[TowerTalk] Looking for a 70' Tri-Ex crankup tower

Terrence Redding terry at oltraining.com
Fri Dec 26 17:56:30 EST 2014


I am looking for a crankup tower.  I have a trailer and should be able 
to come to get it anywhere in the southeast USA.

I live in Deland.

If anyone knows of such a tower that is available or will be available 
before the end summer, I would appreciate knowing about it.

Terry - W6LMJ

On 12/26/14 4:56 PM, towertalk-request at contesting.com wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
>     1. Re: Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type? (Mark n2qt)
>     2. 18MHz - Turning off ARCi Elect breakers (W4LDE)
>     3. Re: Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type? (Peter Voelpel)
>     4. Re: north (Don )
>     5. Re: north (charlie at thegallos.com)
>     6. Re: north (Wayne Kline)
>     7. Re: north (Don )
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:24:56 -0500
> From: Mark n2qt <n2qt.va at gmail.com>
> To: "towertalk at contesting.com" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type?
> Message-ID: <17A2575B-AF4C-473B-98BC-3FEA7A107C8F at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=us-ascii
>
> I like the 1/4 inch Andrew superflex.  You can solder on pl259s with a ug76 adapter.  The
> coax stays put when you bend it to fit. However as a solid shield it is not as flexible as
> a braided cable.  (I also have a lot of short lengths of the superflex).
>
> Mark. N2QT
>
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:04:15 +0000
>> From: "David Robbins" <k1ttt at arrl.net>
>> To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type?
>> Message-ID: <01ae01d0212d$faebd9b0$f0c38d10$@arrl.net>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>>
>> I use good rg-213 for all connections except Beverage or other RX antennas
>> that I use RG-6 for.
>>
>> David Robbins K1TTT
>> e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
>> web: http://wiki.k1ttt.net
>> AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://k1ttt.net
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Rich
>> Hallman - N7TR
>> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 15:35
>> To: towertalk at contesting.com
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type?
>>
>> Im re-cabling a 4 transmitter station and am looking for feedback on what
>> you are using for interconnect coax after your amplifiers?  I'm using double
>> shielded RG8X for the low power connections to the low power bandpass
>> filters then to the amplifier inputs.  Looking to see if good quality RG213
>> / RG8 (95-98% shield) is ok past the amps to the high power 4O3A filters or
>> should I use something like LMR400 / BuryFlex for those connections to keep
>> down the potential inter-station interference?
>>
>> Thanks...
>> Rich
>>
>> Rich N7TR
>> ex KI3V, N3AMK, WB3JOV
>> http://www.qrz.com/db/N7TR
>> Telnet: dxc.n7tr.com N7TR .
>>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:02:48 -0500
> From: W4LDE <w4lde at numail.org>
> To: undisclosed-recipients:;
> Subject: [TowerTalk] 18MHz - Turning off ARCi Elect breakers
> Message-ID: <549DB0D8.3060302 at numail.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> This may have been discussed before or I maybe asking the wrong
> reflector, if so "Happy Holidays" and a Great New Year.
>
> If your interested please read.
>
> I had the privilege to operate as W1AW/4 a few days ago and operated 17
> meters (18Mhz) o RTTY running anywhere
> from 100 to 300 watts depending on band condx on three different days.
>
> After the W1AW period was over I reviewed emails on our Home Owners
> Email reflector and noticed
> several new home owners were having breaker issues, tripping without any
> apparent cause. They were tripping around
> the same time as my 2 hour stints on the 17 meter band
>
> I found a reference to this problem on the ARRL web site and yes it
> looked like what was happening here.
>
> The manufacturer admitted to the 18MHZ RF issue while on visit to the
> ARRL Lab and stated back in Nov 2013 that a new version would be available.
> The Lab did confirm in the article that they tested the newer version
> and gave it a thumbs up "OK", however, the manuf' needed to resubmit for
> UL approval.
>
> The breakers in question are manuf' by Eaton's division of Cutler-Hammer
> and are the new 2014 NEC code required ARC interrupt
> style located in the distribution home panels.
>
> Anyone else run into this problem and has the issue been solved and how?
>
> I have also sent ARRL a request for more info.  Until I can help resolve
> this issue I'm off 17 meters.
>
> 73 de Ron W4LDE
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> http://www.avast.com
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 20:50:44 +0100
> From: "Peter Voelpel" <dj7ww at t-online.de>
> To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type?
