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Reviews For: Hudson Valley Towers

Category: Tower and Antenna Installers

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Review Summary For : Hudson Valley Towers
Reviews: 44MSRP: Reasonable Priced
Description:
Plans, installs, maintains all tower accessories,including antennas, rotors, switches, cabling, lightning protection, tower painting and in shack help. Years of Experience, meticulous and friendly
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hudsonvalleytowers.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00445
K1XV Rating: 2011-06-19
Expert service. Stand behind their work Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was visit #3 by HVT to the K1XV Qth over the last few years.

A severe ice storm in March 2011 damaged my stack of Force 12 antennas that had been up for 8 years. After consultation with Ray and Lee, I made the decision to replace all the Force 12 HF antennas with a Steppir DB36.

The DB36 was ordered, and a visit from HVT scheduled to remove my old antennas (for which they gave me a trade in value), assemble the db36, and put it up on the Tri-Ex sky needle. The installation required an equipment lift. I provided HVT with the name of the local equipment rental firm, and they took it from there.

The boxes arrived from Steppir on a Wednesday, and HVT was there three days later to start the project. Weather was not fully cooperative, so the project could not be completed by sunday night. They returned on Tuesday to finish the job. To my amazement, the DB36 worked as advertised on the first try, meaning that the antenna assembly was carefully and skillfully completed by Ray and Lee.

A couple of weeks later, it became obvious that some adjustment on the tower was necessary. HVT returned within a week to make the necessary adjustments, including arranging again for the personnel lift. Because Ray and Lee thought the problem was something they should have caught the first time, I was charged nothing for this return visit, and they even absorbed the cost of the equipment rental.

I cannot say more in praise of HVT. My former installer (who is no longer in the business) could not provide this level of timely support.

If you are putting up a complex and costly antenna, as the DB36 is, you would have to be out of your mind to try to try to do the job yourself without professional help. The DB36 is complex, and the assembly instructions are often less than clear. The patience and persistence displayed by Ray and Lee are top notch.

Their charges are reasonable for what they do, and they stand behind their work. If you are a "cheap ham" who think that you should get a weekend's work out of two knowledgeable guys for $250 dollars, forget it.

Reliable, friendly, knowledgeable. What more can you ask for?

Highly recommended. By the way, the Steppir DB36 runs circles around my old Force 12 stacked antennas, and they worked pretty well.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K1XV on 2009-11-30

This is their second visit to the K1XV qth.

This visit involved replacing coax on the crank up Sky Needle tower, and putting up an inverted L for 160M, a 30 m wire antenna, various maintenance tasks on the crank up tower, and surveying for future low band antenna improvements.

They showed up on time, got everything done in the estimated time, charged a fair rate, and offered a lot of insights.

These guys are good!!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K1XV on 2008-10-19

I have a Tri-EX 70 foot sky needle crank up with three HF yagis on it, a 2 element 40, a Force 12 C-31xr tri-bander, a 7 element 12& 17 yagi, plus a small 2m/440 to boot. In addition, I have several wire antennas with long coax runs.

The tower and antennas were put up 5 years ago by someone else, and had a number of issues right from the start. It was always hard to get the original installer to come back.

At this time, I was looking to have coax replaced on the HF yagis, and new coax runs to two wire antennas, plus other miscellaneous work. After broken promises and non-responses from other antenna installers, I contacted Ray and Lee. Though they are about 160 miles away, they promised to come to take care of everything within two weeks. I ordered my coax and waited. Ray and Lee arrived at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning as promised, and by 2:30pm everything was done, and done expertly. It turns out two of the three HF coax cables needed to be replaced on the tower. The third was OK, and the cable to the VHF/UHF antenna was also OK.

At no point was it necessary for Ray and Lee to engage in any head scratching. They insisted that, once the work was completed, we run through all the antennas on all bands at legal limit to make sure all was OK. I do not recall the previous installer wanting such a “smoke test”.

The price was entirely fair, and conformed to their quote. I got some ideas for new 160 and 80 meter antennas, and I think I will call them back for further work next year.

It isn’t easy getting expert help here in the wilds of southern Vermont. Based on my experience, I can recommend these gentlemen without reservation. All I had to provide was the coax, reasonable weather, and a check. Call them.
K3BVU Rating: 2011-06-09
Excellent Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Ray and Lee arrived on time and worked hard-- in 90 degree heat-- for over twelve hours to tear down my old, non-functioning Cushcraft and put up my Force 12 antenna. There were many problems encountered in erecting and tuning the Force 12, because of poor documentation and other factors. However, Lee and Ray were able to overcome all the obstacles and the antenna appears to be working well. So far, in eleven months, I have worked 227 countries an 47 states just with that antenna, which covers 40 through ten meters.
Ain't nothing like knowin' how.
Professionalism and reasonable rates make Hudson Valley Towers the first choice when one wants to erect and antenna correctly.
WA2PJI Rating: 2011-03-13
Another Great Experience Time Owned: N.A.
My tower has been up for a long time -- more than 20 years. Thanks to regular inspection and maintenance by Ray and Lee, my tower continues to provide me with great service and peace of mind. They are reasonably priced and offer a thoroughly professional and quality service.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA2PJI on 2009-04-27

I asked Ray and Lee to work on my Hy-gain crank-up, replace parts on my yagi (Mosley CL-33) and put up a couple of new VHF antennas. Since my tower is 20+ years old, I wanted to make sure that it still had structural integrity and that any problems would be addressed.

