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Reviews For: W2GD Antenna & Tower Installation, Repair, Painting

Category: Tower and Antenna Installers

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Review Summary For : W2GD Antenna & Tower Installation, Repair, Painting
Reviews: 118MSRP:
Description:
Description: Plans, installs, maintains, and repairs amateur radio antennas, towers, rotators and related cabling. Also paints rusting towers and performs Insurance Estimates. Nearly 50 years of amateur radio experience. Will provide service anywhere worldwide, with clients in the USA, Carribean, and South America. Member of the CQ Contest "Hall of Fame". Supports towers 20' to over 200', for Big Gun DXers, Contesters, and Little Pistols. Supports all types of antennas and towers. No task too small, no project too large. Reasonable rates. Contact John directly for a consultation and estimate. John Crovelli W2GD/P40W w2gd@hotmail.com 908-391-5611 (c)
Product is in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001185
W0UA Rating: 2009-03-19
Need a Real Pro? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
John Crovelli and I grew-up in the same era of contesting & of course I've known him for 30 + years, we've operated together, etc. But I didn't know how serious he was about this tower-business until summer, 2007. A friend here had 90-foot and 60-foot Rohn 25G's up in the mountains; he was moving & said, "You take 'em down, they're yours." This was on pretty short-notice...so I called John & he made room in his schedule to come out.
We were faced with the 2 towers, both loaded with antennas, feedlines, control-lines, etc, on a heavily-wooded hillside at 11,000 feet ASL (Pant!). Not to mention an 80M 4-square of Rohn 25's with stingers & radials. On the 90-footer was a 90 + foot 80M rotary dipole. Difficulty-factor: HIGH! Result: the entire job complete--safely--in less than 1.5 days. It took some serious improvisation at several points, but Johnny had the solutions & they worked. He worked it HARD and SMART and only left for his flight (2.5 hours away to DIA) when the LAST chore was complete and we had it all staged for loading & hauling. Only a world-class professional could tackle that job the way John did. Any wonder why world-class folks like NR5M have John on speed-dial?
One more note here: John is unique in his business because he knows what works...and what doesn't. He's not just a "climber;" he can advise and plan a best-case installation for your particular situation. And he'll tell you what your safe-limits are, too. Folks with John's combination of knowledge & abilities don't grow on trees!
So if the call is for a serious professional on any matter involving towers & antennas...someone who's the real-deal...and can do it all from concept to complete installation...that call should be to W2GD. Like me, you'll be glad you did!

Geo W0UA
WB3CQM Rating: 2009-03-17
Dream Station Comes True Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I knew I wanted to buy a AN Wireless Free Standing Tower and put a big antenna on it. I also knew the project was over my head. After reading the reviews on EHam I contacted John W2GD Oct 4 , 2008. John gave me a quote and asked a few questions. I sent another email and got answers and advice back really fast. John started to give me advice on what and how do order every thing. No detail was left out,John did change my mind on a number of things. You can not put a true price on doing things right the first time. After few emails and a phone call to John the AN Wireless HD70 tower Force 12 C-31XR Delta 240/230 , Prosistel 61D Rotor, Green Heron Control box, 500 feet Bury Flex and few more things were ordered.

Now the rush begins, Can we beat winter? short delays in receiving every thing ,I had to reschedule John and the crane.No problem with him.Lots of emails were exchanged over the weeks and if there was a reason he could not communicate with me for a while I knew why. Amazing how he answered emails and phone calls so quick and kept in contact . The tower base was in by now and with time to spare for cement to cure. Snow cold weather hits. John came out on a really cold day to inspect site and do antenna work. More cold weather and snow. Finally John calls to have the crane ordered and picks a Thursday for him and Bill W2RQ to come and do prep work on beams and tower. No time wasted with them every thing was finished Thursday and Friday they were here to meet the crane . But now we had colder weather with 7-10 mph west winds snow squalls and gust to 20 mph. John is all professional , his quote was right on and his advice was outstanding. I made my first contact January 9 2009 with new tower and antenna. I am very happy with the in tire station that John designed and built. No need to use a amp and I am experiencing ham radio like never before. Thank you John
N3RD Rating: 2008-12-14
Competent and reliable - An easy choice Time Owned: N.A.
John Crovelli, W2GD, has been doing antenna and tower work for quite some time, and making a name for himself in the process as very competent, reliant, and reasonably priced. I have an old 117' AB-105 tower that needed painting. I started it myself, but found it too time consuming. A call to John, and the tower was quickly painted top to bottom with high quality cold galvanize paint, after being thoroughly wire brushed. Great job.

A strong weather front passing through with high winds caused the top antenna on my 13' mast to twist. John climbed the mast and straightened it.

Recently (fall 2008) John has assisted in reinstallation of my antennas after their removal for routine maintenance, including a Force 12 EF-180C 80m rotary dipole and a homebrew 5 element 20m yagi.

