[TowerTalk] telephone pole installation - an update

[Kris Mraz N5KM]

Many thanks to all who responded with advice on how to 
install telephone poles. Here's some brief background info
on this project and an update:

Before I got the idea to use telephone poles to support
wire antennas for 80m I had planned on installing two phased
Hytowers to begin with then upgrade to a 4sq. However, the
city needed a PE seal of approval on the Hytowers before I
could implement that plan. 

Now, I noticed that several neighbors had some short telephone
poles in their backyards to support security lights (flood lights).
I went to City Hall and talked with our building inspector
(he had done the inspection on my tower a few years ago). I asked
if I needed a permit to put a telephone pole in my backyard. The 
answer was "no". So I started looking at the possibility of using
two poles and my tower to support rope from which I could
drop the 4 verticals for a 4-square.

Things started falling into place at that point. One of my neighbors
uses utility poles in his business. There were two 40 ft. poles in
his back lot that he would give me. He also had the big trailer that
could be used to haul them down the street to my lot. Another neighbor
used his bulldozer to lift the poles onto the truck. A third neighbor
is in the business of drilling holes for light standards so he has the 
auger truck. He volunteered to dig the holes and drop the poles into
the holes. So far all of this has been free other than a bit of manual
labor. 

The auger truck neighbor said his truck has an alternator problem and
it won't be ready for another week or two. In the meantime I saw a
utility crew installing power poles a mile or so from my house so
I stopped and asked the crew chief if he ever installed poles when he's
off the clock. He said he will give me a call after the first of the
year
when work slacks off a bit for his crew. So I may actually get the poles
professionally installed. (Coincidentally, the crew chief knows the guy
I got the poles from!)

73,
Kris N5KM

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