

"One of these days" I plan on going up there and shooting a panorama
and then stitching the photos together. I've done several partials,
but I really need to fasten the camera to the mast and then turn the
thing maybe 20 to 30 degrees for each shot.

I gotta take the mast out of the rotor, the rotor out of the tower,
then unbolt the tribander, hook up a come along, loosen the thrust
bearings and THEN let the mast down to the point where I can work on
the 6 meter antenna . The boom support came loose and now just lays
on top of the boom instead of holding it up. No problem for wind, but
if we get any ice it'll be all done.

As long as I have that much to do, I will probably lower the whole
works down to where I can replace the pig tails from four antenna
systems. I don't know if I'm going to leave the vertically polarized
144 and 440 arrays up, or just replace them with a "repeater" duo band
vertical and lower the top of the mast by 14 feet.

The only machine work was digging the holes for the guy anchors. It
took me two days to dig the one for the tower base and I had lost all
desire to dig three more about 2 1/2 times that size. The guy that
dug the holes "with a back hoe" shown in the photos, had a pole he
could fasten to the bucket on the front and he used that to carry the
guy anchor posts and set them in place. It was well worth the price.


snip
Ya take the vertical antenna & mast load out with a thrust bearing
either in the top plate or somewhere close to the top, run some loosly
guided 2-3" EMT down the tower and . . . does a great job of knocking
down the torsional start/braking/wind spikes throughout the system AND
reduces the number of climbs. A second thrust brg just above the
rotator is even better. I dunno where they come from.

This is pretty much the way mine is set up, except I use both 1 1/2
and 2 inch steel tube with 1/4 inch wall. Thrust bearing at the top
of the tower and one just above the rotor which is about 25 feet or so
down in the tower.

I didn't want to run the steel tubing all the way to the ground as
with this antenna load it would get pretty "springy".

The ROHN 3" thrust bearings are "about" $80 to $85 each. Maybe more
now. You can get them from quite a few distributors. Mine came from
Texas Towers. The tower itself was a closeout from Michigan Radio
down in MtClements MI.

Another "one of these days" I'd like to replace the steel tubing with
1/4 inch wall chrome molly. Tis expensive, but I'm not going to be
able to keep climbing forever. (although I'd kinda like to think so)

Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)



Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)

w3rv