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[TowerTalk] N00b Tower Question

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] N00b Tower Question
From: Jeff Carter <towertalk@hidden-valley.com>
Reply-to: towertalk@hidden-valley.com
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:29:56 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hi,

I was referred to this group by the folks over at SEDXC.  I have scoured your 
archives for mention of this tower, but either my search skills fail me or 
this thing really is one-of-a-kind.  There were some folks over at eHam that 
heard of it, but not in years, and none of them had any data much except they 
believed the tower was as old as I am (40).

I want to install this tower, and I want to do it properly.  I've spent money 
just getting it on-site, and I'm willing to spend more to install it as it 
should be installed.  To this end, I've assembled some bits and pieces toward 
the project, but I'm just not clear how to best proceed.  I really want to do 
the work myself if possible, not out of penny-pinching as much as I'd like to 
have the sense of accomplishment.

What I have so far:

A Tri-Ex 71' HZN-471 Crank Up Tower (pictures on the link below)

http://168.28.186.6/techshop/cfp/tower/tower.htm

A Cushcraft A4S with the A744 add-on for 40m

(no pix yet, but I've ordered the rebuild kit from Cushcraft and might make 
some pictures of the rebuild process to help others down the line, if anybody 
thinks this is worth doing)

No rotor/thrust bearing/whatever yet

There are a dozen sites that lovingly detail the installation of a tower, but 
while they are all similar they are all different, too.  My tower, as you can 
see from the pictures, is older (40 yrs?) and is thus no longer supported by 
engineering drawings or anything per Karl at Tashtowers, the successor company 
to Tri-Ex.  The closest thing seems to be the LM-470, but the 
detail in the engineering drawings for the base isn't really clear to me.

The guys on eHam said the tower seemed sound in the pictures, but that was 
about the extent of what they were able to say.  I believe they were all in 
California, so an on-site inspection was out of the question.

Is there a site I've missed that has good newbie tower base information?  The 
only time I ever did concrete was putting up 12' satellite dishes...this is a 
quantum leap, and I'm very aware that once I've poured 4 yds of concrete, 
it's forever.

I'd be particularly interested in the experiences of anyone who has put up a 
similar tower, but I would be grateful for any advice, links, expressions of 
pity, and especially any input that gets me closer to seeing this beast 
vertical instead of lying on the ground.

I'm perfectly willing to be handed a link with good info, if I have merely 
overlooked it.  I just can't find anything on my own that's coming across 
with the sort of clarity I'd like to have.

Thanks in advance,
Jeff/KD4RBG
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