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need help with tower setup

excavator701

Member
May 23, 2005
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i am new to setting up a tower so i have a few questions i have 70ft 0f rohn25 i want to put it on a hingeplate system the base of my hinge plate will be 3x3x3 my question is how log should my crackup pole be for easy rigging up and down and whats the best way of rigging the tower i was tolf i need to rig 2 pullys on the tower one @ 60ft and another@30 so the tower wont buckle under load halfway down!! is there anybody outhere that can send me diagrams or pics or both to go by i need to know how to rig the cable from pullys all the way around the tower to the crankpole to the crank and also need to know the best size steel to use in making the hingeplate thanks for the help!!!!!
 

excavator701,
I really hate to tell you this but I don't think a 70' Rohn tower will work as a "tilt-over" on a hinged base without professional/competent help. "Trussing" the tower is one way of doing it, but that's not really all that simple. (Sure, the idea is simple, but the 'doing' of it isn't!) Not being a professional or competent in that sort of thing, I certainly can't tell you what you need to know. Sorry...
- 'Doc
 
I agree with W5LZ. A rohn 25 that size won't be easy to raise safely. Mine is 60 ft., and I'm lucky to have it up without anyone getting hurt, and only minor damage to tower.
 
Hello Excavator 701:

Yeah I have to agree with Doc and Gearhead there. Tilting over such a tall tower I am sure can be done, but a professional stress engineer and big money equipement might be needed.

Thats why many use crank up and down towers, that tilt over when retracted all the way down. Makes its much easier to do.
Makes it real easy to adjust or tweak the antennas.

Jay in the Mojave
 
excavator701,
I'm really not saying you shouldn't try putting up your tower. There are considerations that you may not have thought of yet, though. It's always easier to think of those 'considerations' before, rather than after, you get started.
A tilt-over 70 foot tower just isn't the most practical thing if you tilt it at the base. But the base isn't the only place you can tilt a tower. 'Rohn' used to make a tilting thingy for the center of the tower, sort of a 'fold-over' type thing. That might be one option, if you can still find one. It isn't exactly cheap, but certainly possible. (I hate the thought of climbing a tower!)
Using something like a 'Hazer' is another possibility. Sort of an elevator for the antenna(s). Also not cheap, but all things considered (climbing?), probably worth it. It does mean a slightly more complicated method of raising/lowering things since keeping a 70 foot tower guyed is a very good idea!
Oh well, whatever works...
- 'Doc
 
Hello King Mudduck:

Now that was impressive. I would like to see how and where they attached the pull up lines. I think the winch was geared down of course, and possibility used a set of pulleys. And how many pull up lines ect?

I may even e-mail the guy on that one.

Jay in the Mojave

Ok I added this in on the 10th of Dec, this from the guy who raised the tower.

"It must be pulled from 3 places on the tower at the same time to keep it from buckling...it is not easy and is very dangerous..
rohn 25 is not supposed to be hinged and raised like this but it can be done if you have plenty of extra sections to replace the ones that get bent or broken. i would not recomend trying to raise 90 feet..maybe 50 feet but not 90. the lifting mechanism and the hinge itself cost way to much to make, you can buy a tower that is made for this instead"





King Mudduck said:
watch this, maybe you can get some ideas from it.
 
Here's a picture of the hinge I made. I used 400 ft of rope, up over the house to a capstan winch, attached to the reciever hitch of a heavily loaded 1 ton truck.
I don't go up and down with the tower. It was mainly to get it in the air, and for any repairs that may be needed in the future, but with an I-10K, it should'nt be too often.
100_0858.jpg
 
While watching that video I kept waiting for the tower to buckle and fall. I don't think I would want to try it with 90 feet. In the next year or two I hope to convert my 40 foot freestanding Delhi DMX series tower to a tilt over type. I plan to tilt it over at about 15 feet or so from the bottom in the same sort of fashion as a flag pole tilts over. I need to get two lengths of large pipe like well casing or I-beam for either side of the tower and make a hinge plate for it that will mount on one face of the tower.I have the idea all worked out and the engineer at work thinks it will be more than adequate for the task. I just need the time and money to make it happen. I also need to dig another hole and relocate the base in order to have everything aligned properly.Depending on the weight distribution I may even counterweight the bottom to make raising and lowering easier. I need to do something as my knees are just not up to the task of climbing much any more. Besides that I always seem to need to do antenna work in the winter. Right now my rotator is broke and I have a loose element on my tribander and the wind has been blowing for the last week and a half now. Not hard mind you but hard enough to keep me grounded.
 
This is sort of 'beside' the point, but thought I'd mention it anyway.
I have a neighbor who tends to fall into 'deals' and comes out smelling like a rose. He just happened to run across a 'deal' on a 110/120 foot crank-up 'U.S.Tower' tower and brought the thing home a few months ago, intending to put it up and really get big-time. Well, as things tend to do, it turned out that it might not be as great a 'deal' as he first thought. As in, the city codes, tower heights, "concrete costs WHAT per yard??", and so on. It's still laying where he dropped it to start with. Being the great person I am, I offered to make him a deal on it, since I just happened to have an old pickup he sort of likes. He cited the fact that he was a sort of partner in the tower with someone else. I just happen to know that "someone else" (he's subject to beer bribes!), and told my neighbor not to worry about that, you know? He's still thinking about it.
After checking the new price on this tower (who in their right mind would pay over $20K for a tower?!), and after thinking about it, if my deal goes through, and if the buyer is within 750 - 800 miles of here, I'll make them a very nice deal and even deliver the tower. [Hint: I'm open to 'beer bribes' too.] Depending on the completion of the deal, the availability of the buyer to supply the right beer and feed me, I'll even supervise the installation of said tower.
Now... is that a deal or not?
- 'Doc
 
Gearhead said:
Master Chief said:
I love the Heliax you are using!

Before you build the I-10K, contact me. I have a few building hints for you.
You talking to me?,,, lol. My I-10k is already up.
forum.worldwidedx.com/viewtopic.php?t=19352 You even posted in my thread :shock: . I could use some tuning tips... although I won't lie....I didn't spend much time tuning it in the first place.
In that case, never mind...... :oops:
 
I know I am bringing up an old thread but I wanted to know if you ever did this? This is exactly what I am trying to do right now.
Thanks


While watching that video I kept waiting for the tower to buckle and fall. I don't think I would want to try it with 90 feet. In the next year or two I hope to convert my 40 foot freestanding Delhi DMX series tower to a tilt over type. I plan to tilt it over at about 15 feet or so from the bottom in the same sort of fashion as a flag pole tilts over. I need to get two lengths of large pipe like well casing or I-beam for either side of the tower and make a hinge plate for it that will mount on one face of the tower.I have the idea all worked out and the engineer at work thinks it will be more than adequate for the task. I just need the time and money to make it happen. I also need to dig another hole and relocate the base in order to have everything aligned properly.Depending on the weight distribution I may even counterweight the bottom to make raising and lowering easier. I need to do something as my knees are just not up to the task of climbing much any more. Besides that I always seem to need to do antenna work in the winter. Right now my rotator is broke and I have a loose element on my tribander and the wind has been blowing for the last week and a half now. Not hard mind you but hard enough to keep me grounded.
 

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