[TowerTalk] ROHN SSV ERECTION QUESTIONS

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>   Does anyone know where I can get this grout?  
 
    Your typical hardware store may not have it.  I've always gotten it 
from a masonry supply store.
 
>   Do I need to loosen the bolts on the braces on the  sections
already assembled to allow a crane to stack the tower or not?  
 
    Probably not. It's mostly when you assemble a  section on the ground 
that you might want some looseness in order to insure you  can get the 
sections to line up. 
 
>  How does one plumb a tower with these large  sections?
 
    Easy. You use the base bolts as leveling  nuts. Since it's a tapered 
tower, you should use your level on the side of the  leg to get it plumb. 
That's the easy way. More time consuming is using a  transit. For a 
self-supporting tower, you're allowed to be out of plumb  something like 4" in 100'.
 
>  I am wondering about how to install the antennas  also.  I am planning 
to put
up a ~35 ft boom with 3 elements on 30 and  either 3 or 4 elements on 40
(haven?t made that decision yet) and a large  tribander above it also on a 
32
ft boom. It would seem to me the best way  might be to put the rotator on 
the
plate and attach the mast with the top  section. But then the antenna stack
install appears to be much more difficult  because I have to remove the
rotator at the top, figure out a way to lower  the mast to install the top
antenna, push the mast back up, and then install  the bottom antenna (and I
am sure I probably skipped a whole bunch of steps  even more difficult).  
 
    Since you have the crane there, you use it to  first lift up the mast 
and then each antenna starting with the bottom antenna of  the stack. 
Otherwise you can use the tram method which takes more time, hardware  and 
knowledge. I'll use the crane every time. If you try to stack the top  section with 
the mast already on it, you won't be able to get the section to  hang 
vertically plumb which'll cause problems when you try to attach the  section. This 
is one of those things that'll bite you in the butt. Break  everything down 
into one bite instead of trying to do 2 or more things at once. 
 
>  The other way might be to mount the antennas to the mast  sitting on the 
ground,
(if I can find a way to stand the mast up) and then  have the crane lift the
entire assembly and drop it through the tower top and  thrust bearings.
 
    A very difficult proposition. NOT recommended. Many  butt bites in this 
scenario.
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH