[TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 161, Issue 85

Sat May 14 21:01:48 EDT 2016

GM All

     I live out in the country on 3 acres. Never thought I would need a 
permit.  Never asked
         just put up the two towers 12 years ago. Never heard a peep 
about them.
             One of the joys of country living !
                 BoB WA1FCN

On 5/14/2016 7:27 PM, towertalk-request at contesting.com wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>     1. Re: Fwd:  Lightning Damage,	Crane used to replace Orion
>        Positioner (Mike Murphy)
>     2. Re: Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion Positioner
>        (Patrick Greenlee)
>     3. Re: Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion Positioner
>        (N1BUG)
>     4. Force 12 20M Monobander (Russ Dearmore)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2016 19:56:19 -0400
> From: Mike Murphy <mike at ki8r.com>
> To: Chester Alderman <aldermant at windstream.net>
> Cc: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Fwd:  Lightning Damage,	Crane used to replace
> 	Orion Positioner
> Message-ID: <8BDC8CC8-A46C-4395-BE39-65E43E91D6A3 at ki8r.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=utf-8
>
> I did the same thing in my township. No permit required.
>
> You don't even need a permit to build a deck here.
>
> Mike - KI8R
>
>
> --------------------------------------
> Michael Murphy -KI8R
>
> mike at ki8r.com
>
> twitter.com/ki8r
>
> www.ki8r.com
>
> 614-371-8265
> --------------------------------------
>
>> On May 14, 2016, at 6:50 PM, Chester Alderman <aldermant at windstream.net> wrote:
>>
>> Nope!! In rural south Georgia they told me I did not need a permit to put a tower on my 15 acre property! I asked for a written statement of that fact and got it gratis!
>>
>> Tom - W4BQF
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Hans Hammarquist via TowerTalk
>> Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2016 4:40 PM
>> To: towertalk at contesting.com
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] Fwd: Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion Positioner
>>
>> Thank L-d I live in a rural town that hasn't figure out how to suck money from a radio ham (yet). My building permit to get the tower cost me $15 everything included. Jealous?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: W5GN <w5gn at mxg.com>
>> To: 'towertalk' <towertalk at contesting.com>
>> Sent: Sat, May 14, 2016 12:20 pm
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion Positioner
>>
>> About two weeks ago, we had an extremely close lightning strike that surged our AC voltage to about 6000V (estimate based on ? inch
>>
>> between the two arc burns on the shell of the plastic AC plug to the chassis screw on the Orion 2800 Control Box), even though
>>
>> all circuits have commercial surge protectors that were installed when the office/radio wing was built in 1984.
>>
>> But I did NOT have a UPS between the wall and the radio equipment; none of the computer equipment in the other corner that is
>>
>> behind a UPS was not touched by this surge.
>>
>>
>>
>> The surge took out that Orion 2800 rotor control box, and the motor windings in the positioner was now an open circuit.
>>
>>
>>
>> The surge also took out the Astron 30 Amp supply, and its 12V output surge took out the transmit side of the ICOM 756PROII.
>>
>>
>>
>> I sent it to Icom repair in St. Joseph, MI, on a Tuesday, and they had finished the repairs and were ready to ship on Tuesday
>>
>> when I called them on this past Monday, and it arrived yesterday, Friday.
>> $192 - $140 Service, $23 for parts.
>>
>> They replaced the defective IC151 and D131 in RF unit, and the CI-V remote port that I didn?t know was burned,
>>
>> and replaced Q5771 Q25, D22, D23, clock battery BT3501 and, unrelated to the surge damage, replaced R1 on the phone
>>
>> board which had failed a while back and caused loss of one audio channel.
>>
>>
>>
>> That 12V surge also took out the 20 meter position of the Array Solutions Six Pack, and the MicroKeyer II.
>>
>>
>>
>> The UST HDBX-72 tower is normally nearly retracted, with the top of the tower at 32 feet, with the Cal AV 2-el Forty there,
>>
>> and the OB16-3 18 feet higher.  My first tower climber volunteer observed the first problem.  The tower needed
>>
>> to be raised about 10 feet to get the positioner clear of the next lower tower section so it could be removed.
