[TowerTalk] "House" Method of Raising a Tilt-Over Tower

[Fred Roberts]

Bob-

I read your plan and started to read the replies.  As I read, I wondered 
why no one suggested hiring the moderator of Tower Talk and then someone 
finally did.  It strikes me this would not only be the wisest and best 
approach, but probably the least expensive.  And, it would likely be the 
easiest to insure.

Though if you were to follow your plan, I wonder just how high your 
heart rate would be.

Sounds like a wonderful QTH.

73-
Fred, W6TKV
On a city lot, sigh.




Bob Gates wrote:

> Evening/morning all,
> 
> My wife and I are celebrating tonight.  We've just inked the contract to buy a house in the Portland, OR area.  Goodbye city life, back to God's country, and adios to years of living under that dreaded term "covenants"!  This will be my first tower since 1978.  And I was QRT from 1979 to about two years ago.  Have been existing with low power and a stealth vertical, camouflaged and butted up against a big pine tree.  Well, the new place sits on top of a ridge with a 360 view (except for some trees blocking Mt. Hood.  And I'll be thankful for them when it erupts.  Much has obviously changed in 25 years, but I'm going back to the basics of installing a tower.
> 
> Now.  I have an idea.  And please spare me the snide remarks.  Besides, you'll be much more tempted as you read on.  In fact, as you read my idea, many old Andy Griffith fans will be tempted to issue forth with Barney Fife's most notable quote about Ernest T. Bass:  "He's a nut!"
> 
> Because of health reasons, I cannot climb a large tower.  Well, maybe I could, but someone would have to lower me down.  What I propose to do is install 120' of Rohn 55G with four yagis.  The tower will tilt over near ground level and be raised with a roof-mounted electric winch.  Now stop that!  Hear me out first.  For purposes of explanation, say the house and roof ridge line runs east-west.  I do not have enough room on either side of the house to use the derrick/W3GM method because the guy wires won't fit.  The property is only (eat your hearts out city dwellers) about 115' wide at the north end and slopes down hill to the south, widening as it goes.  Rohn specifies the guys to be 100' from the base.  And I follow the manufacturer's instructions.  Right Uncle Steve?  (And Rohn doesn't say you can't torch a section in half and install hinge plates.)  Trust me, the guys won't fit in the side yards.  On the south side of the house, the distance from the tower base to the 
top
>   of the house ridge line is 25-30'.  I have a total of 3 acres, but the farther south I move the tower the lower it gets in relation to the crest of the ridge.  Now, 120' of 55G is about 1200#.  Add to that a 95# yagi and a 55# yagi, plus rotor and mast, at the top.  Another 95# yagi will be at 90', and another 55# yagi at 60'.  Total dead weight will be approximately 1700#.  Rohn specifies 3 sets of guys, but I would install 4 at 30' 60' 90' and 120'. This would help take the load of the lower yagis.  
> 
> Now for the fun part, how to get this monstrosity up in the air.  An electric winch, designed for horizontal and vertical loads, would be installed near the peak of the roof line, on the north side of the roof.  I would heavily reinforce the space between the two rafters where the winch would be mounted, including steel plates on the roof and below the reinforcement, Using the bolt pattern for the winch, long bolts would secure the winch through the top steel plate/roof/reinforcements/and bottom steel plate.  Would also install multiple wood 2x8 bracing between multiple rafters and joists on either side of the winch mount point.  With guy wires running SE, SW and North, I would hook the winch to the North running guy secured at the 90' point on the tower.  Then just pull that puppy up, attach all the other guys, release the guy used for pulling the tower up from the winch and join an additional length so it could be guyed to the north of the house with the other North runn
ing
>   guys.  Simple.
> 
> Okay, now I'm ready.  Lay it on me.  And has anyone else been stupid enough to try this?
> 
> 73, Bob W7BJ/5 and about to be just old W7BJ  (unless I get another call sign to mask my identity) 
> _______________________________________________
> 
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> 
>