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Re: [TowerTalk] Tower Build

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower Build
From: Patrick Greenlee <patrick_g@windstream.net>
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2015 08:12:34 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Do you plan on having a professional company  provide a climber and or 
crane when you do any tweaking or tuning on the antenna.  Maybe you will 
be lucky and the antenna will be just perfect after careful assembly and 
never have a problem (Optibeams have a good reputation for structural 
integrity.)  So what about maintenance?  Rotators don't rotate maint 
free forever.  Then there is inspection/repair/renewal of coax, at least 
the "flexi-loop" at the rotator even if it never snags catastrophically. 
Will you be calling a pro to intervene in any/all of these or will, you 
do your own climbing, risking leaving a widow and orphans?
Maybe the above involve tradeoffs to consider when comparing and 
contrasting guyed vs unguyed.  Neither approach is a free lunch. Free 
standing tilt-over towers of the same height and load capacity in dead 
weight and windage have more moving parts and require more 
inspection/potential maintenance but you can safely tilt the tower and 
do the work yourself with your boots on the  ground.  It is a sort of 
good news/bad news story.  With a tilt over free stander you can do your 
own maint standing safely on the ground, the good news.   The bad news 
is there is more maint required.
If you have the real estate, the approval of your wife for guys and 
anchors, and the budget to hire all the climbing/crane work done, 
including ongoing inspections
preventative maint etc. there is no reason to select a tilt-over free 
stander.  If you intend to do your own tower work then safety for the 
head of the family is a 600lb gorilla in the room, hard to ignore.
I have a tilt tower with two sections.  The bottom section is guyed and 
hinged well above ground so releasing one guy allows it to be tilted 
nicely without falling derricks, gin poles, or helpers.  I have a 
Tashjian free standing tilt tower on order.  This and the above tower 
use appliances to keep the antenna from hitting the ground when tilting 
down to access the antenna with your boots on the ground, no ladder 
required.  The "magic" appliances are NN4ZZ products, a TiltPlate and 
its equivalent for a hex beam.
The largest TiltPlate will accommodate the big Optibeam.  I'm using it 
with  the SteppIR DB42 (250 lbs) and  the prop pitch rotator at 50 lbs 
plus a couple cast iron pillow block bearings plus mast etc. Without the 
TiltPlate or equivalent you can't lower the beam down low enough to work 
on the antenna, rotator, or whatever without a tall ladder which 
reintroduces the safety concern.  With the TiltPlate you can put the 
tower top equipment at a comfortable working height.  I typically prefer 
about chest high.
None of the above is intended to challenge the macho guyed tower 
climbers with 12 kids.  You guys are truly supermen, a cut above and are 
not intended recipients of the information or opinions above. I am a 
mere mortal commenting on a couple factors which might be of interest to 
other mere mortals, nothing of interest for you supermen.
Patrick    NJ5G



I plan on having a professional company do the install.

First, a copy of UP THE TOWER - The Complete Guide To Tower Construction is an excellent source of many answers to tower installation. Available from _www.championradio.com_ (http://www.championradio.com) .
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