[TowerTalk] Tower Installation

[David Hachadorian]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan C. Zack" <k7acz at cox.net>
To: "Tower Talk" <TowerTalk at contesting.com>; "Antennas"
<antennas at mailman.qth.net>
Cc: <hts2001 at bellsouth.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 1:41 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Tower Installation


> I am at the final stages of my tower installation.
The hole digging,
> concrete work, grounding, etc, have been done by a
professional cel
> phone tower installer who does ham towers as a
sideline.
> My tower is a crank up with a tilt over feature.
Could anyone suggest
> a book, manual, or web site that shows how to loop
coax and rotor
> control lines on crank ups?  The tower came with coax
stand offs at
> each tower section for this purpose.  What is the
preferred method of
> attaching cables to these stand offs?

Try Fiberglass packing tape, then some #14 wire, then
some Scotch 33 black electrical tape for UV.

 How do you determine how large
> of a loop to use?  I realize I could fully crank up
the tower then
> climb it and attach the cables to the stand offs but
I would prefer to
> do this with the tower cranked down and folded over.
To accomplish
> this I need to know how large of a loop to use at the
junction of each
> 12 ft section when it is cranked down and folded
over.

Do this calculation:

(Extended tower height - nested tower height)/number of
tower sections

This number is the additional distance between
standoffs when the tower is cranked up. Just add it to
the distance between standoffs when the tower is
cranked down, and you will have the total length
required.



Here is an even better way to handle the lines:

Throw away all the factory standoffs.
Attach a piece of angle iron to the top section, just
below the very top.
Attach a Kellum Grip (see below) on the end of the
angle iron, and let the cables dangle from it, all the
way to the ground. Put a large trash barrel on the
ground, and guide all the cables into it as the tower
comes down.

Source for Kellums:
Grainger.com
Grainger item number 6D229 thru 6D237
Catalog page 562 shows the sizes and what they look
like.

They work like Chinese finger handcuffs.

Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
Yuma, AZ



































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