> Message-ID: <7AF76797DDDB4BEC90A41D18DFC6A8B0 at SHACK>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
> I use mostly RG-214 but also short length of RG142 or longer runs of
> SCF12-50, always depending on my surplus sources what is available for free
> or some beer.
>
> 73
> Peter
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Rich
> Hallman - N7TR
> Sent: Freitag, 26. Dezember 2014 16:35
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Multi-Op Station Interconnect coax type?
>
> Im re-cabling a 4 transmitter station and am looking for feedback on what
> you are using for interconnect coax after your amplifiers?  I'm using double
> shielded RG8X for the low power connections to the low power bandpass
> filters then to the amplifier inputs.  Looking to see if good quality RG213
> / RG8 (95-98% shield) is ok past the amps to the high power 4O3A filters or
> should I use something like LMR400 / BuryFlex for those connections to keep
> down the potential inter-station interference?
>
> Thanks...
> Rich
>
> Rich N7TR
> ex KI3V, N3AMK, WB3JOV
> http://www.qrz.com/db/N7TR
> Telnet: dxc.n7tr.com N7TR DXCluster
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:17:52 -0800
> From: "Don " <w7wll at arrl.net>
> To: "Towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
> Message-ID: <09719AA6C76A4B5C8EE38046979077AD at DonPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> 	reply-type=response
>
> Wife suggested giving the compass to Goodwill and buying a dog. Smart alec.
> Been there done that, retired the scooper.
>
> Kidding aside, sometimes where we have the yagi pointed is important. A few
> or more degrees from her to VU is not cause for alarm, but on 10 with more
> elements, perhaps it is more important for working the close in low strength
> new county in CO.
>
> I've obviously missed earlier discussion on the owl. I see a few refs to N.
> What am I missing?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Aycock
> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 11:23 AM
> To: Gary - AB9M ; towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
>
> I think the best thing I learned from this cycle was the straight poop about
> the Dog alignment method.
> Bill--W4BSG
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary - AB9M
> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 1:12 PM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
>
> My response with the link to FM 6-50, was as I explained to one here who
> contacted me directly, was done with tongue firmly planted in my cheek. I
> know the process well, but use the generally North running road in front of
> my house to get an approximate North for my rotor. I just wanted to see what
> would happen if I turned the precision factor up by say a factor of ten.
>
> Happy New Year everyone.... "now beaming over the North pole"
>
>
> 73 & DX,
>
> Gary - AB9M
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary - AB9M
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2014 10:50 AM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
>
> For greater precision, say about 0.33 degrees use the Polaris - Kochab
> method as explained in US ARMY FM 6-50
> (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/6-50/Ch5.htm).
> Many years ago, I used the Polaris - Kochab method for directional control,
> first finding True North, then the Direction of Fire, to align Howitzers,
> for the precision flying (in an arc) of thirty-five pound projectiles.
>
> Once you get the telescope properly aligned by Polaris - Kochab, you only
> have to lower it verticly to the ground. The line from the telescope to the
> sighted spot on the ground is to True North.
>
>
> 73 & DX,
>
> Gary - AB9M
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Patrick Greenlee
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2014 9:55 AM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
>
> Ahh, what fun.  Be careful shaving Phill as he gets razor rash easily.
> I too am a bit into astrophotography and a little star gazing with or
> without my ancient Celestron Pacific 8 inch reflector.  I also dabbled
> in using a sextant for navigating back in my sailing days.  Was maritime
> mobile for 9
> years.
>
> You can get local noon on dry land with a sextant and a bowl of water as
> a horizontal reflecting plane.  you can get a very precise local noon
> and south. By taking a series of sights prior to, near, and after local
> noon you can deduce the time and direction of local noon to an arbitrary
> accuracy dependent on your observing conditions and skill taking the
> sights.  It is quite easy and you don't need published tables of data or
> an expensive instrument.  A cheap plastic sextant will git 'er done
> better than you need for aiming antennas.
>
> I personally favor a vertical rod driven in the ground and checked