>>
>> But the electrical control has not worked for some time, and since I had not intended to raise the tower,
>>
>> and since I added the complexity of the (useless IMO) Remote Control, we gave up on fixing that problem,
>>
>> and instead used a screw driver as a lever and rotated the drive shaft to raise the tower the 10 feet,
>>
>> alternating two of us for about 20 minutes.
>>
>>
>>
>> My professional climber could have replaced the Positioner in the tower in harness on the tower, but since
>>
>> the LMR400ULTRAFLEX was now 13 years old, I elected to bring a crane so they could be replaced, and because
>>
>> it?s a lot easier on the climber!
>>
>>
>>
>> In 2003, we had a 160 ton crane (pics at www.mxg.com <http://www.mxg.com> , lower left) because we had the old EzWAY Tower further back that
>>
>> had to be removed first; that day?s crane cost was $700.
>>
>>
>>
>> When I called Davis Crane, I found that a city permit to close the street would be required, two Dallas (off-duty)
>>
>> policeman that we would pay $240 each for were required, that the crane could not be here on Friday, our garbage pickup day,
>>
>> per city rules, and because our normal residential street once had a bus line, it was classified somehow higher as
>>
>> needing to be clear by 3:30 for ?rush hour?.  He also said the crane would leave around 8am, about a half hour away,
>>
>> and it would take an hour to setup, and also it would take nearly an hour to shut down and be gone by 3:30.
>>
>> And I had to deliver 42 ?Notice of Street Closure? to the folks who lived on the two streets and backed up to the
>>
>> alley exit that would be closed that day, record their addresses and deliver back to Davis to get the permit.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The city had put out the Detour Signs on Wednesday, by the curb.
>>
>>
>>
>> I had ordered 2x LMR400UF, Rotor, and RG8X Pulse cables in 200 foot lengths from Joel, at RFConnection.
>>
>> When the LMR400UF arrived, I decided to confirm its length by weighing on the shipping scale,
>>
>> and found the weight of the LMR400UF was .068 Pounds/Foot, so 200 feet should be 13.6 pounds,
>>
>> but the scale displayed only 7.7, so there must be only 100 feet of coax.
>> Only after wasting Joel?s time,
>>
>> for him to confirm the actual shipping weight was 38 pounds, did I apologize for the egg on
>>
>> my face, as my scale was displaying KiloGrams, not pounds.  Wednesday afternoon we removed the old cables
>>
>> from the shack to the base of the tower, made up the new cables, and ran them from the shack also to
>>
>> the base of the tower.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thursday the crane and officer arrived about the same time, a little before 9, and the officer pulled the
>>
>> detour signs to block both lanes, and then sat in his surburban pretty much the rest of the day.
>>
>> The crane arrived, and we then waited nearly an hour while they called back to get the man basket that had been
>>
>> ordered but not put on the order form.  Then we waited another 45 minutes for their mechanic to arrive to
>>
>> find the short in the winch?s terminal block that was water-exposed and intermittent.
>>
>>
>>
>> Work proceeded smoothly for the coax removal for the OB16-3 which is now at
>> 60 feet on the 24 foot mast and
>>
>> then the Cal-AV 2el 40 is at 42 feet.
>>
>> Work was somewhat slower when it came to raising the mast so the positioner could be slipped out;
>>
>> previously, you could get two winches, so one can hold the basket while the second is used to
>>
>> raise mast those couple of inches needed, but OSHA rules now prohibit two winches, so the crane had to
>>
>> swap the basket with a strap to lift, while the climber clipped in, and then go back and get the basket,
>>
>> several times.  And similarly, since both antenna?s feed point is some distance from the mast, and
>>
>> with those 16 elements on top, only about 2 feet apart, the crane operator took lots of time to reposition
>>
>> out and then back in without taking off elements to move along the boom with the coax.
>>
>>
>>
>> Around 1pm, a city of Dallas inspector showed up and halted work because the permit required two policeman,
>>
>> which I had expected and was on the order also, but only one had been ordered, apparently, by Davis Crane,
>>
>> maybe, but this was a Keystone Cop discussion between the Davis guy, the cop, and the (REALLY NASTY) inspector,
>>
>> who finally relented, saying, well I?m not stopping your work now, got in his vehicle and drove away.
>>
>> Earlier he had told me that the reason the policemen were there was NOT for traffic control, the signs did that.
>>
>> They were there in case the crane tipped over so they could call for help!.
