[TowerTalk] Tower Inspection

[Fred Hopengarten]

From:
Fred Hopengarten  K1VR               781/259-0088
Six Willarch Road
Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
permanent e-mail address:  fhopengarten@mba1972.hbs.edu
if sending attachments:  k1vr@gis.net

On Tue, 23 Nov 1999 14:45:50 GMT "Mark L." <n1lo@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>Hello TowerTalkians;
>I would like to develop an inspection checklist and schedule for my 
>guyed, 
>R25 tower. Do any of you have a list, already made-up, that you can 
>share?


by
Fred Hopengarten K1VR
copyright 1998

Lincoln, MA

Antenna Support Structure
Safety Inspection Protocol

(to be completed and documented, signed and dated at time of construction
and every six years thereafter, retained at the home of the applicant and
available for inspection at any time)

Anchors

At time of construction

	Volume and depth of concrete?
	Rebar present?

Maintenance

	Deadman:
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Spreader:

		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
		Are nuts and bolts tight?
	Turnbuckles:
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Guy wire clamps or Preforms (Big Grips):
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Safety Wire:
		Present?
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Ground Rod:
		Necessary?
		Present?
		Bonded to metallic guys?
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?

Guy Sets from the Ground:

	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Is all hardware present and not visibly loose?
	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage to guy wires, thimbles, and
clamps (or Preforms/Big Grips)?

Tower Base

	At time of construction:
		Height and depth?
		Rebar present?

	At time of each inspection:
		Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
		Any sign that water has frozen inside the vertical tubes?

Lightning Protection System and Safety Grounding

Ground Rods:
	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Hardware tight?
	Meet NEC?

Tower:

	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Is tower vertical and straight (i.e., not bowed)?
	Have all joints between sections been inspected?

Guy Sets from the Tower:

	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Is all hardware present and not visibly loose?
	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage to guy wires, thimbles, and
clamps (or Preforms/Big Grips)?

Support Arms:

	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Is all hardware present and not visibly loose?

Antennas:

	Any visible corrosion, wear or damage?
	Is all hardware present and not visibly loose?

Cables and Electronics:

	Are cables attached to the tower at least every ten feet of
travel?

Notes on cures to items found:

	As with any outdoor building material, it is possible to discover
items requiring maintenance.  Where problems exist, cures are often
obvious.  For example:

	Loose nuts and bolts -- tighten
	Rusted nuts, bolts, clamps -- replace
	Rust on galvanized steel -- wire brush and cold galvanizing
compound
	Frayed guy wires -- splice or replace
	Ground wire broken -- reground.

There is virtually nothing that cannot be repaired or replaced on an
amateur radio antenna support structure.
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