| W4UNP |
Rating:      |
2012-04-18 | |
| Antenna Remove/Install |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Don did a great job on my antenna project for a very reasonable charge. He had good suggestions on all the details and explained the "why" of the suggestions. Would not hesitate to recommend him to do your tower work. Bill W4UNP |
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| KF3B |
Rating:      |
2012-04-05 | |
| Super job in tough conditions |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I asked Don and John, W2GD, to take down an M2 20M6-125 from its 182 ft high location. About 8 feet below it on a K0XG ring was a 15M6-125. Both Don and John were familiar with the station having been here before often.
But neither Don, John or I had expected the work to be performed in 20 mph winds with 35+ mph gusts. Well, the day started off relatively calmly and the boys rigged the 20M6 for tram line removal. About five minutes before the last securing u-bolt was removed, the wind picked up.
We had two other able helpers on the ground so the five of us pressed on. If there had been any even slight error in the rigging, we would have had a mess.
The happy end of the story is that the heavy and long antenna came down in difficult conditions without any problem. (We did utter the occasional curse word, however.)
Then Don and John proceeded in windy conditions to replace the 15M6-125's faulty balun. Not an easy job in any conditions.
They were on the tower for at least six hours. The weather was less than ideal. They got the job done safely and efficiently. Great work guys!
They've been here before often, but not so impressively that I felt obliged to praise them publicly. This time they earned it.
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| N4TG |
Rating:      |
2012-04-02 | |
| Fine work. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Don (and an able assistant) came by last Sunday (on the way back home from a job in West Tennessee) and took down my TH7, slopers, mast, thrust bearing and rotator from my tower. They had been up over 20 years and were in poor shape. The work went quickly and efficiently. I've already shipped off my rotator to the person Don recommended and we discussed my plans to go back up with a 5 band beam. Don will be back when I get the new beam and put it up along with 3 slopers, the mast, rotator and associated cables. Looking forward to it! |
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| WA4PKD |
Rating:      |
2012-03-08 | |
| Great service at a reasonable price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I had just received my Zero Five ground plane, so I called Don to help with the installation. Since he lives close by, Don came over one afternoon to scope things out. He suggested the best and least costly installation of attaching a pole to an existing 4X4 post. Don recommended the appropriate coax to order and told me to call him when it came in. Meanwhile, I got laid up in the hospital for a while and was instructed not to bend or climb ladders. When the coax came in, I contacted Don to help get the antenna in the air. When he came over, all I had was the antenna still in the box and 100 feet of coax. Don, did all the work. All I did was watch and hand him tools. He not only assembled the antenna and put it on a pole that he furnished, Don buried the coax and trimmed some limbs that were in the way. After making the connections, Don came inside the shack to make sure that everything worked ok.
I was expecting a large bill, but he was very reasonable. I will definitely call on Don again when I need expert antenna help. I highly recommend him for any antenna project, big or small. |
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| W4TUN |
Rating:      |
2012-02-28 | |
| I'm Impressed. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
You may get your friends to help you for free, you may find someone that will put it up for less, you may find someone to put it up faster, but you won't find anyone that has the experience and ability to put up your tower and antenna's the right way the first time.
What does that mean, it means that Don pays very close attention to all details, is sure he has all the right parts and is not "jerry rigging" anything, and takes his time to see that it is done right the first time. And in the long run that is the economical way to go. Do it right the first time and a beam and tower combination will last for years without contast attention and that's what you get with Don.
I am able to have only a modest system. One tower, 50 foot with a hf beam and a couple of vhf attentions. Don spent as much time making sure everything was right as he would of if I was putting up 10 towers with stacked mono banders. He know how to get the most of a system, any system. what ever is right for you, you can be sure that it will perform the very best it is able.
Don suggested all antenna's, coax, rotor, everything. And for once in my life I followed the advice of the expert. What did I end up with? A system that the first day on hf had the first 14 out of 15 stations tell me I had the strongest signal on the band. That's what. Put Don's experience to work for you, it means the tower install will be done right the first time, nobody in a hurry to just get you on the air like the local club might do, that you have the best antenna systems for your situation, whether it's stacked mono banders at 200 feet or a modest beam at 60 feet. And you can be sure that after the next big wind storm, your tower will still be there in the morning.
