US Tower called on Monday to say that my HDX-555 tower was complete and
ready to ship. They said it could take a week for the trucking company
to pick it up, but it was picked up in Kansas Wednesday and delivered to
W. Michigan Thursday afternoon.
I had arranged for a tow truck to lift the tower off the truck and move
it around to the back yard where its base was waiting, but although
getting the tower off the truck was simple, the tow truck tried to embed
itself in our lawn as soon as it got off the driveway. Thus the tower
lay on the lawn alongside the driveway -- secured (kind of) to a
basketball hoop support -- until this morning (Saturday) when a bunch of
us -- some hams, at least one intending ham, and some neighbors, friends
and family members of the aforementioned -- grabbed hold of six 8ft-long
2x4s passed through the tower and carried it "centipede-style" (as my
XYL, Jeanette KD8CHS, put it) around to the base.
Thanks to the tilt-over feature (extra cost), my tower is in place and
standing up straight (but not tall: I did wind it up to its full 55ft
twice, but it's back down to 23ft at present). Installation of rotator,
mast and SteppIR will have to wait until Tuesday; I'm still waiting for
more Polyphaser lightning-protection devices to be delivered anyway --
and also the ultra-lifelike plastic owl and the new improved
super-deluxe solar-powered microprocessor-controlled True North
indicator. :-)
The one problem is that the documentation package I received when I
placed my order included no drawings showing the tilt-over mechanism in
position, so I positioned my electrical box based on pictures I took of
somebody else's 72ft model -- only to find that I will now have to
reposition the box by shortening the conduits and installing some offsets.
73 and wishes for a blessed Christmas to all of you,
Alan NV8A
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