[TowerTalk] Elevated guys to aN extreme

[Mark Beckwith]

Hi guys, my ears are burning.

First, I think you have to jump to a lot of small conclusions along the way to conclude that my installation is unsafe by looking at a few photos.  Unfortunately, it looks like the lynch mob has already made its decision.  Getting ridiculed on TowerTalk is not going to make me go out and redo the design.  Before I would do that, I would get a PE to tell me it was an accident waiting to happen.  I think the PE would want more information than my web photos before sentencing me to the insane asylum.

Per Jon's inquiry, the installation is still in daily use today (5 years and 4 months).  I have not been in the path of any tornados.  If a tornado did come through N5OT, I'm not sure this potential failure point would make or break my chances for survival.  I am not a professional engineer, that's true.  I have a lot of experience, and tend to think outside the box, usually with good results.  Let me be honest, this single point in my installation certainly is the facet with which I am the least confident and comfortable, but not because it's an accident waiting to happen, rather because it represents a failure point with more consequences than any other failure point at N5OT, and could have been avoided in the design stage - now, 5 years later, I think of it as a "false economy" but I also have considerably more play money now than I did 5+ years ago.  Nevertheless, every installation has a weakest point, and if it wasn't this one it would be something else.  I would certainly not do it this way a second time.

I fear ice more than wind at N5OT, and my attitude is that a direct hit by a tornado will bring complete and total destruction which is basically unavoidable.  

That said, I have assessed the design and the risks to my own satisfaction and am comfortable taking them.  I don't usually place "lowest possible risk" at the top of my priority list, and in this case I certainly haven't.  I would appreciate it if any further conversation about my installation could stay constructive and avoid getting inflammatory ("it's safe to assume that the guy hardware is probably cheap stuff from the hardware store").  I would be happy to describe the installation in detail, but only under those conditions.

Mark, N5OT
putting the "amateur" back in "amateur radio"  :)