[WVDXA] The Tower Base is DONE!

[w8hc at aol.com]

Look'n good Clark!  I think you should have gone to Rio Grande Restaurant and recruited some help for today.  Let us know how your ach'n back feels in the morning.  
 
It looks like you set a section of tower in the hole and poured in around it.  Is that right?  I did that in South Charleston with my Rohn 25 and it worked out just fine.  When I "moved out" I had W8NR's ex-son-in-law Earl use one of those high speed grinders and cut it off almost flush with the concrete base.  I still have about 6 feet of "base" left to use on my next tower project.
 
Man you sure picked the wrong day this week to do this, didn't you?   But you have the hardest part done-- the first step!  Let me know when I can help out.
 
73,
Hal
C'mon BS7H
 
PS- A couple members of WVDXA donated $100 to the BS7H operation this week on behalf of WVDXA.
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: w8tn at ntelos.net
To: WVDXA at wvdxa.org
Sent: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 9:27 PM
Subject: [WVDXA] The Tower Base is DONE!


Guys,

     The temperature only made it up to 42° F today but I was able to get the manual labor and the concrete truck so the new tower base and guy anchors are now DONE!  What a job!  This would have been easy if we had been working on level ground.  But the slope behind my house is SEVERE!  

     The contractor was NOT able to drive his Bobcat up the hill from the "haul road" that marks the back side of my property.  Even backing the Bobcat up the hill with the bucket pushing him would not work.

     Coming down from the top you move horizontally about 75 feet from the crest of the hill and you drop about 28 feet in elevation.  Now that's what I call steep.  I had to use a shovel like a cane to keep from losing my footing.  I think I'll try to install a "ski lift" to get down to the tower base from the house in the future.

     Anyway, I've posted a few photos of today's operation on this web site with some comments.  Just click on any photo to make it larger and then use your BACK button to return to the Index page.

<http://w8tn.com/Gallery/Tower>

     The concrete truck was able to drive up the "haul road" to the back of my property.  This made it easy to pour the two lower guy anchors.  But, the tower was some 75 or 80 feet from the road - UPHILL!  Remember, a Bobcat could not drive up that slope.  So, the cubic yard of concrete for the base of the tower had to be carried by HAND in 5-gallon buckets UP the steep, muddy slope.  Some 44 buckets!  Oh, to be young and full of energy.

     Hopefully on April 14th (weather permitting) I'll start building the tower.  Of course, I need to take down the 30-foot tower and antennas I have up at my old location since that will be the top of the new tower.  Remember, I have to put up 30-feet of tower to get up to ground level!  Then, I have to figure out how to get a crane of some sort to lift the antenna over the trees and onto the tower.  This should be really interesting.

     OK, I'm off to find the Aleve and hit the sack.  Enjoy the pictures.

Clark, W8TN
Hoping to have an antenna up for BS7H

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