[TowerTalk] Tower in the woods

[K7LXC@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/4/2005 10:52:50 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:
>> I'm considering erecting 50-70 foot tower on the land behind my house.  I 
presently have another located in the only clear spot that conforms to the 
town's zoning law regarding amateur towers. "The tower must fall completely 
within the owner's property."  The location I'm considering is some distance from 
the house, and is deep in the woods.  I plan to clear an appropriate radius 
about the tower to permit antenna rotation only.  Given this situation, would a 
freestanding tower be preferred over guyed?  

    I'd say yes. A tree falling on a guy wire will pull the whole tower down; 
I'm currently involved with an insurance claim for a really nice, very 
populated contest tower where that very thing happened. 

    It'll be tougher for a tree to pull down a self-supporter. If a tree 
comes down in the vicinity, it'll typically just slide down the tower. 
And another question.  The location would be about 300' off the road. and I 
would say absolutely inaccessible to a concrete delivery truck.  Would you all 
say it's insanity to wheelbarrow the 3 or 4 yards of concrete for a free 
standing base?  If I could get a loader back there with the materials, could 3 or 4 
yards be mixed on site with a rented mixer?
    Concrete line pumps can pump up to 400 feet. Let the machines do the work.

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for commercial and amateur