> carefully for verticallity.  I put small pins in the ground where the
> tip of the shadow is at any given time.  The series of stakes mark a
> smooth curve with equal periods of time indicated on either side by
> equal distances and it easy to see the point where the shadow is
> centered (also longest shadow.)  This is true north from the vertical
> rod (gnomon.  The shadow cast by the gnomon has two shades of gray, the
> umbra and penumbra.  This finite width is NOT a problem, just use the
> center of the shadow.  The shadow width is a function of the rod width
> and the fact that the sun is not a point source. In practice neither
> matter much as it is easy to determined the center of the shadow cast by
> the gnomon.
>
> This thread inspires an experiment.  I will use a non conductive
> (plastic) dodad attached to the antenna directly above the mast and plot
> its shadow position with small stakes starting before and running past
> noon, as per clock time to ensure I start before and continue past local
> noon far enough to give an interpretable curve. I can then easily find
> the location of the shadow at local noon and drive a permanent stake.
> Thereafter sighting through the center of the tower to that permanent
> stake will give me a true north reference.
>
> All caveats listed below are given due consideration.
>
> No ground hogs will be inconvenienced by this endeavor.
>
> Patrick    NJ5G
>
>
>
>
> On 12/25/2014 7:31 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
>> On 12/24/14 10:39 PM, Spencer wrote:
>>> In the northern hemisphere,  the shadow of a vertical object at solar
>>> noon will point north.
>>>
>> I've done all these North finding techniques over the years as kind of a
>> hobby activity (and sometimes professionally, too)
>>
>>
>> In mid-latitudes the shadow and stick works fairly well, although it's
>> hard to get sub-degree precision (for your North facing owl?) because of
>> several reasons:
>> 1) The stick has to be vertical to within the accuracy of your desired
>> measurement.
>> 2) the sun is half a degree wide, so the shadow edges are indistinct
>> (you could check this in a few weeks, if you shave the groundhog first, so
>> the fur doesn't cause the indistinct edge)
>> 3) the sun moves pretty fast, so it's hard to tell the exact instant of
>> solar noon.  The earth turns a degree in 4 minutes.  Of course, you don't
>> need a precisely aligned antenna to receive WWV, and, knowing your
>> longitude, you can calculate when solar noon is. (don't forget the
>> "equation of time")
>> 4) the shadow is pretty short at noon unless you're well north (in the
>> summer).
>>
>>
>> At 34 degrees north, in the summer (prime tower building season), the
>> shadow is pretty short. The sun's only 10 degrees from vertical at the
>> solstice.  At La Paz or Los Cabos, Baja California, on the solstice, the
>> sun is directly overhead at noon (or so close you won't be able to easily
>> tell the difference)
>>
>> It's MUCH easier to get north if you mark the shadow periodically. You'll
>> get a curve that you can then use to determine north.
>>
>> What you do is make a smooth curve of shadow position during the day.
>> Then, you take a string from the *top* of the stick and scribe a semi
>> circle across the curve of constant radius.  Draw a line between the two
>> intersections of curve and semicircle.  The perpendicular bisector of that
>> line faces north/south.
>>
>> (you still have the 1/2 degree width of the sun to contend with, and the
>> ground has to be level within a fraction of a degree, etc.)
>>
>>
>>
>> If you're "between the tropics" (of Cancer and Capricorn) the shadow goes
>> both north and south, depending on the time of year. Think of a stick on
>> the equator: from March equinox to September equinox, the sun goes north,
>> so the shadow is south, and from September to March, the sun goes south.
>>
>> And for hams aligning their rotor in midwinter in the far north? No shadow
>> at all.
>>
>> By the way, the north star (Polaris) is about 3/4 degree from true north.
>> It moves around the true pole in a circle. You can look up the position at
>> a given time/date, or watch it in a telescope and look for culmination.
>>
>>
>> Moral of the story:  getting true "north" to even one degree accuracy is
>> harder than it seems at first glance.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> TowerTalk mailing list
>> TowerTalk at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 15:32:44 -0500
> From: charlie at thegallos.com
> To: "Don" <w7wll at arrl.net>
> Cc: Towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
> Message-ID:
> 	<fa90af078dcb89e6f639b80d63289194.squirrel at emailmg.ipower.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> ...snip...
>> I've obviously missed earlier discussion on the owl. I see a few refs to
>> N.
>> What am I missing?
