[TowerTalk] Aluminum towers -- can you really "walk one up"?

[EZ Rhino]

You absolutely can walk up a 40' aluminum tower because I have done it, but probably not with anything on top of it.  :-)  For Field Day we do the falling derrick routine, except for us it's a falling ladder, with a 50' aluminum tower with either a Spiderbeam (ultra lightweight), or an A4.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9k7HE_2uw
Since the video we've added another section for a full 50'.  Rope is used for a rotator, tied off to a ground stake, and a homebrew tilt plate gadget gets the antenna horizontal by pulling on a rope.  Four way guys are required for this arrangement.

Ladder climbing antics aren't for everyone.  Two guys pulling on ropes tied to the top rung can accomplish the same objective.

Chris
KF7P









On Mar 4, 2015, at 20:53 , Tom Cox wrote:

I keep seeing ads for self-supporting aluminum towers that are so light that one person can "walk up" a 40-footer with a hinged base. Of course, walking one DOWN might be more interesting, unless one has ropes, blocks, and a team. Can walking one up really be done, even with light, VHF-UHF verticals and/or TV antennas? It just seems a tower light enough to walk up can't be strong enough to STAY up.

I can't afford a motorized tilt-over or telescoping crank-up, unless it's used, and even then, it's unlikely, on my retirement income. All I want to tackle is 30 to 40 feet. Should I forget about a tower altogether, or buy a section of Rohn 25 a month, or... what?

73,
Tom, KT9OM,
NW Middle TN




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