New tower installation photos 7/26/11 - Page 2

Dafe1er · #21 (**permalink**) 07-28-2011, 9:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ridgescan

Just saying-why slam the guy when it's a done deal, and there's no unringing that bell? To make him feel like crap for over -spending HIS money? I fail to see the good that does. Just saying.

I agree. Let the man alone with his new toys!

Nice looking setup now please share the units you are running so we can see what all this was for.

Dafe.

wyomingmedic · #22 (**permalink**) 07-29-2011, 9:41 PM

Looks good. And YES, it costs a lot to have pros do it for you.

My only question, I see the braid grounds from the coax shield, but I don't see any in-line lightning arrestors protecting the center conductor. Certainly want to get those in there if they are not already.

Aside from that, enjoy the setup. It should yield very nice performance. Before buying the house we live in now (and the tower that sits here now), we ;lived in a rental townhouse. I was able to mount some small VHF verticals on the roof line. Being where we sat overlooking town, it was one of the best performing setups I ever had.

WM

bsigg · #23 (**permalink**) 07-29-2011, 10:35 PM

Very nice install.

I would say good value for the money paid.

KD4KNR · #24 (**permalink**) 07-30-2011, 1:31 PM

Nice install....

Was there any bracing in the attic? Pics??

rocknrun · #25 (**permalink**) 07-31-2011, 12:32 AM

Very nice installation; with your insurance covering 87% of the cost I don't blame you a bit for getting the pros to do the install.

BearMan54 · #26 (**permalink**) 07-31-2011, 12:40 AM

Nice, but I'd still have them come route the coax a different way around the gutter....!

OpSec · #27 (**permalink**) 08-03-2011, 2:46 PM

That install is far and away better than 99.5% of any other "shack", "command post", "comm center" or scanner "war room" shown on this forum, yet a whole slough of you guys feel the need to slam it anyway.

The guy spent his money on what he wanted, not to mention had a professional crew install the stuff in a manner consistent with commercial/public safety tower installations. He's in a townhouse, not a NIKE silo with an AT&T Long Lines site next to it...it's not going to be the same as a tower site. Granted, I wold concur with tying the grounds together and would ask if the coax runs are PolyPhaser'd inside but how many other people here have properly grounded feedline like this install? My guess is none to very few.

It's an awesome install for a residence and will give the OP many years of reliable service.

mattgregg110 · #28 (**permalink**) 08-03-2011, 3:29 PM

I would like to see the rest of the shack, the tower and antennas are nice.... its your money you do what you want with it...... but its still a good looking setup so far.

abqscan · #29 (**permalink**) 08-03-2011, 5:13 PM

Everyone is so quick to point out when an install is performed poorly, yet, when someone actually does it right, and it is not ham sexy enought for them, they still complain. Eeesh!

Chankel, Kudos for having a clean install and doing it right!

W2NJS · #30 (**permalink**) 08-03-2011, 6:30 PM

You nay-sayers are completely overlooking the question of responsibility and liability should the installation every fail, cause damage, etc. etc. Anyone who chooses to use a "pro" to do his antenna installation is buying a large chunk of peace of mind, whether you agree with the installer's costs and methods or not. I would add one item to the cost of the job if it hasn't been taken care of and that is an umbrella liability policy in the amount of $1 million or so, again, "just in case" it's ever needed.

And, just to show you that I looked carefully at the photos, I also think that the coax that's been run over the top gutter without protection needs to be padded or otherwise "fixed" before too much time passes, but overall it's a pretty slick job in my opinion.

DSYCUTTER · #31 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011, 3:59 PM

Looks great and glad you like it. I don't care what you paid, but since you paid someone to do it, all the little things being pointed out should have been addressed, especially the lightening arrestors and some sort of protection passing over gutter. A pro should know better. How much would you say your reception has improved?

brandon · #32 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011, 5:17 PM

I absolutely love this install and consider yourself very lucky to have such a fantastic setup living in a Condo. I know most people in Condos are in situations where they might as well give up the hobby due to HOA nazis.

Don't listen to people griping about the cost. I don't even know why they are complaining as it's not any of their business. People are allowed to spend whatever they can afford. I'm sure most of us have at least $4,000 invested in this hobby anyway.

russellmaher · #33 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011, 5:42 PM

This is an awesome tower and antenna setup! Congratulations Chankel, and as soon as possible can you give us the pics of the room and radios that these antennas are feeding. I, for one, am dying to see the other ends of the coax.

Russell

WA2E · #34 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011, 5:51 PM

It's not any of our concern what the man spent. I still do my own installs but approaching 60 I may have to pay some day. My only concern having dealt with wiring my entire work life is I would like to have seen some slack over the gutter. I use pieces of heater hose on individual coaxes held in place by black electrical tape covering the entire "short" piece when crossing the shingles or gutters. Other than that looks like years of fun. Good luck & enjoy!

Mike

rafdav · #35 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011, 6:34 PM

You'll be hearing many frequencies to say the least!!!

NoCoFire · #36 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 10:01 PM

Nice installation and nice grounding (NEC!!!). This is a sharp setup that will hopefully last you many years and provide lots of enjoyment. Thanks for sharing.

-NoCoFire

crazyboy · #37 (**permalink**) 08-14-2011, 12:32 PM

How many ground rods did they drive and did they bond it to the utility groundrod?

Ken_Allen · #38 (**permalink**) 08-14-2011, 5:36 PM

Wait, can somebody point out the tower to me?

And why is LMR400-600 being used? Looks like it's just receive to me.

kb0nly · #39 (**permalink**) 08-14-2011, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken_Allen

Wait, can somebody point out the tower to me?

And why is LMR400-600 being used? Looks like it's just receive to me.

The companies selling these call them a roof mount tower... Although i always call them a tripod or in this case a quad pod cause its basically a tripod with four legs, aka quad.

The coax i can't argue though, using the best possible for less signal loss is important on receive. I run 1/2" hardline for my scanner antenna.

Ken_Allen · #40 (**permalink**) 08-14-2011, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb0nly

The companies selling these call them a roof mount tower... Although i always call them a tripod or in this case a quad pod cause its basically a tripod with four legs, aka quad.

The coax i can't argue though, using the best possible for less signal loss is important on receive. I run 1/2" hardline for my scanner antenna.

Running that expensive coax (LMR600??? Please) for simply receive is a complete waste of money as it's never going to be noticeable by the ear, and by using these not so great receiving scanners. If he was transmitting on VHF and UHF, then I would understand the need for it, but it simply looks as if he's receiving.

You could run RG8x for like $40/100ft. Especially since the distance doesn't look too far. We don't even run LMR600 or hardline out to our towers here in Arizona.