1,200 Foot Stick

[Bill, KD0HG]

Thought I'd share this.
My employer owns a 1,200 footer some 30 miles north of Denver that serves as a home and aux site for several FM stations.

I was working out there this morning, and here's some shots of the stick. The 1 qt. oil can is for reference..Notice how bloody small the base of the stick is. The bottom sits on a 2" steel pin beneath the plate on the bottom. About 1/2" of wobble space is at the bottom. I could stick my finger in there, but then I started thinking about all those tons of dead weight steel and the pressure of the guy wires pulling down, so I decided not to.

When it's real windy, you can look upwards from the bottom and see the stick weaving around like a Cobra.

Grounding is by 4" copper strap radials and four "Chemrods", welded with 4/0 copper cables to the bottom base.

About a thousand feet to the north of our stick is another 1,200 footer, owned by a UHF TV station.

So this fall, I'm hanging a lazy H for 160 between the two sticks.

[W3GMS]

Hi Bill,

Nothing like a good photo of a big stick!  Very impressive to say the least.  Do the FM's run through a combiner or does each TX'er have their own antenna on the tower? 

I wonder if you ever climbed that one to the top? 

Joe, W3GMS 

[KM1H]

Looks like a lot of HV lines running around to make 160 a real challenge

[Bill, KD0HG]

Hi Bill,

Nothing like a good photo of a big stick!  Very impressive to say the least.  Do the FM's run through a combiner or does each TX'er have their own antenna on the tower? 

I wonder if you ever climbed that one to the top? 

Joe, W3GMS 

No way, Jose!

The tallest stick I have ever climbed was about 350' tall, and that was 30 years ago- LOL
It really doesn't matter if you fall from 100 feet up or 1,000 feet, does it?

It takes an experienced tower crew an hour at least to climb the thing. They should have put a winch and a bosun's chair on the thing, and not every local tower company will tackle working on the thing all the way to the top.

There are 4 FMs on the tower- Two are into a T combiner and two are on separate antennas.

Bill

[K1JJ]

It would take a winch with over 2500' of continuous cable to pull something to the top. Imagine the size of the reel and infrastructure. Not many tower companies can handle that who are used to <300' tower work. 

With rest stops, it takes me about  10 minutes to climb my 190' towers.  I'll bet it would take me 2 hours, if I had the endurance, to climb 1200'. That's like climbing Everest. Then after realizing I forgot an important tool, it would be a trip back down and up again....

T

[Bill, KD0HG]

Hi Tom.

The way I've seen them work is that one guy climbs to the top, then he sets a pulley and a light leader line in place. After that they can winch parts and tools up. Their trucks carry a big spool of aircraft cable with a motorized winch.

It gets even tougher for out of state crews; they're not used to the altitude here without acclimating to oxygen starvation...Although I did see one guy light up a cig after making it to the top..I probably would light one up, too, if I made it that far!

Those crews are some of the toughest mofos I have ever met.

Can't imagine climbing the thing with a full set of tools, too!

[W7TFO]

Those crews are some of the toughest mofos I have ever met.

Amen to that!

73DG

[KM1H]

I used to be able to get up the 180' with one rest stop when I was in my 50's. Now it takes 2 or 3 but Im also looking around and enjoying the scenery. Its those 3-4 trips over 3-6 hours that get to me

[K1JJ]

I used to be able to get up the 180' with one rest stop when I was in my 50's. Now it takes 2 or 3 but Im also looking around and enjoying the scenery. Its those 3-4 trips over 3-6 hours that get to me

Bill:  Yep, a big winch is gold. Don't have one though.   I've used my truck for years now.  Two tag lines out the window that control the Yagi swing and the main rope on the truck frame.

Carl:  With a lot of planning, it's amazing what can be done in just one climb.  I sometimes have so much junk tied to my belt on a climb I can barely get up there from the weight. But the higher we go, the more gets used for jobs and gets lighter.   It's something like a space walk where we need each step planned out and the proper tools and hardware ready to go. I do my work solo, so that becomes a bigger challenge.

On the sixteen 6M Yagi job, I tied eight Yagis together on one long rope and pulled them up with the truck. They rested right at the exact point to be bolted on. The phasing harnesses went up with them too. I bolted the eight Yagis to the tower on my way up, and then climbed down with the torch and soldered and sealed all the conections.  One climb per side...  

Some of these quad 75M loop array projects were wire nightmares. The 40' boom weighing 200 pounds with overhead trussing and coax feeds, relay boxes, and 600'+ of wire hanging down on the other Yagis was quite sporting. All pulled up in one assembly.  The wind has to be calm or forget it.

