Wooden Poles; Birth of a New Contest Stn.

[Gary Nieborsky]

Pat,

NEVER EVER assume a wood pole is good based on appearances.  There are a
number of ways to determine the condition and none rely on visual
assessment.  Go to your local power company and see how much they would
charge to test the poles.  Check and see if the Army had any records
regarding testing.  Above all check them out before you commit your body to
working on them.

As for the other parts:

The rule of thumb is setting depth is equal to 10% of the height plus 2
feet.  Generally the pole brand (the name, heght and class of pole) is set
10' 2" from the butt for poles 50' or less and 14' 2" for poles 55' and taller.

Wood poles are governed by the following Standards.  I suggest you get your
hands on them or at least get a good look through:

1. American Wood Preservers' Association Standards 1986 - Governs treating
for rot etc.

2. ANSI 05.1 (Latest Edition) - Standards, Specifications and Dimensions for
Wood Poles - Tells you fiber strength by class of pole, diameters at various
points vs. class, height vs. strength.

3. ANSI/ASTM D9-76e - Definitions of Terms Relating to Timber - Tells you
all the codes of just about any wood product you could ever think of.

Hope this points you down the right road.  I design and build transmission
transmission lines and live and die by  these wood pole standards.

I'm posting this to the rest of the reflector so that others with wood poles
can use it if they want.

Gary K7FR


At 01:09 PM 10/14/96 -0700, you wrote:
>      Anybody have comprehensive info about structural
>capabilities of wooden power poles?  We have inherited an Army
>Mars station here in Marina, (the old Ft. Ord MARS station)
>which has about 5 acres of hilltop antenna farm (residue) which
>includes a number of 70 foot tall poles in (apparently) good
>condition standing in sandy soil.  The poles are 70 foot tall,
>according to the circular I.D. plate on them, and made by
>McFarland.  The circumference is 48 inches at the base, and
>about 25 inches at the top.  Also, is there a standard height
>above the pole base that the brands or tags are affixed?  If so,
>I can determe the depth of burial of the pole.  Any rules wrt to
>how deep to bury such a pole, for a non guyed antenna
>installation?  Anyone have experience in mounting platforms or
>fixtures to the poles to support rotators, beams etc?  
>          I climbed a free standing one this weekend, and am sure
>the pole was sound, and well set, but because it had no guys,
>wires, etc, I noticed that my climbing motions set it into
>considerable motion; I could see it whip around quite a bit as I
>stood, and rocked  on the steps 1/3 way up.  (The motion
>perception might have been distorted by my presence at the 25 foot level of 
>the pole!) It was definitely a new sensation for me.  We mounted a dipole
>between it and another pole, and again I was startled by the
>motion imparted on it, when Kenny, KK6CS gave a healthy tug
>on the pully, putting tension on the dipole, while I was strapped
>off on top of the pole!
>          BTW, if any of you are interested in helping develop this
>          future contest station, come on down to Monterey, any
>          weekend, we have a 1200 sq foot operations shack, with
>          3 soundproof operating rooms, CT on 3 networked PCs,
>          one per room,  transmission line switching, lounge, with
>          refrig, microwave, TV, couches, camping space, etc.  
>	We currently have up a Hy Gain LP 1017 (6.2 to 30mHz),  a 80
>          thru 10 discone, and other antennas are going up weekly,
>          on the dozen or so, unused poles at the 5 acre site.  Get in
>          touch.
>73, de Pat, AA6EG;  aa6eg@tmx.com 
>
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