Better get a disclaimer into the Towertalk FAQ.... Big Don -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@
There is a lot of discussion here on having drawings reviewed by a PE prior to getting the permit. In the grand scheme of things, if the goal is to make sure your expensive tower installation stays u
I bought some reject fiberglass pole-vaulting poles from the manufacturer to build a big quad. The company made me submit a letter to them certifying that I abso-GODDAM-lutely wasn't *ever* going to
I had some large diameter dowels "machined" for boom stiffening at a local high school wood shop, after I couldn't find any commercial shop that would tackle it. They will take on projects like this
Speaking of neighbors and lawyers fees, 1Jan98 is right around the corner and I haven't seen any definitive statement of how we confirm EMF limits compliance that is AFAIK required on that date... Bi
This seems to be the situation based on everything published so far. But come 1Jan98, unless your nearest neighbor is thousands of yards away, who wants to transmit without the hardcore compliance pa
The antennas aren't generally ~100' from a neighbor's house... Big Don -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com Administrative requests: towert
Hey, I tried it, this works real slick. A couple of points, tho. There are different allowables for "Controlled" and "Uncontrolled" environments. I couldn't find where those terms were defined. Also,
I know folks ride bucket trucks all day, everyday, and come home at night unscathed. However, in that grand spectrum of hazards and risk-taking, a bucket truck seems, conceptually, to rank right up t
To keep this discussion in perspective, Big Don puts three or four layers of whatever black electrical tape happens to be handy on exterior coax joints. No solemn multi-step sacred products, rituals,
If all antenna gain "truth" were known, and standards properly set, so that hardcore accurate gains could be correctly advertised, the winning (for example) tribander would advertise and the losers w
The issue is: Will ham mag publishers restrict the flow of valuable information to the troops (e.g., antenna gain, equip perfromance, et.al.) in order to please BigBux advertisers? Big Don cites a da
Grounded guys scares me to death. Remember the recent post about "four feet of an antenna disappearing" in a lightning strike ?? Picture four feet of one of your top (grounded) guys disappearing duri
Item of interest to the East Coast and Good Ol' Boy set... "Bigger hurricanes and more of them expected, forecasters say..." Full text is available at: http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/060397
As you suggest, the region behind the reflector may not be a fertile area for F/B-improving hardware. However, if one was inclined to experiment in this area, the following is submitted for completen
A vicious appearing/sounding dog, that will bark whenever something unusual occurs on your premises, is a worthy addition to your station. The neighbors already hate you anyway, right? Big Don (with
How about something that models the difference between stranded wire and solid wire (for the same length of wire), or doesn't the scientific community feel any such RF-radiation differences exist? Bi
Without any formal test data available to actually pin it down, Big Don based that question on what appeared just from casual observation to be performance differences between cubical quads built usi
I heard him get beat once in a pileup on 20m by another west coast station, he was the *2nd* qso after he started calling. You have to wonder how *that* would feel after going to so much work... Big
Recognize you need to be very careful with anything extra you attach to a crankup (rotor wire, coax, pull-down cables, extraneous bracketry...). Any of these items has the potential to foul the tower