> For those of us with a problem with birds perching on out antennas (what
> is the max load of pigeons on a D-140?  Anyone know?) it was suggested
> that we put a plastic owl on our masts, but most have found it doesn't
> work.  Which lead to the discussion that the owl only works properly if it
> points exactly towards true north.  Hence needing a true north facing owl.
>   Of course, the way you do this is with a wench holding a wrench (folks
> asking about a tower WINCH, but making the two most common typos)
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 16:36:16 -0500
> From: Wayne Kline <w3ea at hotmail.com>
> To: "charlie at thegallos.com" <charlie at thegallos.com>, Don
> 	<w7wll at arrl.net>
> Cc: "towertalk at contesting.com" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
> Message-ID: <BAY177-W39D3DCB2B1FF5E169BA6BA8F520 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>   WOW... I apologize to all TT'ers   for kicking off this  North   finding  facts.
> All the  feedback are enlightening.
>   
>    With that now fleshed out.. another  problem is rising it's ugly head
>   
>   A:   The foul deterring OWL and  it's  installed position ?
>   
>   B:   The Hue/color  od the reflective  Eye's ?
>   
>   
> I have opted  for the deluxe http://www.gemplers.com/product/221414/Solar-powered-Owl-Rotating-Head
>   
>   
> and I am reading the TT for insight in banding the control lines  to the tower  .
>   
>   But at least  the rotation head issue is no longer a concern   :)
>   
> Wayne   W3EA
>   
>   
>   
>
>> ...snip...
>>> I've obviously missed earlier discussion on the owl. I see a few refs to
>>> N.
>>> What am I missing?
>> For those of us with a problem with birds perching on out antennas (what
>> is the max load of pigeons on a D-140?  Anyone know?) it was suggested
>> that we put a plastic owl on our masts, but most have found it doesn't
>> work.  Which lead to the discussion that the owl only works properly if it
>> points exactly towards true north.  Hence needing a true north facing owl.
>>   Of course, the way you do this is with a wench holding a wrench (folks
>> asking about a tower WINCH, but making the two most common typos)
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>   		 	   		
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 13:55:58 -0800
> From: "Don " <w7wll at arrl.net>
> To: "Towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] north
> Message-ID: <57BBD931CF9D4069B539135B1A31578F at DonPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="utf-8"
>
> Makes me think of the guys and gals with rotating towers, no rotators and solidly fixed yagis. Wonder how accurate the ?pointing? is with these towere compared to we with sloppy rotator gearing and other fixed or crankup tower slop issues.
>
> By the way, in spite of the sorta off topic N discussion, there were some really good tidbits of information that I bet many of us found quite useful and interesting. Thanks folks for sharing and the good humor too!
>
> I do have one question. Does my (currently on sawhorses) Rohn FK-25A foldover tower qualify under Towertalk or Crankup Towertalk? When I work on this next summer I certainly want to be on the right reflector.
>
> Don W7WLL
>
> From: Wayne Kline
> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2014 1:36 PM
> To: charlie at thegallos.com ; Don
> Cc: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] north
>
> WOW... I apologize to all TT'ers   for kicking off this  North   finding  facts.
> All the  feedback are enlightening.
>   
>    With that now fleshed out.. another  problem is rising it's ugly head
>   
> A:   The foul deterring OWL and  it's  installed position ?
>   
> B:   The Hue/color  od the reflective  Eye's ?
>   
>   
> I have opted  for the deluxe http://www.gemplers.com/product/221414/Solar-powered-Owl-Rotating-Head
>   
>   
> and I am reading the TT for insight in banding the control lines  to the tower  .
>   
> But at least  the rotation head issue is no longer a concern   :)
>   
> Wayne   W3EA
>   
>   
>   
>
>
>> ...snip...
>>> I've obviously missed earlier discussion on the owl. I see a few refs to
>>> N.
>>> What am I missing?
>> For those of us with a problem with birds perching on out antennas (what
>> is the max load of pigeons on a D-140? Anyone know?) it was suggested
>> that we put a plastic owl on our masts, but most have found it doesn't
>> work. Which lead to the discussion that the owl only works properly if it
>> points exactly towards true north. Hence needing a true north facing owl.
>> Of course, the way you do this is with a wench holding a wrench (folks
>> asking about a tower WINCH, but making the two most common typos)
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of TowerTalk Digest, Vol 144, Issue 59
> ******************************************
>



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