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Re: [TowerTalk] Basic Tower Question

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Basic Tower Question
From: "K8RI on TowerTalk" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 20:39:43 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>


> All,
>
>    I don't have any experience with towers of any sort.  Recently, I've 
> been doing some research to get familiar with tower installation issues 
> and so on.  I have a pretty basic tower-related question.
>
>     I see small towers for TV antennas around my neighborhood that appear 
> to be constructed with >something roughly equivalent to Rohn 20 (or maybe 
> even smaller).  Some of these towers approach 40-50 >feet by my rough 
> guess.

These are quite common.

>For small-frame towers like these, I'm wondering if they actually climbed 
>these things to install the antennas >or if they put the antennas and 
>rotators on top and then tilted the thing upright for installation.  I ask 
>this

Some times yes and sometimes no.  As to the safety it depends on the tower. 
The old American Steel which is pretty skinny (bout a foot on a side) was 
*relatively* strong when properly guyed.  I've climbed a few of those to 90 
fee, but that are a lot of them I wouldn't climb 40 feet.

>because some of these towers look small enough that I wouldn't want to 
>climb them (although, to be fair, I'm >not a brave climbing type anyway and 
>am not sure I will ever be a brave climbing type even with redundant 
> >climbing harnesses).

There's nothing wrong with setting limitations. We all do at some level or 
another.

>  I also ask because many of these towers I see around are not guyed like 
> ham towers would be.  Most of >them seem to be bracketed to the house, but 
> that's all and that seems to make for an exciting climb on a >small-frame 
> tower, many of which are now in somewhat of a rusty state.

NEVER climb a tower unless you know it's physical state and ratings.

I've made it most of the way to the top of some self supporting towers and 
said, "that's far enough!" and went back down.  If I'm not comfortable 
climbing a tower, or if I have any doubts I don't do it.

Most of those old, skinny, unguyed towers with a TV antenna on top were 
designed to put assembled on the ground, the antenna installed and then 
stood up and attached to the house bracket. Not all were put up that way, 
but ...

I'd like to find a couple of those old skinny HBX that I could put up as 
verticals on 40 or 75 but I'd not climb them.
>

Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com (Use return address from home page)
>      Just curious...
>
> Dave / K8JDC
>
>
>
>
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