Dave -
I would use staging with wooden planks which might be available from a
rental center. It would give you more working area and is much more stable.
You might have to move it around. We raised full size 1/4 wavelength 40
meter verticals in this way.
The staging is like what you see some painters or masons using around
houses.
Good luck
Dick - KB1H
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----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Haupt <emailw8nf@yahoo.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 4:08 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Do I need to climb my tubular tower?
> Hi all,
>
> Looks like I'm going to have a 50 foot crank-up
> tubular tower. 23 feet tall when nested.
> Self-supporting in 4 yards of concrete, probably.
>
> I'll be putting a tribander on it. The rotor will
> mount at the top of the tower - this is not a rotating
> tower.
>
> How do I get the tribander up there? The yard in
> which the tower is planted is far too small for the
> antenna to be fully assembled at ground level.
>
> Until I get up to 12 feet off the ground, there is
> house, shed, fence, or tree within 10 feet in every
> direction, except for a 30 degree arc where the
> distance is about 20 feet. Because of zero lot lines
> and houses within a few feet on each side, there is no
> way to get a boom truck back there.
>
> Assuming it's a triband Yagi, I think the approach is
> to mount the boom at the 12 foot height level. This
> isn't trivial; the tower is 6" diameter at that
> height. So I think it will involve a homemade
> temporary bracket of some sort, possibly made of wood
> and employing hose clamps somehow. Haven't sorted out
> that detail yet, but I think it's possible.
>
> Then, using a large stepladder, install the elements
> to the boom, while the boom is at the 12 foot height.
>
> Then, somehow shinny the beam up to the top of the
> tower, in the process getting it past the rotor.
>
> So, it sounds like I'm going to have to climb this
> tower while it's nested.
>
> Has anybody done this before? I can imagine adding
> various brackets, again probably wood bits clamped to
> the tower, for foot rests, to enable climbing it. I'd
> have to consider very carefully how to attach the
> climbing belt - I won't sacrifice safety. If the
> method of climbing is slow, that's OK, as I don't plan
> to do it much.
>
> Once the beam's shinnied up to just under the rotor,
> have to figure some cable/chain, etc configuration so
> that if I lose hold of it while moving it to a
> position above the rotor, it can't fall.
>
> The whole thing seems more possible because the
> "height" work is only at 23 feet, not 50, but it's
> clearly not without risk.
>
> A possible alternative is to attach a pulley to the
> top and haul the beam up that way. I still have to
> get myself up there to do the attaching, which will
> require again either climing the thing or finding a
> ladder tall enough, which is not a trivial task in
> itself.
>
> Thoughts? Alternatives? BTDT?
>
> Thanks for tolerating me as I "do" my very first tower
> install...
>
> 73,
>
> Dave W8NF
>
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