My favorite part of the climb is always when the feet touch the ground again. As we get older it's a good feeling to know we still have the balls to climb and overcome our fears.  But that won't last forever.

T

[KM1H]

A calm day above 120' is almost unheard of here. The wind comes across the valley, hits the side of the hill, curves up and mixes with the straight on wind.

I'll still climb with about 30-40# and the ropes/pulleys are attached to more. But with all the commercial crap and some left over sidemounts from the 4/4/4/4 on 20 its a regular obstacle course. Thats on the clean up agenda.

[K1JJ]

Yeah, those obstacle courses are scary. I remember climbing over Chuck's jumbo ring rotators.  He was used to it and a little taller - but I had my hands full getting over them.

Anyway, I'm off to the ocean tomorrow (near Westerly, RI) to do some ocean kayaking and sailing with Yaz. First time on the ocean with this setup so shud be an exciting time.  After all, it IS summer.

T

[KX5JT]

All I can say is you guys REALLY LOVE this hobby!!!   

[KL7OF]

here's what I've been working on....In bush Alaska...250 ft tall...Repair welding on the bottom pile caps...2 1/2 inch plate cap to 4 ea 16 in x 1/2 wall piles on each corner...Piles are driven 60 ft into the ground...Telephone company stuff.....A lot of scrap Andrews heliax about 1 1/2 in diameter laying about....

[W2PFY]

here's what I've been working on

Why do they break?

[KL7OF]

here's what I've been working on

Why do they break?

They didn't break...they are new installations and some of the welds didn't pass inspection....we  were  hired to fix the defects....

[K5IIA]

i'm an ironworker and can get around on them beams with zero problem. man i get on a tower over 30 foot and my knees start wiggaling. getting up on a tower takes strength and big bollas

[AJ1G]

Anyway, I'm off to the ocean tomorrow (near Westerly, RI) to do some ocean kayaking and sailing with Yaz. First time on the ocean with this setup so shud be an exciting time.  After all, it IS summer.

T

Tom - Where did you end up putting in down our way?  Talking kayaking with some friends up here in the Hartford area right now, Diane and I may rent some Ks in Wequetequock and go out with them with their Old Towns from Barn Island sometime soon. Remember we were talking up this subject way back in the depths of the How Deep Is the Snow thread a few months back.

[K1JJ]

Tom - Where did you end up putting in down our way?  Talking kayaking with some friends up here in the Hartford area right now, Diane and I may rent some Ks in Wequetequock and go out with them with their Old Towns from Barn Island sometime soon. Remember we were talking up this subject way back in the depths of the How Deep Is the Snow thread a few months back.

Yo Chris -

Yaz and I went out from Barn Island all day yesterday.  It was our best kayaking/sailing session ever. Still recovering from sore muscles.

We went out to the two sand bars a mile and then two miles out, and even sailed out to the old pillons? at the outlet where the waves start to get big.  The wind was about 10 mph from WNW and we were able to cover at least 10 miles. Crossing the big boat lanes four times was a trip. The waves get big and the boat starts bouncing. It's like crossing a highway - we had to go like hell to get clear a few times.

Had lunch on the sand bars, met some other kayakers and Yaz had a great time swimming and sniffing around.

Low tide was at 10AM and high tide was at 4:15PM, so we got a good dose of both.

I was really quite worried about going out so far off shore, but it pays to stretch and put the fears aside.

The sail worked FB. There were a couple of hot rod sea kayakers who were smoking. They started out to the second sand bar with a few minutes head start. Yaz and I caught a strong wind and also paddled. Within a few minutes we passsed by them and left them far behind. I could see thier mouths drop. Normally I can't keep up with those narrow sea kayaks, especially with Yaz's 60 extra pounds on board but the wind condix were perfect. It felt like riding one of those Hawaiian outrigger boats.  A moment in time. Fun time.


I might do it again in the future, but was thinking of dropping in at Mystic and exploring that area first.   Fishers Island also looks inviting, though I know the waves and currents might be killer out there.

Wish I took some pics, but was too concerned about safety this time. Also wish I brought back a bag of shells for Yaz to sniff. He was running around with a big shell in his choppers for awhile out there...  
T

[AJ1G]

Tom - sounds like you guys had a great time.  I think there are big signs on Sandy Point (big sand bar to the west of the Barn Island ramp) that say it is off limits to dogs, because of nesting birds there, but otherwise I don't know of any other canine restrictions.  The west end of Napatree Point has what's left of Ft. Mansfield, which was a coastal defense gun battery built during the Spanish American War.  You can beach on the back side of the Napatree barrier beach and walk into the village of Watch Hill, RI.  You probably saw a lot of boats either beached or moored in there (locals call it "The Kitchen").