[TowerTalk] Masts with steps

Mon Jul 23 09:26:33 EDT 2007

Mark,
I'm also 49, which, by the way puts us in the younger half of Amateur Radio
operators and I like climbing, but I just can't see myself climbing a 2 inch
mast.  I could reconsider my views, but a bucket truck seems more rational
if the height can be reached that way.  

We may have a difference of scale and I don't want us talking past each
other.  The size of my lot is really small (40 x 100) and that doesn't leave
me much room to have big HF stuff.  Currently, my HF antenna farm is an
80/40m trap dipole, a ten meter vertical dipole and (soon) a shunt-fed
vertical using my 45 ft Rohn 25 tower and 22 ft of mast as a radiator for
80m.  I'm not putting up three or four stacked StepIR antennas, though that
would be nice!

I have been quite lucky, as most communities would not let me have the 45 ft
Rohn 25 next to the house (currently with only a G7-144 on top until I
decide what to put on the rotator), the Alumna T-140 in the back yard which
has been reinforced for a tiltover mount which has yagis for 50/144/222/432
between 40 and 52), a 35 ft tower/mast to hold up one end of my 80/40m
dipole, a rotatable 3.5 inch mast through the roof for future VHF/UHF/SHF
antennas and the flagpole in the front yard that has a big 5 x 8 flag and
holds up the other end of the dipole.

I've built all this stuff and my new third floor shack, next to the Rohn
which I cleaned off and rebuilt, in the last 18 months since remodeling the
house.  There's more to do, but it is getting done and is loads of fun when
I get the time to do it.  As my older sons have entered college and my
youngest son, a sixth grader, gets more autonomous, I find that there are
more evenings spent at home to operate and plan out things.  I'm also
fortunate in that my commute is zero in a world where many have one or two
hour commutes each way.  I work from home, so I may have more time than most
to do things both in the house and around the community which includes my
son's school, church, a few of radio clubs, ARES, CERT and of course, Boy
Scouts.  These are blessings from God for which I am thankful, so I don't
want to do anything that would bring it all to an unfortunate end,
especially since it would dissuade others from doing good things, that most
folks would not try to do.

Thanks & 73,
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
201.314.6964
W2ttt at att.net
W2ttt at arrl.net

-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Mark Beckwith
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 11:15 AM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Masts with steps

Gordon et al,

I hate climbing anything, but realized as a teenager that if I was to have 
the big ham station I dreamed of, I was either going to have to hire out all

the climbing or do it myself.  I thought with the rest of my life ahead of 
me I'd better get used to it, like it or not.  I'm 49 and I still hate it, 
but I do it.

Gordon I can't tell if your post is attempting to suggest that climbing a 2 
inch mast is "unsafe in your highly credentialed opinion", or if you're just

saying "I've climbed a lot of stuff and I don't feel good climbing a 2 inch 
mast."

Like I say, I don't feel good climbing ANYTHING, but I've climbed a lot of 2

inch masts and I'm alive to tell about it.

Also, to speak the somewhat-unspoken-but-assumed: ***not all 2 inch masts 
are the same.***  You couldn't get me to attach my belt more than maybe 6" 
up a water pipe, fence post or electrical conduit (well, maybe 12").  I am 
ONLY talking about climbing .25" wall high-grade steel tubing.  I have only 
climbed masts I have personally installed.  So maybe I'm not as crazy as I 
sound.  I'm actually pretty picky.

Mark, N5OT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J. Gordon Beattie, Jr., W2TTT" <w2ttt at att.net>
To: "'Gregg Seidl'" <k9kl at centurytel.net>; <TowerTalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 10:21 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Masts with steps

> Greg, Carl et al,
> I like climbing and am perfectly happy climbing towers, rocks, constructed
> walls, etc...I spent most of a beautiful Friday evening and most of an 
> even
> more beautiful Saturday this weekend up on my tower and roof doing antenna
> and tower work...I am a twice certified Climbing Director by the Boy 
> Scouts
> of America...I teach climbing to youngsters and adults...but there are
> limits...I don't like climbing things that move...not ice, not really tall
> trees and NOT 2 inch masts!
> I agree with the sensation of climbing things like a mast...when I need to
> stand on top of the tower to tighten bolts on an H-frame to a mast, I GET
> THE POINT that this is really NOT GOOD!
> 73,
> Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
> 201.314.6964
> W2ttt at att.net
> W2ttt at arrl.net
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Gregg Seidl
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 1:06 AM
> To: TowerTalk at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Masts with steps
>
> I climbed up my mast about 4 feet to install a large 222Mhz antenna.Boy 
> that
>
> sure does give me the hebeshebes.I tell my brain that this is 2 inch .25
> inch wall 1026  pipe and that I could stand up here in a 70 mile breeze 
> and
> it won't bend.I go up there and my body is calling my brain a dumb(%!
> because it sure FEELS like it going to bend over.I think it is the 
> movement
> that scares the crap out of me.  Gregg  K9KL
>
>
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