[TowerTalk] Non-permanent towers; what to do?

[Gary McDuffie, Sr.]

This is NOT a recommendation, but just something to show you that it
doesn't take much to 'get by' for quite awhile.

This one won't pass the LXC scrutiny either, but has worked for over 9
years in this location and ten years before that in another location.

I have a small 40 foot supposedly self supporting tower.  It is very
small and I don't even like to climb it because of the small size at the
top.  However, it had a KLM KT34XA on it for 6 years in my last
location, and a TH-4 on it for 4 years before that.

The tower is mounted on 3 screw anchors.  The anchors are only about 3
feet long and I think have 4-5 inch screw plates.  I just screw them in
at the right place in a triangle (tricky getting the right placement),
and bolt the home-made angle plate that mates to the base of the tower
to the top of the anchor with small, but tough, U bolts.  Near the top
of the tower, I guy it four ways when I had the HF yagis on it.  I used
copperweld as guys and they were insulated at the right places to form
75 and 40 meter dipoles perpendicular to each other with separate feeds.
The lower ends were tied to whatever I could find in the appropriate
direction.  Sometimes it was a tree, sometimes a fence post.

Currently, that tower is about 5 feet from the house with vhf antennas
on it and a couple of wires.  It has been guyed by three small (3/16?)
dacron ropes since I put it up in August of 1990.  One goes to a water
faucet, even going around a rock corner on the house without any
protection.  Another goes to a fence post.  And the third goes to a
steel fence stake driven a foot or two into the ground at an angle.
This was supposed to be a temporary installation to get me by for a few
months while I moved in.

This little 40 footer doesn't deserve to still be up, but it is. It
certainly isn't because it is installed correctly!

Do what you have to do to get on.  Don't put a huge antenna on it, but
you'll probably be able to put a moderate yagi up.  Tie it down as best
you can, and go with it.

Gary
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