Is it a matter of not being able to get the concrete
truck close to
the hole, or you can't get anything near the hole?
At my qth there was no way to get a concrete truck
closer than 150'
from my 130' tower base.
So I paid the guy with the backhoe to be at the
concrete pour.
We had the concrete truck pour (through the chute)
the concrete
into the backhoe shovel, about 1 cubic yard at a
time, and the
backhoe carried the concrete on my rock ledge over
VERY uneven
ground to the tower bases.
It went surprisingly fast and very well with
virtually no
concrete spillage.
I used a large backhoe. You can also rent a small
backhoe
with a small shovel and bulldozer plow and the small
ones
can fit almost anywhere and navigate highly uneven
ground
and rock ledge very easily.
The project should take less than 1 hour - I had the
large
backhoe fill two tower bases, and six guy anchors
with
20 cu yds of concrete in about 1 hour! Both tower
bases and
4 of the guy anchors were complete inaccessible to
the
concrete truck.
If you saw my QTH and where the tower bases and guy
anchors are in the
deep woods on rockledge, you would marvel at how it
was possible.
For the $200 I spent on the backhoe and operator, it
was amazingly
well worth it.
73
Bob KQ2M
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Coleman" <aa4lr@arrl.net>
To: <KI9A@aol.com>
Cc: <towertalk@contesting.com>;
<smc@w9smc.contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antenna height vs hassle
>
> On Aug 15, 2004, at 6:27 PM, KI9A@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I live on a small lot, can't really have
> > a guyed tower. I now have a roof tower with my 2
meter yagi at about
> > 27', the
> > A3 tribander at 30' & a 6 meter yagi at 33'.
>
> I had a similar situation at my old QTH - A3S at
35 feet, 2m boomer at
> 43 feet.
>
> > In order to put this 40' tower up, I would have
to hire out the hole
> > (5'x5'x5'), then hand carry all of the concrete
approx 120-150'
> > across the grass, on
> > an uneven area (ugh). No way to get the truck
any closer.
>
> Here's some alternatives. First, you don't
necessarily have to use a
> ready-mix truck. You could consider mixing the
concrete yourself. If
> you did this, you could rent a small mixer, and do
two bags at a time.
> (Note that it would take in excess of 100 bags, so
I wouldn't recommend
> this)
>
> Second, you can rent a powered wheelbarrow to
carry the concrete from
> the curb to the hole. either that, or get about
four good friends with
> wheelbarrows to shuttle the concrete across the
yard.
>
> Third, if the hole is downhill from the road, you
can rig up a trough
> to the hole. Failing that, you can rent a pump
truck to move the
> concrete uphill.
>
> > Bottom line is this...is the cost & hassle of
this worth the potential
> > gain?
> > If the tower was 60-80', I'd say of course, but,
going from 30' to
> > 45', I
> > dunno if there would be much improvement to be
worth it. I'm beginning
> > to think
> > not.
>
> At my old QTH, I have the A3S at 35 feet. Today it
is on a tower next
> to the house at just under 50 feet. It certainly
behaves differently,
> especially on 20m. Further, I have much less RFI
in the house.
>
> 125 cubic feet of concrete seems like a huge
hassle, but I've gotten
> much more enjoyment out of my station since I have
a (modestly)
> improved station.
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail:
aa4lr@arrl.net
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever
fly!"
> -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self
Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free,
1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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