Hello tower-talkians,
I have what may seem like a rather silly question, but I would like some
advice from some that may have encountered this before.
I will very soon be digging a hole 7 feet X 3.5 feet X 3.5 feet in my
back yard to install my self-supporting crankup tower. I have checked
out several options to do this and here are the basic options.
1. Get a shovel and dig the hole.
Problems:
a. Danger of hole collapse with someone in there over their head.
b. Lack of working room to move the shovel.
c. Need to use a bucket brigade method of getting the dirt out.
d. Lots of hard work.
2. Rent a small back hoe tractor. ( A good option is the "TerraMite"
yard tractor.)
Problems:
a. Possibility of hole collapse due to surrounding weight of tractor.
b. It can dig down 8ft. 4 in., but the 1st boom would not be able to
allow an
arc of movement to reach into a 3.5 sq. ft. hole easily. ( I would
need
to keep moving the tractor back and forth to reach to bottom.)
c. I could dig back the near side some to allow access of the boom
problem in (c),
but the base requirements state that the surrounding earth be
undisturbed to
achieve full wind load rating of base and tower combo.
d. Inaccurate hole dimensions due to my amateur standing as a back hoe
operator.
3. Hire a group of small children with sand shovels and challenge them
to 'dig to China'.
Problems:
a. Child labor laws.
b. My youngest child is nearly 15.
c. The neighbor kids are already wise to me.
Thanks for any input,
Dave KG7EW
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
|