To see my system visit my QrZ.COM page. If anyone wants to come see in person or chat with me on the phone, feel free to contact me as I would be happy to discuss Don or any aspect of my antennas with you. Happy to help you, this is a big investment and after all you do want to make sure you are doing it "right"!!!! |
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| N8GP |
Rating:      |
2012-02-18 | |
| The relief of hiring a professional |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Don's work ethic and expertise are exceptional. My yagis were in severe disarray and dysfunctional, Promptly arriving at my QTH, K4ZA methodically and professionally began to correct the many problems and mistakes made by a previous installer. All steps were explained in detail while the 20 and 40 meter yagis were repaired and then correctly installed. Inclement weather postponed installation of a 4 element Steppir until Don returns to Ohio. Don is a hard working professional you can trust that I highly recommend. |
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| NA9A |
Rating:      |
2012-02-17 | |
| OB18-6 Installation |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Proverbially speaking, I had built the boat in the basement with my new OB18-6 beam. Apparently the metric dimensions caused me to misjudge just how massive this antenna really was, as some of its 24 elements started reaching into the trees surrounding my tower as I assembled it.
You can’t get a crane into the woods so I couldn’t find anyone anxious to put it up for me-until K9XD told me about Don Daso. I wrote Don and he and his partner John, W2GD, came and worked creatively for three days-two removing the old beams from my 120-ft 55G tower and the last day getting the new one up top. They said the 245-pound Optibeam was the largest and most complex antenna they had raised without a crane, but they got it done, in the dark, on a 32-F January, 2012 evening.
I felt confident having these experienced hams mount my new antenna rather than using local commercial tower contractors, and the price, including air fare, room and food was very fair. I will definitely use them again.
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| W8AV |
Rating:      |
2011-12-31 | |
| Antenna Service |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have known Don for over 30 years now and recently had a chance to use him to service the antennas and rotator on one of my towers. Having used a local antenna guy in the past that is not familiar with amateur radio antenna installations, it was refreshing to have someone on the tower that is knowledgeable on what needed to be addressed. He took care of my problem quickly and effortlessly and I would recommend him to any ham who needs service on their towers and antennas. |
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| WA3WFA |
Rating:      |
2011-12-20 | |
| Excellent installation |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Don: professional and excellent installation of my vertical antenna. Willing to do a smaller job compared to his large tower work. Kept his word, always on time. I highly recommend him. |
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| W4CYS |
Rating:      |
2011-12-18 | |
| Great Advice, Installation & Service |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I phoned Don Daso, K4ZA, last year about installing a tower and antenna systems for me. I have a home on over 60 acres and wanted a nice antenna system to operate from 160M – 2M. So, the process began with me asking Don for advice.
We discussed several options, including using the C31XR I had at my last QTH. We finally decided to install 130 feet of Rohn 55G tower. The C31XR would be at 130 feet, a 6M beam above that, with an XM-240 shorty forty above that, and a 2M beam above that at 145 feet. Don was very instrumental in providing me sources to obtain stamped drawings, from a great Professional Engineer, for my Building Permit application.
Don and his climbing partner, W2GD, did the final installation of the tower and antenna systems. Sometimes you need an extra set of hands, and John also has lots of experience doing this work. Sometimes you just need the Experts/Masters and their professional level experience.
Don has been back to assist whenever I had a special need or to perform maintenance on the tower. Also, Don built a fan dipole for me that covers 160M & 80M that he placed at the 128 foot level on the tower. He also placed a 2M vertical at the 110 foot level, on a bracket he fabricated. He later installed two other antennas on the tower to cover my other responsibilities with Air Force M.A.R.S.
The bottom line is...you can't go wrong with Don’s work. He has over 45 years of experience with tower work, antenna installation, problem-solving, and maintenance duties. You’ll be very pleased when you talk with Don and authorize him to do your work.
Thank you,
Hank, W4CYS
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