Bob's Radio Tower
The Story of:
| or, How I Learned to Love Electric Cool Aid During the Construction of The High Wattage Cottage |
Like any good tower installation, you need to
establish a good, safe, solid foundation. Here
I'm attaching one of 41 aircraft cables to the
crank-up pulleys. Note that I'm putting all my
strength into tensioning the cables. Also note
the liberal use of rivets...for safety.
establish a good, safe, solid foundation. Here
I'm attaching one of 41 aircraft cables to the
crank-up pulleys. Note that I'm putting all my
strength into tensioning the cables. Also note
the liberal use of rivets...for safety.
Another part of the secure installation is to use
plenty of hardware. Here I'm securing the tip-over
plate to the base pedestal. All hardware is high
quality - nuts and bolts - that I saved from my old
1958 Chevy station wagon when it fell apart last
year.
plenty of hardware. Here I'm securing the tip-over
plate to the base pedestal. All hardware is high
quality - nuts and bolts - that I saved from my old
1958 Chevy station wagon when it fell apart last
year.
As we all know, good strong, tight,
aircraft-grade guy wires are essential to
keeping the tower vertical. They also double
as ground plane radials and make a real nifty
"hummming"sound when the wind blows.
Here I'm re-tieing a knot that came loose
during erection - I prefer square knots and
sheep shanks for safety
aircraft-grade guy wires are essential to
keeping the tower vertical. They also double
as ground plane radials and make a real nifty
"hummming"sound when the wind blows.
Here I'm re-tieing a knot that came loose
during erection - I prefer square knots and
sheep shanks for safety
Each of the 41 guy wires uses turnbuckles for
tensioning - I spared no expense. I got the
turnbuckles from an old shipyard in Neptune, NJ.
They were kind of rusty so I coated them with a lot
of Rustoleum (tm). These must be a special kind of
turnbuckle, because they get looser no matter
which way you turn them. See me waiving to the cat
who already climbed the tower? Cute, huh?
tensioning - I spared no expense. I got the
turnbuckles from an old shipyard in Neptune, NJ.
They were kind of rusty so I coated them with a lot
of Rustoleum (tm). These must be a special kind of
turnbuckle, because they get looser no matter
which way you turn them. See me waiving to the cat
who already climbed the tower? Cute, huh?
Here I'm aligning the 9-element 160 meter
beam. Since I strive for durability rather than
light weight, I built the beam with cast iron
rather than aluminum (I consider aluminum as
being a gay metal).
The beam is aligned to point North when the
rotator indicates South - that's because I
prefer to always work long path.
beam. Since I strive for durability rather than
light weight, I built the beam with cast iron
rather than aluminum (I consider aluminum as
being a gay metal).
The beam is aligned to point North when the
rotator indicates South - that's because I
prefer to always work long path.
Here is my friend Adolph Heindrich hoisting the
matching unit up to me. Unfortunately I'm out of the
frame, at the top of the tower, 1,500 feet above
Adolph.
If you look closely at the ascending pallet, you can
see the box of sandwiches my wife sent for our very
pleasant aerial lunch. Also note all the secure knots
I've tied in the guy cables.
matching unit up to me. Unfortunately I'm out of the
frame, at the top of the tower, 1,500 feet above
Adolph.
If you look closely at the ascending pallet, you can
see the box of sandwiches my wife sent for our very
pleasant aerial lunch. Also note all the secure knots
I've tied in the guy cables.
Here are a couple perspectives on the finished structure. At left a shot from the roof of my radio shack
looking up. Note that the cumulus clouds obscure the 160 meter beam, but the 2 meter "J-pole" is
clearly visible. The photo on the right shows the complete tower. In order to get this perspective, I had
to stand on the bird bath in my neighbor's yard. Here we are looking North and the beam is pointed
West...consequently it pretty much isn't too visible.
looking up. Note that the cumulus clouds obscure the 160 meter beam, but the 2 meter "J-pole" is
clearly visible. The photo on the right shows the complete tower. In order to get this perspective, I had
to stand on the bird bath in my neighbor's yard. Here we are looking North and the beam is pointed
West...consequently it pretty much isn't too visible.
Here's a shot of the tower looking East from
Shelton, Connecticut, across the Housatonic
River into Derby, Connecticut. If you zoom in
you can clearly see me at the base of the
tower soldering some PL-259 connectors.
So far, I'm pretty happy with this installation.
Last night I worked a station in Naugatuck on
80 meters, CW and a trucker on 11 meters
channel 19...all the way down in Stratford on
I-95 (Northbound).
Shelton, Connecticut, across the Housatonic
River into Derby, Connecticut. If you zoom in
you can clearly see me at the base of the
tower soldering some PL-259 connectors.
So far, I'm pretty happy with this installation.
Last night I worked a station in Naugatuck on
80 meters, CW and a trucker on 11 meters
channel 19...all the way down in Stratford on
I-95 (Northbound).
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