Future work for John includes installation of a safety climbing wire on the side of the tower.

My experiences with John have been great. He is quick to respond to a telephone call, provides written estimates within days, and his work is of the highest quality, all at a very reasonable cost.

An easy choice for your tower/antenna work - regardless of the size of the job.
W2SZ Rating: 2008-09-26
Outstanding Work, Top Notch Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Major antenna/tower problems? John is the "goto" person. We had a major catastrophe on our hands. The mast clamp, holding our 11 el tribander & 2 el 40M beam on a 16 ft mast, separated from the rotator on our 120 ft tower. The antennas/mast wound up tilting at a 45 degree angle posing a potential tower collapse. John got the mast back to verticle to be able to get the antennas down for repair and back up again. My #1 choice: John without a doubt!!
W3LWH Rating: 2008-09-13
GREAT WORK Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am extremely pleased and happy with the professional work John has done for me. He assembled a Force 12 4-CSS yagi for me and mounted it on my tower. I have some health issues and couldn’t accomplish this task myself. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my friend Tony, W3HD, for his help also. If you are looking for a professional installation of antennas and towers John is your man.

Thanks John !!
Bill, W3LWH
N2PKN Rating: 2008-06-07
GREAT !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
John took down my a3s and other vhf and uhf antennas,rebuilt the beam and replaced all coax.He did a super job and now my rotor went south soooooo called Jonh to come back to put up the new rotor.GREAT GUY !!!!
W3MR Rating: 2008-05-22
Overcomes challenges Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been planning a new tower installation for several years and the local permission took almost 2 years. John was there to help with planning all the way and when I got the permits, John was there to inspect the tower base and for the install several weeks later. The installation of the AN-70HD tower and C31XR antenna was challenging due to the number of trees in close proximity to the tower. In addition, the antenna arrived missing several critical parts which John was able to fabricate with a "field expedient" fix. John and his assistant, Bill, arrived as scheduled and worked tirelessly to get the tower and antenna assembled prior to the crane arrival.
John's rates are very reasonable, he was on-time, and his experience and knowledge with tower and antenna installation were put to the test in this case. Would I use John and Bill again, yes, without a doubt.
N2AJ Rating: 2008-05-06
Choosing John W2GD is no contest! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Last July I hired John W2GD to take down and reinstall a Tri-Ex W-51 tower, repair a Hy-Gain TH-11DX antenna, and install an Alpha-Delta DX-A twin sloper. I had waited months for another service to perform this work and got zero communication and no results. All it took was one call to John. He immediately returned my call and a date was agreed on for the work to be done. Whenever I would call or email with questions he would get right back to me. John and assistant Bill W2RQ arrived at exactly 10:00am as planned. They worked ten hours non-stop until 8:00pm when the work was completed. I helped as ground crew too. John's experience became obvious when he set up the equipment to lower the tower using multiple block and tackles with a line over the top of my house to a big tree in the front yard. It worked great and there was no damage to my new roof and gutters. He was excellent at coming up with solutions as frozen stainless steel bolts and other problems occurred. When you hire John you're getting a professional who has done high end antenna and tower work for many years both locally and internationally. His reputation for doing top notch work is well deserved. You may also know John as a world class contester operating P40W in Aruba. Thanks to John and Bill for coming over and working so hard. Everything looks great and my TH-11DX is working as good as new. The sloper is working great too. I am having a fantastic time on 40, 80, and top band thanks to these guys. I would recommend John for major projects and also for regularly scheduled maintenance. I plan on hiring John to spray my tower cables with PreLube6 every year from now on. I have now learned it's best to get it done sooner rather then later. 73, Steve WB2ZHB
N3QVB Rating: 2008-04-30
Excellent work and reliable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My project was a 30 foot tower and an F12 C3S with Yaesu rotor. As this was my first tower/beam, John advised me on what to order, oversaw the concrete pour for the base portion and assembled the tower and antenna. He touts himself as a problem solver and that's exactly what he is. If there were hiccups in the process due to QC defects on the manufacturing side, he had a plan to correct it and move on to the next step. All work was done professionally and in a timely fashion. I would call John in again for my next antenna project and would encourage anybody to do the same.
N2MAD Rating: 2008-04-21
Excellence and professionalism Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
John removed and replaced an old installation on my roof with 3 antennas on a single mast (F12 C-3SS, M2 6M3 and an F12 Ruby 270). He toiled non-stop (over 8 hours) and finished just as we were losing the light. He is friendly and personable and he was on time (to the minute). I am very pleased with the quality of his work. His knowledge is extensive and his work and work ethic are exemplary. You may find other installers but none better. As another testimonial claimed, I didn't know him previously but now I consider him a friend. I recommend him highly.