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[TowerTalk] Rohn SSV … or is it? Stump the experts.

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Rohn SSV … or is it? Stump the experts.
From: John Todd <jtodd@loligo.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 22:00:12 -0700
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hello!
  I'm new to the list here, and I've jumped in way over my head.  :-)  I am 
building a new shop out here in rural Oregon, and figured while I'm at it, I 
should put in a ~100' tower for various antennas and cameras I wanted to set 
up.  Unlike most of you, the cart is before the horse - I don't have my ticket 
yet, but it's a matter of time and infrastructure.  I figure I'll first be 
using my tower for some mid-range (4-14 km) microwave data in unlicensed 
spectrum,  plus a 1080P PTZ IP camera for looking at the horizon that I can't 
see due to the thick forest in most directions. I might also put up some 
ultra-bright controllable multi-color LEDs that I can have set themselves to 
various color patterns for statuses (for example, a color slide that shows the 
number of minutes since someone last drove up the driveway so when I get close 
to home and see my tower on the horizon I know what to expect, etc.)  The 
amateur radio antennas will show up as soon as I have my shop done and a 
 safe warm place in the winter to put my butt in a chair and some equipment 
near a tower.  But there are some problems along with just the big tasks of 
"making a good foundation for the tower" and "hiring a crane and actually 
assembling the tower".  See below.

The Pictures:
  http://www.loligo.com/big-tower/

THE PROBLEMS:
  I have a free-standing tower that I got secondhand.  It was being used as a 
windmill tower, and was disassembled and stored in a backyard for 8+ years 
until I bought it and moved it to my place (possibly the most un-safe move I've 
ever done - long story, but moving big stuff off the top of an un-maintained 
mountain home clearing is a challenge.)  I know _nothing_ about the tower, 
though I strongly suspect it's a Rohn.  But I don't know how to identify the 
sections and there are no obvious maker marks - only assembly ID numbers.  
There are 5 20' sections of decreasing diameter with height, all of which 
except for the topmost section (shown in pictures) were partially disassembled 
for loading onto my trailer.  

Problem 1: Identify the tower.  Is this actually a Rohn?

Problem 2: Determine foundation structure.  I live on clay/shale that is 
incredibly difficult to dig through.  It took a special drill rig to go 5' down 
for my pole barn footings.  What's the best method to use in soil like this?  
Where do I find diagrams that have some math behind them that is understandable?

Problem 3: What are the hints?  I found this: 
http://www.do-it-yourself-tower.com/  which was great, but 75 yards of concrete 
I think is more than I'll need here.  Are there other quick hints on how to get 
the footings aligned and poured?

Problem 4: What are the limits?  The tower had a HUGE amount of rusty homebrew 
insanity on it that I have since removed (shown in the pictures, but now 
sitting in a pile in the driveway.)  There must have been 400 pounds of steel 
at the top of that thing, and I have no idea how much the windmill weighed.  I 
don't think I'll ever have anything even remotely approaching that kind of 
weight or cross-section, but it would be useful to know what the weight and/or 
square footage wind ratings are.  If I _could_ use it safely as a windmill 
base, that might be interesting for some point in the distant future.  It held 
up previously, obviously, but I don't know what kind of swept surface area was 
on the turbine previously on top.

Problem 5: I am missing the bolts to hold the sections together, and probably 
also missing some bolts, nuts, and locknuts for the struts since I didn't take 
them apart and the disassembly was a bit "roughshod".  Where can I get that 
kind of thing, in the appropriate galvanized format?

Problem 6: I now have a 120' Rohn 45G (with hinge, two top sections, guy 
connectors) that I was ready to set up but now seems redundant to my needs. 
(and a Tri-Ex H-354 crank-up, which came with it)  Anyone in the PNW want to 
buy either for a reasonable price?


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