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[TowerTalk] screw-in guy anchors, was Could this happen to you

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] screw-in guy anchors, was Could this happen to you
From: na9d@speakeasy.net (Jon Ogden)
Date: Tue Mar 4 07:52:00 2003
on 3/3/03 4:07 PM, Hisashi T Fujinaka at htodd@twofifty.com wrote:

> Uh, someone putting up 150 ft of tower should know a little better than
> to use the wrong anchors.

I'd agree.  It's quite apparent that this guy did not do a proper
engineering analysis of the requirements and loading forces on his tower.
He's still likely to have problems in strong winds with his cheap looking
hardware.

I'm a novice at tower building and put my first 53 footer up last fall.  I
did use Rohn's screw in anchors, but I did a lot of math and analysis with
it first - including contacting Rohn about it.  The engineer at Rohn told me
that a 50 to 60 foot tower is about the limit for their anchors.  He thought
I should be fine.  Other people here told me I shouldn't use them.  Still
others said I'd be fine.

The point was I asked and researched it and got some pretty good advice.

And it also makes a lot of difference what sort of soil you have.  Mine
becomes clay and rock about 2 feet down.  So with a four foot shaft, I'm
half into clay and rock.

> 
> A short coment about, "I can't believe he used mobile home tie-down
> anchors," isn't that rude. In fact, I can't believe it either. It's not
> ridiculing, it's along the lines of, "You did WHAT?" when you know you
> did something that got you in that situation.

I'd agree.  But at the same time, I agree with the guy that said we
shouldn't ridicule him.  He shouldn't be flamed but educated.  It's obvious
he took the "ham's" route and went cheap.  With 150 feet of tower, he really
should have researched it more.  I would call that stupid - not ignorant.
Something that big, something that expensive should be researched carefully.
Let's not rip him and embarrass him but rather direct him in the proper
manner in an instructive way.

There's a difference between saying, "Dude - you are wrong and what you did
was not smart." and "Dude - you are a dumb idiot."

73,

Jon
NA9D


-------------------------------------
Jon Ogden
NA9D (ex: KE9NA)

Citizen of the People's Democratic Republik of Illinois

Life Member: ARRL, NRA
Member:  AMSAT, DXCC

http://www.qsl.net/na9d   <- Updated on 1/22/03!!!

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."


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