>>
>>
>>
>> So both the cop and the Davis guy were worried about him coming back and giving us grief over that 3:30 limit,
>>
>> and there can be serious fines involved, so my tower guy got 5 minute warnings for the last half hour,
>>
>> and connected the last critical wire at 3:32.  The crane shutdown took only
>> 10 minutes, and he moved the crane
>>
>> so it was now parked and only blocking one lane, and then sat there 45 minutes, waiting for the electrican to
>>
>> return to now repair the crane storage mechanism ? the crane was completely collapsed, but that whole unit
>>
>> was stuck about 3 feet above it?s cradle.
>>
>>
>>
>> So that lost time really hurt; it still took three more hours on Friday for him to climb and strap in and
>>
>> finish building and sealing the Bud box with the terminal block for the positioner, tie wrapping and taping
>>
>> the cable bundles, and finishing those details.
>>
>>
>>
>> I had purchased the new Orion 2800 positioner only, because last year, for the first time, I actually
>>
>> won something of value at the Contest Dinner, when I got a Green Heron controller.  When we went to
>>
>> setup that box, we made some stupid error, but were very pleased when Jeff answered his phone and
>>
>> he walked us thru to correct our error.  Just love that knob to point the beams.
>>
>>
>>
>> The cost of this crane was $2440.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73
>>
>>
>>
>> Barry, W5GN
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2016 19:03:34 -0500
> From: Patrick Greenlee <patrick_g at windstream.net>
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion
> 	Positioner
> Message-ID: <41c86502-4588-0a73-a5cd-6461c703a344 at windstream.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> I'm in rural Oklahoma where there is no permit process for towers or
> most other things. If you don't conflict with FAA requirements you are
> good to go.  I insist all contractor work is equal or better than
> applicable code but that is my personal requirement. We are required to
> get septic systems registered/approved with the DEQ (Department of
> Environmental Quality) but that is it.  I have seen some real horror
> stories in plumbing and electrical work, often DIY.
>
> Patrick        NJ5G
>
> On 5/14/2016 6:52 PM, Bryan Swadener via TowerTalk wrote:
>> I appreciate my zoning/permitting agency. When I
>> set out to erect my tower, they prevented me from
>> doing something unsafe. And, my one-time cost
>> while not nearly as low, was a small fraction of the
>> overall cost.
>>
>> I feel sorry for Barry's situation. I feel lucky... I'm
>> currently working to replace the position
>> potentiometer in my rotator. Fortunately, with
>> my crankup/tiltover tower and yagi with
>> multisection boom, I'm able to do all work at
>> ground level, and w/o a crane.
>>
>> vy 73,Bryan WA7PRC
>>
>>    
>>        From: Hans Hammarquist
>> Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2016 13:40
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion Positioner
>>
>> Thank L-d I live in a rural town that hasn't figure out how to suck money from a radio ham (yet). My building permit to get the tower cost me $15 everything included. Jealous?
>>      
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> TowerTalk mailing list
>> TowerTalk at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2016 20:17:29 -0400
> From: N1BUG <paul at n1bug.com>
> To: Hardy Landskov <n7rt at cox.net>, 'towertalk'
> 	<towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning Damage, Crane used to replace Orion
> 	Positioner
> Message-ID: <5737C019.8000705 at n1bug.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> On 05/14/2016 06:18 PM, Hardy Landskov wrote:
>> It has been my experience that disconnecting everything and putting the
>> plugs on the floor works.
>
> As hams it often comes down to doing what you're comfortable with,
> but...
>
> In 2007 I took a small hit to one of my towers. Lightning jumped a 3
> to 4 foot gap between disconnected coax cables and equipment. It
> also jumped a 3 foot gap between disconnected electrical cords and
> wall receptacles. I picked up charred and smoking pieces of circuit
> boards from the floor after the event.
>
> Paul
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 15 May 2016 00:27:09 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Russ Dearmore <champsruss at yahoo.com>
> To: "TowerTalk at contesting.com" <TowerTalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Force 12 20M Monobander
> Message-ID:
> 	<188941918.2539933.1463272029905.JavaMail.yahoo at mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Jim,? I wonder why they the company under rates their antenna?? Russ???My Heroes Wear Combat Boots!????????????
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of TowerTalk Digest, Vol 161, Issue 85
> ******************************************