[TowerTalk] MonstIR install

[Jim Lux]

At 05:57 PM 6/21/2005, Dale Martin wrote:
>In a message dated 6/21/2005 10:15:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
>jc-smith at comcast.net writes:
>
> >  A ham back east installed the elements on his 4L StepIR after the boom
>was
>lifted to the top of the tower.  Do you think that would be feasible with a
>MonstIR?  I don't have enough open space anywhere to build the whole thing
>on the ground, let alone pull it up through the trees.
>
>
>Seems like no one's mentioned the obvious (to me, anyway)--apologies, if I
>missed it and am repeating.
>
>There must be some open space you can 'borrow' somewhere nearby to assemble
>the antenna, right?  Hire a helicopter to come in lift and transport it to
>the tower.
>
>Think a helo's far out?  There was an article in QST or CQ years ago where
>someone did it with a hot air balloon--or was that an issue I thought I read
>during the early/mid 70's?  I know it's been done with helo's before,
>though.
>
>Think how much you paid for your property.  Think how much you've paid for
>your tower and associated hardware and your station equipment.  Think how
>much you've paid for the antenna.  It seems like helo rental might be
>economical in relation to the cost of the hardware and equipment.


Last time we used a helo to install some equipment on a hill (1999) it was 
something like a couple hundred bucks an hour with a 2 hr minimum. Each 
lift was several hundred pounds, plus a couple people and tools.  A good 
helo op can put something within a few feet without too much trouble, but 
you'll definitely need to do some thinking about who's going to be standing 
on top of the tower, and what they're going to do.  It's NOT like a crane 
where you can stop and figure things out.  The downdraft from the rotor is 
also an issue, because it's going to tend to make the antenna spin and sway 
and pitch around.  On a crane lift, you can use tag lines to the ground to 
hold things in place, or, just wait til it settles down.  Can't do that on 
a helo lift.



>73,
>Dale, kg5u
>

No matter what you do, installing any large antenna is going to be an 
"adventure".
Speaking of the total investment in the system, and small incremental 
costs, consider having someone there to document it in video and still 
photos.  Maybe your local wedding photo/videographer type might think it's 
fun and give you a discount. Or, someone at the middle or highschool might 
do it as a AV "news/documentary" project for free. If it turns out really 
bad, then maybe you can use the tape to win $10K on America's Funniest 
Videos or something.