A local radio station in my area (WNBY AM & FM)lost their tower last winter when someone pulling a snowmobile trailer was turning around in their parking lot and caught one of the guy anchors with th
I do commercial tower work, and I would definitely recommend a hard hat and long pants. But one thing I will not do is ride a crane! I can control what I do on a tower, but I have absolutely no contr
Yes, you could break a guy and not take out the tower, but in this case (WNBY) I believe it broke the guy anchor. There were only three anchors for the whole tower, with all the guys for one side of
Most likely you'll find that one or more of the legs have been bent in at the top. If this is a new section (never installed) then there's a chance it was a manufacturing defect. I have run into new
This is one reason to use heavy galvanized steel plate instead of aluminum. There's just too much stress on these plates to use anything which fatigues easily. Ethan KC8HES __________________________
Funny! Yes, it's almost that bad... but there is some good advice in that BLM document linked to above. You just have to pick it out of the rest of the bureaucratic junk. My advice on tower climbing:
Rohn tower bolts can be found in many hardware stores. Use grade 5, fine-thread zinc-plated bolts, 1.5" long, three 1/4" and three 5/16" bolts per section. This is exactly what Rohn has shipped with
True, a lot depends on conditions. And 25G less than 50 feet is very strong and can take a lot of punishment, even having joints not tightened correctly. I have climbed towers with loose joints above
Rohn has never, as far as I know, used hot-dip galvanized bolts for their 25G towers. Galvanized bolts would have to have greater tolerances to accommodate the zinc, and that likely would weaken such
I've used several different brands of connectors on 1/2" Heliax, and the assembly instructions are all pretty similar, but the specifics vary. Basically you need to trim the cable so a small length o
<SNIP> Since this wasn't pointed out very well, I thought I should mention it. Bear in mind that this is 75 ohm smooth aluminum CATV hardline, the type commonly found on poles or buried in front of y
Commercial towers use lightning rods quite often, though not always. There are almost always antennas at the top of the tower, simply because that's the only position that's not partly shielded by th
Yes, be careful! Also, use the right gin pole for the job, attach it among the tower braces, and never lift more than one section at a time! People have been killed while attempting to take shortcuts
Careful, when you use pipe that way you don't have any vertical support for your cables in the pipe. The full length of the cable hangs from whatever support you have at the top, and depending on the
Electrical tape is by far better. Even UV cable ties will deteriorate in a few years. I've seen towers where you could stand at the bottom of the tower, grab a feedline and pull out, and have all the
Now I've taken old tape off towers and found bright shiny zinc underneath. I suppose that's where the YMMV comes in! Anyway, thanks for mentioning that. It may be that in certain environments (perhap
I can attest to the truth of this. The only time I've ever discovered myself disconnecting the last line from the tower while more than a few feet above the ground was when I was descending and tired
Doug Renwick wrote: IMO if you can't free climb a tower then maybe you shouldn't be climbing at all. One or preferably two connections at the work level is advised. Do not rush. Test your connection
Doug Renwick wrote: If this description of the fatal event is correct then one possibility is that being belted-in in his decent may have contributed to his fall. If he used both hands to unhook his
It's because of the simple fact that even the professionals are not following all the proper safety procedures. They may be trained and certified, but they then set all that aside and use unsafe proc