|
|
|
|||
| Home
Page Overview Why Quality Audio? Goals Disclaimer Pictures of my Shack and
other Hams working in Audio SteppIR Info Where to get Audio
Equipment Audio Related Links Help with Audio Related
Problems How to fix DSP-100 problems (NEW)
in Questions answered #3
|
We had a devastating wind storm here this winter. Winds reached over 70MPH. My rotor broke and the antennas rotated through the trees that you see and where bent very badly requiring replacement of all of them. They were all Cushcraft mono banders. 10/15 interlaced on top. 20 meter and 40 on the bottom.
What the mess looked like before take down
Up the tower which is a Rohn 25 at 70 feet
Steve and Jerome Tower Tech crewmembers getting ready to clime the tower
Starting to work
Steve bringing the tram line up the tower
Another view of them attaching the tram line, looking up a guy wire
The 40 meter beam is starting to slide down the tram. The tram was connected between the tower mast and a tree in my front yard. The idea is to slide the beams down the tram line, which was about 200 feet long, until they were just over the front roof of my house and then slowly let them down on the roof by reducing tension on the tram line. If you have never seen taking down antennas with this type of antenna movement, it is quite exciting and efficient. We use this technique for lowering and raising large beams over the years very successfully.
The 40 meter beam is just about over the roof and will start coming down. You can see the tram line better here and how it is connected to the beam. You must be sure that the beam is balanced on the strap that is connected to the boom and then to the pulley on the tram line. The rope just behind the pulley goes up the tower to another pulley just above the beam to be lowered and then down to the base of the tower where a workman lets the line out to allow the antenna to go down the tram line.
Here is a better picture of Steve letting rope out to allow the antenna to travel down the tram line. Notice the line is looped around his body.
Here is the 20 meter beam coming down the tram line. Sorry to see it go, it gave me 341 countries on DXCC. It was a real killer. Note that the end of the boom is bent and hanging down. In the storm the trusses failed allowing the boom to bend.
Getting one out of the way to make room for the next one to come down.
A crewmember standing on top of the tower getting the 10/15 interlaced beam ready to come down the tram line. Just going up the tower is scary enough, I have done it once just to say I did it, but to stand on the very top and work would be more than I could stand to do. In fact I could hardly stand to look at him work. He does commercial towers and is hundreds of feet in the air so this little tower is a baby to him. Actually the biggest danger to these guys is getting too complacent.
Another view of him working on top.
The tower is empty including the rotor and waiting for the 3 element SteppIR to be placed on it.
|
|||
Copyright
© 2001- 2006 W3OZ All rights reserved