NEW AR CLUB - ANT LOC NEAR XFORMER?

[KE5WZY]

Greetings! We are starting a new club: LARC (Library Amateur Radio Club) of Kingfisher Oklahoma. I managed to scounge three ten foot sections from the local phone company an antenna tower base, mid-section and a top section that comes to a point at the top with a hollow pipe. Before I go through all the trouble to locate the antenna, probably against the side of the library and anchor it to the roof, I need to know if anyone has ever had any trouble with a buiding transformer as a potential cause for RF interference. The transformer sits on the ground near the trash recepticle. The ideal location for keeping the tower from becoming obvious, is about 10 foot from the transformer. Keeping in mind the antenna will be mounted at the top of the 30 foot tower, has anyone ever had experience with putting antennas so close to the power transformer?

 

[hookedon6]

humm..... xfmer is 10 feet away, i ASSUME there are some sorta wires going to it. not a real great situation as far as elect safety is concerned. but is is do-able if you pay attention to what you are doing.

before you set the tower, why don't you assemble the antenna near the spot and see what, if any noise there is

 

[KE5WZY]

I suppose that is the best answer, just try the antenna before erecting the tower or before I concrete the base of the tower

 

[SR385]

Just walk the area with an HT that preferably does AM mode or any other radio for the intended bands of operation.. You'll know pretty quickly.

 

[W5LZ]

And just because... (I've been bit by this sort of thingy)

You might check with your local 'codes' department and see if they have any requirements about such a tower installation. Even if they do, they really shouldn't be much of a thing, but better safe than sorry. (Found that out the hard way. Bought a 100 foot crank up tower (very cheap), found out the city considers that sort of tower a 'commercial' tower and charges a yearly fee. The fee was more than the whole thing was worth! Got my money back. Then again, you are talking about the 'intelligence' of a city government department (right!) so what can you say.)
Also, just for grins, talk it up about the club doing emergency communications for the city, that ought'a be worth a little help from them, sort of. (Put it on the roof!)
All kinds of scams... oops, advantages you might find.
- 'Doc

(I didn't tell you any of that, by the way!)

And just because... I'm in 'Big Mac', on the out side looking in! We have club meetings every first Thursday of the month, drop in if you feel like it. You can find us under the county jail (EOC office! Not what you were thinking.). Lots of lying, tall tales, free bottled water. Beer bust, wet 'T'-shirt contests, and free pizza the second Thursday of each week! How do'ya beat that? The 'Strip Bingo' is by invitation only, sorry. On special occasions, we even do 'pole dancing' contests (I won last time!).

I gotta quit this stuff. Everything after 'Beer' isn't all true... I didn't win that contest.

 

[KE5WZY]

Hi W5LZ, thanks for the input. Fortunately I run a city library, and i did that trick your talking about, working with the FEMA guy and emergency management, so that makes it all cool to have a city owned radio station at the library. Yes, they had a city code that states no taller than 35 feet (would include the antenna) so the three sections I have add up to about 27 feet, and hope the antenna itself isn't taller than 8 feet. If I want to have something taller, will have to involve all residents within 300 feet.

Your club sounds like fun, i think my wife might have something to say about the wet t-shirt contest though, where you located?

73's

KE5WZY

 

[W5LZ]

...McAlester... 'Big Mac'... but on the outside looking, NOT the other way around.
- 'Doc

And just because you're sort of close, and stranger things have happened, do you know about, or are you maybe planning on attending the 'Hazmat'/nuclear exercise that's planned for OK/TX later this year? If so, then the date for the "hands dirty" exercise has been rescheduled for September. I think 'they' found out that it was going to take just a little bit more planning than was originally planned.

 

[KE5WZY]

...are you maybe planning on attending the 'Hazmat'/nuclear exercise that's planned for OK/TX later this year? If so, then the date for the "hands dirty" exercise has been rescheduled for September. I think 'they' found out that it was going to take just a little bit more planning than was originally planned.

Wow! :w00t: No haven't heard of it. How do I find out more about it? I will want to pass this on to our Emergency Management office.
--Mike.

 

[W5LZ]

Mike,
I don't know how to tell you how to find out more about it. It's fairly common knowledge through the state EOC section, so your local EOC may already know about it, beats me. I do know that at the start it was a sort of "whoever want's to play" thingy. Now, I'm not so sure , it sort'a 'growed', you know? You might talk to your local EOC director and see what he/she thinks.
I can tell you this. While the exercise is only a one day thingy, it's to be run like it was an on-going , or longer duration one. That means that some preparation is definitely called for, and it will probably take more than one day to get here, prepare, do all the 'playing' and pack up again. It isn't going to be a 'walk though', but a do it till the referees are satisfied sort of thingy (or so I'm told). I can also tell you that the local club is going to be sort of short handed, and any/all help would be appreciated. (You might even get a free meal out of it. Maybe! Just depends on how my beer concession works out. (I wish!)) Oh well, what else do you have to do? Beats cutting grass.
- 'Doc

Oh! Did I mention the wet 'T'-shirt contest the nurses were talking about? I'll check and see if there was anything else I forgot.