For years, I've been using a heavy low-stretch rope as the main tram line for tramming antennas up and down the 80 foot tower. It's worked well, but it's a borrowed rope, and it may not be available
Thanks for all the responses. Looks like EHS is the way to go. I like the idea of using Big Grips on the ends so that the terminations are adjustable and so the pulley can travel right up to the mast
IMHO, the assumption of a crankup puts you in a well-above-average cost bracket. The low-end costs you suggest for the tower and installation are probably too low for a crankup. If you are trying to
My 45G tower is supported by three levels of guys. At each anchor, I have a EP2534-3 3-hole equalizer plate. The plan is to upgrade the top level of guys with a TA45 "star guy" bracket. This will req
The March/April 2004 issue of NCJ has a great article by Al Christman, K3LC, on optimizing the number and length of radials given the amount of wire available and the type of soil in which the radial
If you want to check the bearing out while you have the tower down and it's accessible, that's a pretty good idea. Much better than trying to figure out how to fix it when everything is up. I posted
You can do a lot of research on this, but a good answer with no research is: First insulator three feet away from the tower. Second and any additional insulators placed every 27 feet thereafter. Use
Just came into the shack to test out the rig and see if things are working for SS this weekend. The OR-2800 is pointing at 328 deg, and the indicator reads correctly, but when instructed to move, it
Well, my half-hearted assault on the tower seems to have been enough to do the trick. Came back inside to try a few more things and it just started working. Give me a break. Thanks to you and everyon
With the installation of a new 40m antenna here, I've been planning to beef up the strength of my tower. The plan is to add double or "star" guying at one or more guy levels on the tower. Rohn sells
I hate buying nuts and bolts at HD. Nobody ever puts things back in the right box. For nuts and bolts and some other kinds of steel hardware, find your local industrial fastener supplier. These place
Hi all, Not far into the contest this weekend, we began to have trouble with the TIC 1022E [a 2003 unit]. It exhibits erratic readout and rotation behavior. The load is an Optibeam 4-el 40m yagi. I r
Hi Billy, Thanks for the note. I have been acutely aware of that possibility. In fact, I setup a video camera aimed at the tower to help diagnose this problem. It lets me see where the antennas are a
John, I want to second the suggestion from Ken that you try a photo simulation. See my article in QST Feb 2001, "Raise Your Tower Without Breaking Ground!" on page 73. 73, Jim K1IR As a zoner of cell
A week ago I finished installing my new custom torque arm guy bracket on the tower. I use 1/4" EHS wire rope for all guys. Recommended guy tension for a standard single guy wire is 600 pounds [10% of
For safety and long life [the towers and yours] you want BRAND NEW guy grips. You can get a good price on guy grips from Graybar www.graybar.com. This is what I found when I was looking for the grips
Frank - you are correct. Thanks for pointing this out. I did purchase these on the recommendation of Preformed Line Products - I'll be checking with them when they get back from vacation to confirm t
Can we make this thing multi-purpose by insulating it and feeding it? plug for a permanent safety system on your tower. This can be as simple as a 3/8" galvanized steel cable that is well anchored to
A couple of months ago, I acquired a used M2 positioner and controller. Unfortunately, there were problems with the unit. I just wanted to report here that the people at M2 were VERY supportive in he
How do you calculate the wind load of a plastic owl? Please do not respond. I am just trying to make trouble. Jim Idelson K1IR email k1ir at designet.com web http://www.designet.com/k1ir ____________