Installing a new tower....

[N4JNW]

Hey guys. I expect to be moving away from home in a few months, and I have scored a 60 ft. self support tower. The top section is bent slightly, but I think with a little heat I can bend it back. But, if it turns out I can't, then I'll still have a 40 ft. tower, which will still be great. Here's the lowdown on it.

- It is slightly rusty, and the nuts and bolts are rusty as well.

- As mentioned the top section is bent slightly, why I don't know..

To take care of the rust situation, I'm going to get one of those wire brush wheel things you chuck into a power drill, and hopefully this will remove the mass of the rust. If this works, I will take some fine sandpaper and sand a little bit on the tower as well to prep it for new paint.

As far as painting goes, I plan to primer and paint with exterior paint. Would I even need to primer, or just hit it with 2 or 3 good coats of Rustoleum paint?

After the paint goes on and dries, I'm tossing the old rusty hardware, and picking up some stainless steel stuff at Ace. If I'm going to spend money, then I'm gonna make it well spent and not skimp anywhere.

Now since you guys have the lowdown, here's some questions. For thos eof you who have put up towers, and/or have your own, what are some things YOU would have done different when installing? I know it's not going to be perfect by any means, but I do want it to look good, and I don't want to have to worry about it during a storm.

Also, when putting the tower itself in the ground, how do you make sure it's straight up and down? I don't want to put it in the concrete and it set up only to realize the tower looks like the leaning tower of pisa..

Do I need to guy wire it? (Yes, I do know the proper term is "GUY" wire.. I'm not the fart that calls them "GUIDE" wires..)

I will also be installing a copper ground rod. I can score that easy. My father works for the electric company, so ground rods are a dime a dozen for him.

I need some tips and tricks for this. Never have put up a tower before.

EDIT: If it helps any, here will be the antennae that I plan to put on the tower, and how I will have them configured.

For starters, I have a rotor that I plan to use. I want to take a 3 element 10 beam, and lay it over on it's side, for horizontal polarization. Above this, I'm going to go up about 4 ft, and add a 2 meter yagi, vertically polarized, so I can hit the repeater back home and talk to all my friends.

Other than these two antennae, there probably won't be much of nothing else on the tower. Maybe my wireless weather station sensors, and a yagi cell phone antenna, but they won't be all the way up. Maybe 15 or 20 ft above the base.

 

[Skud]

got a link at all for the manu of that tower? I need one for home and looking to buy one but having problems finding websites with the towers for sale.

 

[LordJ]

I would use a 3M Automotive rust & paint stripper instead of a wire brush...

 

[dbox1]

First, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind. Local laws and zoning may restrict the height of your tower. You may require permits if in any city limits. Some codes may require that it be registered and illuminated. Contact your local code enforcement office for details. Second, where ever you place this tower, if it was to ever fall or collapse, would it's total height, including antenna, ever touch power lines in a 360 degree circle from it's base? Anything that is 40' or taller absolutely needs guying. Anything that tall needs adequate protection from lightning, so plan on multiple grounding rods. This is not something you want to do without the advice and expertise of a professional, even if only for site assessment. And your insurance and obligations of legal liability must be addressed. Just an afternoon of your time may save you from having to remove your tower if done incorrectly.

 

[K8PBX]

I salvaged and installed an old used Rohn-6 steel tower a few years back. It had some mild surface rust which I removed (mostly) with a steel wire brush. For paint, I first coated it with Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing spray as the primer and followed it up with a couple of coats of Rustoleum spray enamel. So far, the paint is holding up very well despite the hot/cold variances we experience here in Michigan. For nuts & bolts, I did what you’re thinking of doing and replaced everything with stainless steel bolts, washers, and Nylock nuts.

For grounding, I used two 8’ steel copper clad rods near the base of the tower and bonded them to each other, to the tower, to the metal bulkhead coax box, and to the service entrance ground rod as well.

As far as keeping the whole thing level while waiting for the concrete to cure, I triple checked things using a 4 foot carpenter level and simply braced the assembly using 2x4’s. It held things straight and level throughout the pour.

 

[W4KRR]

You don't say what kind of tower it is, or whether or not it is a free standing or guyed design. Your best bet would be to find out the manufacturer and contact them for their specifications on how it should be installed.

For the person who said that anything over 40 feet absoutely must be guyed, that's not necessarily true. There are towers that are designed to be free standing, and I've seen them in heights to 300 feet, it just depends on the design.

So, to the OP, is the tower straight and untapered, or is the bottom section the same diameter as the top? If it's tapered, it is probably a free standing design. If all sections are the same diameter, it's probably a design that should be guyed.

I had a Rohn 40 foot tower for many years at my old house. It was made up of 10 foot long stack sections, and it was unguyed, but there was a house bracket about 8 feet above the ground. The base was concrete, three feet deep by about 2.5 feet wide. I never had any problems with it.

 

[N4JNW]

Actually, I did mention that it is a Self Support. First line.

 

[W4KRR]

Actually, I did mention that it is a Self Support. First line.

Oops, so you did!

 

[timmer]

I have a 50 foot tower mounted on the side of my house, no guy wires, no intention of putting them in. It is securely attached to the roof (two story house), with heavy duty bolts and hardware. It survived an f-2 tornado, (although bent a little from just above the roof line.)

 

[ohiodesperado]

OK, I see that it's a self supporting tower. You need to realize how deep the hole needs to be and how big a square to be self supporting. A 50 Foot freestander needs a hole at least 4 by 4 and 6 feet deep. That's allot of concrete. You will also need to build or have built the proper rebar and mount plate needed for the tower you are putting up. Just sticking the tower in the hole is number one really unsafe until teh concrete sets and then the concrete will hold moisture against the tower and rust it away, causing it to fall over.

I am not trying to discourage you in your endeavor, but if you are going to the trouble to put up a tower like this, do in once, do it right and get allot of enjoyment out of it. Your only other option is do it wrong and hope no one sues you when it falls over and it only damages your property.

 

[gingerloffer]

It looks like you know exactly what you're doing regarding that project. But, you should know the law about the limits of height that's only allowed by law.


________________
Asi
Maxrad Mobile Radio Antenna - Maxrad Mobile Radio Antenna Line Catalog by Maxrad

 

[mbird97x]

The70' Rohn 25 tower I had put up was mounted to a hinged baseplate bolted( using nuts/washers above and below the plate for leveling) to (4)5/8" "J" bolts imbedded into a concrete pad about 3' cubed. I used a plywood template of the baseplate to simulate it while positioning the bolts. I assembled 6 sections(60') and we winched it up into position using the baseplate. Once it was secured to the base, I adjusted the nuts to level/plumb it up. I guyed it in two places, 3 guys each, one at 30' and the other at 60'. I tied the 20' section of sch. 80 pipe mast inside the tower so it would be in position once erected. Only the rotor and antenna had to be hoisted up after the top section was hoisted/put in place. A good days work no doubt. All of My tower was above ground.