Hi, Brad and all,
I have two questions for the group...
I find myself in the same position as Brad a few months ago - I'm going to
be installing an HDX-555. Richard, W7ZR, seems to have implemented an easy
and inexpensive alternative to the MD-75 Motor Drive to raise and lower the
tower.
I'm tempted to forgo the $1,750 for the MD-75 and use a hand crank, then
upgrade to a winch motor as W7ZR did.
First question - Am I missing something important here? Is this a safe,
commonly used method?
My next question is about the raising feature. Can someone give me a
clearance measurement between the tower leg and the maximum extension of
the winch handle on the raising fixture? My tower base is adjacent to the
wall of my house and I want to use the raising fixture if I have enough
clearance.
(Brad, what did you end up doing?)
Thanks, everyone for all the knowledge that I read in the archives that
keeps me from posting, but occasionally I have even more questions!
73,
Mickey N4MB
Fort Lauderdale, FL
On Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 12:34 PM, Julio Peralta <jperalta4@verizon.net>wrote:
> It really scares me to crank a tower down/up without being in a position to
> watch it. That is a lot of metal moving and a lot of things could go wrong
> like the coax getting tangled in the wind and wrapping around the tower or
> worse.
>
> I agree the motor drive is a must have and I have the remote. The only time
> I would consider using the remote is if I wasn't home and some bad storm
> came up then I would tell my wife to lower the tower from inside.
>
> Julio, W4HY
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> Patrick Greenlee
> Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2013 11:43 AM
> To: TOWERTALK@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] HDX-555
>
> Manual or electric crank up/down??
>
> A thunderstorm or other situation develops with possible high winds. Would
> you rather throw a switch from inside the shack or go out in the rain/hail
> and risk electrocution to lower the tower for better survival odds?
>
> You get up early and want to ham it up a bit so you dress warmly and slog
> out through the snow (cold and damp, dew, cold wind, or whatever) to crank
> up the tower.
>
> You are finished with your station for the day. It is late and you are
> tired. Do you leave the tower up to risk damage if a storm brews up or do
> you do the prudent thing and go out into the night to lower it.
>
> Electric remote crank up/down isn't just a luxury, as given human nature
> you
> will rationalize risking leaving the tower up instead of going out in the
> extant conditions which may be uncomfortable to get a workout. If you have
> remote electric you can leave the tower down and safe when not being used
> and not have to agonize over whether you will "take care of business" and
> do
> the right thing or just take your chances. Auto-Electric is terrific tower
> insurance as with it you will lower the tower for best survival whereas
> without it you will eventually tire of the hassle and just leave it up.
> Maybe you will be lucky... and maybe not. Many of us owe our existence to
> wishful thinking and lack of proper preparation.
>
> If you buy a tower of sufficient strength (wind rating) to not need to
> lower
> it for strong winds you may spend more than a "standard" tower with remote
> electric up/down.
>
> Yesterday I was at the QTH of an older ham (80+) along with a couple other
> volunteer hams to put up an antenna mast and install an antenna, run coax,
> pound ground rods, etc.. The weather.com hour by hour forecast I got 15
> min
> before I left home was for 0% rain through early afternoon and then an
> increase to 10, 20, 30, and 40% 2-5PM. The thunderstorm hit at about
> 10:00.
>
> Nearest lightning strike was a couple hundred yards away. Very spectacular.
> We prudently cancelled and stayed off the roof of the metal bld and did not
> raise the 34 ft mast. My point? Ma Nature can be sneaky, forecasts are
> not
> 100% reliable, so there is no way to be sure when it is safe to leave the
> tower up in much of our areas.
>
> Feel lucky, do ya?
>
> 73
>
> Patrick AF5CK
>
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--
Mickey Baker, N4MB
Fort Lauderdale, FL
*“Tell me, and I will listen. Show me, and I will understand. Involve me,
and I will learn.” *Teton Lakota, American Indian Saying.
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