Before Ray and Lee began any work, they sat with me and listened. After I asked questions and indicated my wishes, we formulated a plan and they executed it flawlessly. They are careful, practical, and thoroughly professional, making sure to communicate with me throughout the job. They explained each step and pointed out options as they proceeded, for example on how to best mount the new VHF yagis. Their capacity to communicate, awesome technical knowledge, and pride in what they do make them a first rate operation!

I highly recommend them for your tower or antenna work. These guys know what they are doing!
K3EL Rating: 2010-09-13
Great to work with Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

I am very happy with the work done for me by Lee and Ray from Hudson Valley Towers. They installed a 40' guyed tower with hf and vhf antennas. When I first contacted them, I had an idea of what I wanted, and a lot of different possible options. With their advice over multiple emails and phone calls, they helped me narrow down the choices.

When it came to doing the install, I appreciated the flexibility to choose exactly what parts of the job they would do, and what I would do. Working with them on this project was both a pleasure and a learning experience for me. If I need tower work done in the future, I won't hesitate to contact HVT.

73, Dave, K3EL
K2UV Rating: 2010-08-22
Versatile, reliable,maleable, reasonable, capable. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have worked with excellent antenna and tower installers before, and have the technical skills and dexterity to do most of the work myself. In fact, using pulleys, rollers and mechanical advantage, I even installed my 89 foot motorized five section tower myself years ago. But that was "years ago", and my fear of heights blossomed to full blown since then. As much as I prefer self reliance, it is no longer possible . The winter's snow and ice storms destroyed my rotator and upper log periodic. The coaxes also snapped as the mess became a weather vane. In addition, I had not been on 160 and 80 in years. It took a couple trips to get it all right,but Lee and Ray were great to work with-congenial and reliable. They tempered my hair-brained schemes, and helped evolve my doable creativity. A heavier duty rotator was installed, a Force 12 DXER-plus for 20,17,15 , and an N1012 above that for those bands. In addition, a rotatable 30 meter wire inverted vee was installed in the plane of the mast and booms. Ray and Lee suggested a wire vertical with elevated radials, and I expanded the idea to use an old Telrex trap, so the contraption works quite well on 80/40. They got my 160 inv el back up, and even installed E/W and N/S beverages along my property lines. Now they are dragging me into the modern age of remote switching, so I will be able to switch between up to 6 rigs and 6 amps ( I said "up to"!). They are working hard on getting me to go SO2R. I am very pleased to have the relationship, and will be relying upon them again. Thankfully,they are not prima donnas. 73,Warren,K2UV
KC2CYE Rating: 2010-08-08
Extremely Professional Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was extremely impressed with the professional work that both Ray and Lee performed. They installed a 48 Ft Rohn tower with Four antennas and I am more than pleased with the performance. I will be using them again in the near future!
W1SMS Rating: 2010-07-25
Professional and Skilled Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Each amateur tower & antenna installation is as individual as its owner. Ray and Lee have provided a successful installation based on initial and in-situ discussion of the task, competent workmanship and completion of the project.
This installation had a number of challenges including extremely hot and humid weather, interfering tree limbs as well as a few un-expected mechanical fit-up issues. All were expertly resolved using a team effort.
I am pleased to recommend Hudson Valley Towers for your project.
W2MV Rating: 2010-04-12
Excellent - again! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Ray and Lee showed up on time, actually a bit early.
They replaced my old rotor very carefully, which included using a Sawzall to remove the old bolts, and cutting the rotor plate so that the cable would fit properly. No minor obstacle ever turned into a problem. The job was done as if the installation was their own, which I appreciate and is rare these days. The system was checked before the new rotor was installed, as well as after...no rush job, just good work.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W2MV on 2009-07-31

I was upgrading my old Cushcraft A3 to an X7, and decided that I needed assistance. I called Hudson Valley Towers to do the job. They removed the A3, assembled the X7, and installed it. Despite rainy WX, they continued to work until either the rain became too heavy, or there was a threat of lightning. Every time they showed up, it was as promised...even early!
Every phase of the job was performed professionally and extremely carefully, as if the antennas were their own. The new antenna was double-checked, and checked at least once again before final installation. Ray, W2RE and Lee, WW2DX know what they're doing. I cannot emphasize that enough. Any suggestion or preference of mine was acted upon in a cheerful manner.
The cost was quite reasonable for the skilled and sometimes physically demanding work that was done.
If you need tower and/or antenna work, I would not hesitate to call Hudson Valley Towers.
K2VF Rating: 2010-04-05
Ontime Done right Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ray and Lee were great to deal with and very professional. They came on time and the work was done well with attention to detail. After the job was complete they cleaned up and the work area was pristine. The job was not rushed which is a rarity nowadays.
KC1XU Rating: 2010-03-28
Enthusiastically Recommended! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Over the years, I have had several companies perform tower/antenna installation and service. Simply put, Hudson Valley Towers was the most prepared, professional, and congenial outfit to date. I am considering the installation of another tower, and if I move forward, they will get the job.