I am in central VA, and I see the same thing; on a warm, calm day, there
will be perhaps a hundred (or more) wasps distributed along the length
of the tower. They seem to be non-resident, and they just fly around,
occasionally lighting on a rung or tower leg. Just two weeks ago, I was
doing some tower work for a friend, and they were everywhere. They
didn't seem threatened or threatening, so I just worked amongst 'em,
occasionally swatting one out of the way. Dunno...
73,
geo - n4ua
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Kimberly Elmore
> Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 1:00 PM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Swapping out a T2X & Wasps...
>
> Yesterday, the wind was calm enough that I decided it would be a good
> dayswap out my jammed T2X with one that I'd rebuilt. So, I prepare
> everything and head up my HDBX48 tower (8 ft of mast above the top
with
> modest antennas: KML-KT34A at top, Cushcraft 40-CD2 at bottom, dipole
for
> WARC in between plus a VHF/UHF discone at the very top and a 2m/70 cm
> corner reflector near the middle). About 2/3 of the way up, I notice
that
> there seem to be a lot of bugs flying about. I look more carefully and
see
> that these are wasps. Believing that discretion is the better part of
> valor, I retreat.
>
> "Great, a wasp nest is up there someplace." I get some wasp and hornet
> killer, go up a ways, and try squirting the stuff up there but it
won't go
> far enough and I can't get a good angle, anyway. I thought to use my
> pressure washer with some insecticide injected through the injector
> system, but the motor won't start (something else to fix). Then, lo
and
> behold!, by early evening all the wasps are gone. Vanished.
>
> Armed with wasp killer, I start up again. When I get to the mounting
> plate, I find that there is no sign of any wasp activity: no nests,
> nothing. I go about my business, secure the bottom of the mast with SS
> hose clamps to each leg just above the rotator, and make the rotator
swap.
> Darkness falls and I have to stop, but things are secure enough and I
> completed it this morning in more wind than I like. Yet, all went
well.
>
> I mentioned this to my kids (8 and 7) and they tell me "Oh, yes,
Daddy: we
> see wasps up there all the time." First I'd heard of it. In all the
years
> I've had this tower (going on 20 between Oklahoma and Colorado) I've
never
> seen the like. Does anyone have a clue as to what's going on? Is there
any
> way to dissuade these critters? I need to go up there again to set up
my
> 160 m shunt feed...
>
> 73,
>
> Kim Elmore, N5OP
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message is for the designated recipient only and may
contain privileged, proprietary, or otherwise private information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete the original. Any unauthorized use of
this email is prohibited.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[mf2]
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|