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Author Topic: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips  (Read 502 times)

AD5QA

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I moved into a no HOA area and looking to install a tower.

My property lines:

https://imgur.com/a/A2uqWps

This area I plan to put my tower base and that tree will be coming down. The lower window will be the location of my office and ham shack. This area is 11' x 12' area and would be looking to put up a crank tower so I can easily manage the antennas. Looking for a 30-40' which I think will be all I need.

https://imgur.com/a/QswQl1K
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WA2EIO

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2023, 03:59:55 PM »

I can 't tell what is at the back of your property, but I would consider putting the tower farther from the house; not only to prevent potential RFI to yourself, but your neighbors look to be  close by, and if the antenna is farther from them it might be better.   Also, be sure of any building permits/paperwork/drawings, etc. that might be  needed before you start.   Depends where you are moving; some municipalities will be easy; others will have you jumping through many hoops to get your permits!   Having no HOA is great, but it doesn't mean you are completely free from any oversight.   The new neighbors might need to be on-board with the tower;  they may be a first stumbling block.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2023, 04:04:45 PM by WA2EIO »
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AD5QA

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2023, 04:15:56 PM »

Great points and yes I will have to get approval with city and permit. Having mentioned RFI great point and then will have to put behind a shed they will be planted further back. thanks for the recommendations. I won't start untill all my planning is complete so later this year. Until then dipole fun.
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WA2EIO

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2023, 04:54:33 PM »

Putting it farther back might also give you an end  to secure a wire from the house out to the tower, so some other type of an additional wire antenna!  I would look for a good "bury-able" coax to feed the  antenna on the tower and a cable with similar properties to control the rotor, since they will now be a distance from the station.
Good luck with the installation, hope you can get it done with the Spring/Summer weather coming up later this year.
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WV4L

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2023, 07:13:54 AM »

Looks like you have some trees to manage as well. Include them in your future antenna plans. Trees are a mainstay for supports for wire antennas(which you already know) but you need to make sure that you will have access to your tower when laid over. Take into account the area you will need to lay the tower over (if that is part of your installation) when deciding where to place it. Crank ups are great and provide good access when you need to install something new or troubleshoot what you have. Good luck on your install!

73
Wayne C.
WV4L
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KC3TEC

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2023, 07:24:21 AM »

I moved into a no HOA area and looking to install a tower.

My property lines:

https://imgur.com/a/A2uqWps

This area I plan to put my tower base and that tree will be coming down. The lower window will be the location of my office and ham shack. This area is 11' x 12' area and would be looking to put up a crank tower so I can easily manage the antennas. Looking for a 30-40' which I think will be all I need.

https://imgur.com/a/QswQl1K

The best position for the tower should be center between your house and property line behind the house.
It has the room for a tower and safe zone distance if the tower should fall.
Plus plenty of room for guy wires
While it will mean more feed line it will put the antenna well away from your neighbors.
Abs water line can be used as conduit as long as ends are sealed against water.

I use these
https://www.heyco.com/Liquid_Tight_Cordgrips/product.cfm?product=Liquid-Tight-Cordgrips-Pre-Assembled&section=Liquid_Tight_Cordgrips
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WB0U

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2023, 09:14:21 AM »

Learn from my mistakes:
1) Don't use a carpenter's level to judge if the tower is vertical if the tower section is tapered.
2) Avoid gray colored RG-8X coax.  Its outer jacket deteriorates from UV exposure.
3) Use 45 degree elbows instead of 90 degree elbows to make cable pulling easier through plastic pipe.
4) Make sure there is clearance thru tower section to insert antenna rotor 
5) Request and review engineering calculations used to determine wind load rating.

Regarding 5) above: Rohn calculates wind loading by dividing the tensile strength of the steel by a 1.5 safety factor.  Universal Towers just uses the  aluminum tensile strength with no safety factor.

Lynn WB0U
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AD5QA

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2023, 11:05:31 AM »

Thanks all for the great feedback I will use this info in my planning as well as more research.
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KD0VE

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2023, 06:27:46 AM »

Some of these suggestions are only relevant if you like experimenting with antennas.  My preferred place would be behind the trees in the rear of the house.  Expect the footing for the tower to be a significant fraction of the tower cost.  Give some thought to how the concrete for the footing will get from the street to the tower location.  Bury the ground rods for the lower legs before you fill the footing excavation.  Remember that the recommended approach for grounding is to have the tower ground tied into the utility ground at the house.  Consider a 70' tower so you can have a 1/4 wavelength height for 40M.  Plan a cross bar near the top of the tower with marine quality pulleys for raising and lowering wire antennas.  If you do VHF/UHF consider an additional antenna for the tower for those bands.  Bury a large diameter pipe (I used 4" non-perforated drain tile which was cheap and worked well) for the wiring to/from the tower.  Pull extra wire and feedline and a rope for future additional wire pulls.  Good luck, a nice tower and antennas definitely makes ham radio more fun.  You have enough space to have a nice antenna farm.
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KH6AQ

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2023, 08:06:57 AM »

My inputs:

KD0VE mentions giving thought to getting the concrete to the tower base. Also, how to get the tower to its final location? The lightest weight solution may be moving the sections of a non-crank up aluminum tower. An example is the Universal 15-40 aluminum tower weighing 111 lbs fully assembled.

https://www.texastowers.com/towers/ss.htm?tower_height=244

If you'd like to have low band inverted-vee antennas place the tower so these antennas will fit in their desired directions.

If you'd like to shunt feed the tower leave enough room for ground radials.

Height matters. The 7.5 deg takeoff-angle gain (think DX) of a 14 MHz dipole improves like so:

30'     0 dB
35'  1.8 dB
40'  3.2 dB
50'  4.4 dB
60'  5.3 dB
70'  6.8 dB
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N2SR

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Re: Moved and Building my station back up with tower, looking for tips
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2023, 08:58:45 AM »

Before the OP asks for "tips," he should decide on a basic plan on what he wants to do.

Two things need to be pointed out:

I. DO WHAT THE MANUFACTUER TELLS YOU TO DO. 
II.  DO NOT DO WHAT THE MANUFACTOR TELLS YOU NOT TO DO.

The OP mentioned a 30-40 foot crank up tower.  It sounds like he doesn't have the tower yet.  So, will the tower just be a crank up, or also fold-over?  If a fold-over, then near the house would likely not be a good idea.  Even if it's just a crank up, it's far easier to have the tower clear of trees and the house to make it easier to lift antennas from the ground to the top of the nested tower. 

What is the condition of the tower?  Does the tower need refurbishment?

Is the house in an HOA?  From Google Streetview, it sure looks like some sort of HOA or CC&R is in place.  Is a permit necessary for the installation of a tower?   If so, is planning board approval needed?   How about the neighbors?  Do they need to approve? 

What antenna(s) will be on the tower? 

What rotator will be used? 

As someone pointed out, a crankup is a self supporting tower, so a significant amount of concrete will be needed, which also means a significant hole needs to be dug.   The size of the hole depends on what the manufacturer specifies (see I above). 

Will this hole be dug by hand or with a machine?   

Typically forms need to be constructed. 
 
A rebar cage will need to be constructed. 

UFer grounds should also be considered.  They maybe required by the town.  There are books describing how to do this correctly. 

As someone said, how will the concrete get from the street to the hole?   

How will the tower get from the street/driveway to the concrete base? 

A tower is a big project.  You don't just "throw up a tower."  If you don't know how to do it correctly, or know someone who can help, then come back with specific questions or hire someone to do the installation for you. 
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Elect a clown.  Expect a circus.
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