I converted a hand crank tower to a Dutton-Lainson worm gear (40-1) winch which is hand crankable but use a heavy duty 1/2" chuck Craftsman electric drill for the power. Had a machinist friend make an adapter to fit in the chuck and over the shaft on the winch.  Have been very pleased with the set up. Warn also makes some good value winches. Your thoughts to use a worm gear winch are very wise. Definitely adds an extra measure of safety.

73,
Russ

I have assisted in taking down several towers across the years. I hidden danger is the rusting from the inside of the down tubes, some so thin that they would fall if brackets or guys were removed.  Many of these tubes look fine on the outside but are an accident waiting to happen.  You have been given good advice and no one is trying to dampen your enthusiasm for a tower. We don't want you or others getting hurt.

73 and stay safe,
Russ

Well I have been in a lot of jails and have never seen any lightning that has been arrested.  As has been well pointed out, we do other things to minimize damage like with surge protectors and grounding. I have a long wire antenna for my Icom 7000 and  despite lots of grounding I disconnect it and direct it to ground by a big ceramic base knife switch when any electrical storm activity is within 30 miles. I wish manufactures and suppliers would stop using the term "lightning arrestor" when most are just a static bleed spark gap. When lightning is truly arrested pigs will fly at Mach I.

73,
Russ

Well just for starters and others will jump in . . . . the end tied off to the edge of the roof in most cases is going to have a metal gutter or at least a metal drip edge.  Not good. The other end about 4' from the ground will have high voltage as in any dipole and will be a safety hazzard. Ten feet is recommended.

73 and stay safe,

Russ

No way!! You all got it wrong. This structure is what remains of a giant bird feeder located here in Newark, Ohio. The horizontal structural members supported a wooded platform and mounted in the center of it was a 50' high wooden silo. The wire which you think are elements of an antenna are actually perches for birds.  During the predawn hours of April 1st. of each year the silo was filled with bird seed from a train ore car on nearby siding.  With first light birds came by the millions from all over the world for this annual treat. Levels in the silo dropped rapidly but the ingenious development by local hams of the What Bird Meter monitored species and numbers of birds and alerted officials when to send for more seed. Don, K2DC, I am surprised you didn't remember this infamous structure from you were a little guy living here in Newark.   

73 and keep smiling,
Russ

Dave, NK7Z is correct in that old licenses were destroyed. But the FCC did not store licenses in St. Louis but in the FCC building in Gettysburg, PA and they were kept in the basement of that building which was hit by that great flood of about the same time period of the St. Louis fire.

Around 2007 I contacted the FCC to try and verify the date of my first licence which was a K3 call. I was trying to submit proof of 50 years as a licensed ham to the QCWA for their 50 recognition certificate. Direct phone contact with the FCC in Washington and with a gentleman who previously worked in the Gettysburg office is the source of my info. By the way, I was able to establish the date I was looking for by contacting hams with calls either side of mine and close in sequence and using QRZ lookup. Two hams were kind enough to submit verification to QCWA that showed I was licensed in August of 1957.  I know that doesn't help you but may help someone else establish a license date.

73, Russ

I  picked up a  lonesome center channel speaker from a surround sound array. The center channel speaker is designed for the narrative voice from movies. From their specs they seemed to be perfect and have proven to be so for HF audio on my FT-950.  It's a Sony and I got it for $8 at a thrift store. I have since seen more of them. Look around.

73,
Russ

I just want to comment on your valid concern of collapsing the sections if you use guys with a downward tension. I have done similar supports with telescoping masts and have drilled a 1/8" hole at each overlap joint and used a stainless machine screw and stop nut to prevent collapse. Good luck.

73,
Russ

I use 1/2" copper refrigeration tubing to connect ground rods. It has a surface area almost equivalent to 2' flat copper strap. I pick up scraps here and there at salvage places, just being sure to get pieces 15-16'. I flatten the ends for about 2" and form them around 5/8" bolts to match the ground rod, then attach them with strong brass acorn clamp nuts. I always use Harger copper grease on these connections then tape them well with wide rubber tape. I have taken them apart years later and they are as good as new. The copper tubing I use allows for gentle bends with about a 6" radius. I am trusting this gives me a fairly low impedance path.

73,
Russ

Again thanks to all. Ms. Tisha, you make some good observations. Bob, this old goat is older than you, you old goat. I heard about your spraying the northern part of the county with DeOxit.   It is good stuff. Right now I'm thinking of just making sure the connectors are clean and seal them with my 3M 2228 moisture sealing tape and Super 88 over that.

73, Russ

Thanks guys for your wisdom. I am a good sealer using 3M 2228 moisture sealing tape and Super 88. For some reason I got the obsession to make it even better with some grease. I will follow your collective advice.

73,
Russ

Thanks Ray but perhaps I wasn't clear in my post. I want to inhibit any oxidation where the center lead plug seats in the center lead jack. Would think I need conductive grease. But I will check RadioWorks website.

73,
Russ

I take pride in sealing my coax connectors to prevent and corrosion or oxidation but sometimes I find a slight film of oxidation on the plug tip. So my question is...should I consider a very thin film of NoAlox or Penetrox on the plug of the 259 or in the jack of the 239?  I realize that there could be the risk of creating a current path I would want to avoid but just wondered if a minute amount of either treatment might be warranted? I live in Ohio far from any salt environment.

73 and thanks,
Russs

I have noticed on www.govdeals.com, a service  that countless cities and counties subscribe to as a means of auctioning off surplus equipment, that already there are auctions offering wide band equipment. Hand helds and mobiles often sell as group lots and not individually which leads me to think they are being purchased for resale. On another note I have been informed that manufactures of two way equipment are buying back the old wideband radios and destroying them to keep them off the market. Having spent 30+ years in public administration I do know that government entities must sell surplus at auction and not in the flea market style. How does all my rambling relate to Dayton and other large hamfests? I have no idea. 

73,
Russ

My comment on this topic is driven by the real fact that we are not first responders.  We only deploy in community emergencies if requested by public safety authorities. Therefore my vehicle gear is minimal and focused on my sky warn spotter activities. So that sort of limits vehicle gear to my mobile 2M and 440 rigs and rain/snow clothing, maps ,flash lights, etc.

My go bag/kit for general called out ARES duty is the typical bag most of us keep ready at home. No need to list the numerous items. If called out I would deploy from home where I can dress for the weather and grab fresh water and snacks. Just my opinion.

73,
Russ