Jim, Since you will only be lifting a few hundred pounds, a light crane is all you need ... the only thing you need is to be sure you have enough "reach". At WR1X, we put up a 90 foot tower using a 4
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:59:28 +0000
The answer is in the name: "thrust" is another name for force along the axis of the shaft/mast. The classic example of a thrust bearing is the bearing in a power drill that counters the force of the
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:32:16 +0000
I followed the procedure in this manual a couple of months back and it worked just fine: http://www.radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_rotator/CDE_HAM-4_user_W0MTU.pdf de KM1P Joe I have refurbished an old
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Wed, 12 May 2021 21:24:25 +0000
https://www.gmesupply.com/gme-supply-ham-radio-kit contains cost effective, safe fall arrest gear at ham prices. GME Supply also sells the individual components of the kit, , e.g the harness alone if
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:21:05 +0000
I just inspected a 90 foot tower I installed for a friend 35 years ago. I used the insulated solid copper wire technique every 5 feet to secure two runs of 3/4" Heliax, a rotor cable and some RG-59 t
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2022 16:47:28 +0000
Kelly asked: As soon as it get cheaper! That is largely why the cell phone people don't have much Heliax for us these days ... they put the radios at the top of the tower. de KM1P Joe _______________
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2023 19:10:46 +0000
Interesting. I had a notion that lattice towers fail due to exceeding the bending moment of the lower part of the structure trying to accelerate the upper portion too fast ... this is classic phenome
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2023 03:45:20 +0000
I think the trees are considered a part of nature rather than something built by people. A tree owner has no real control control over where the roots of their tree grow. Under Massachusetts law, you
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2023 00:18:16 +0000
To minimize the chance of a problem, use the old coax pull a rope through, and then use a cable pulling grip with some wire pulling lubricant on the new coax to help get around the turns. If you are
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:08:15 +0000
Hand raised, I have seen several and I am not even paying that much attention. I had an arc fault problem in my own house that resulted in a scorched wall outlet and adjacent wall, fortunately no fi
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2023 20:41:05 +0000
A wire wheel attachment on an angle grinder followed by a wipe down with an acetone soaked rag is my standard surface prep routine for steel. I was just looking at a handrail made from black steel pi
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2024 16:20:52 +0000
The Wayback machine is great for what it is, but in general if you have ham radio related information you want archived, consider contacting Kay Savetz K6KJN kay@archive.org to improve what is alread
Author: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald@alum.wpi.edu>
Date: Tue, 28 May 2024 21:06:13 +0000
I am interpreting "DOM" to be "drawn over mandrel" tube, which is almost certainly made of mild steel. That won't be as quite as good as chromoly from a strength and hardness standpoint, but might be