[KYHAM] Summers over, Inspections due.

Wed Sep 5 22:29:18 CDT 2007

Hi folks, W 8 N S V  here, Well it's un-officially over, Summer is here and gone once again
Time to empty the pool, rake the leaves burn the brush piles and so on.... 
It's been a long hot summer, now the children are back in school, vacations are over and
in just 18 Days...The first day of Autumn will be here.  (Fur you'ins up yander in the hills of
the Blue grass..Fall is here.) Just kidding, not pun intended, I'm mountain folk myself.
In just 55 days Holoween will be here and in 78 days we have Thanksgiving, time to get the 
lawn mover put away and clean up around the house.  

OK so on Sept 18th, Fall is here. It's that time again to do inspection on your Tower and
Antennas.  I have enclosed and adobe file for your viewing and my own personal list below.

I do inspection as well and you may contact me via my e-mail if you desire. 
col.don.r.maupin at netzero.com 

  Tower Inspection & Maintenance : 
(By Tower Consultant;  W 8 N S V Col. Don R Maupin)  I have been doing Tower work and
amateur radio for 29 yrs I remember 2m rigs that had crystals or thumb wheels on top. 
So I have the know how and experienced in my field. Below is my list of things I do or check. 
I'd be happy to do your inspection at very low cost to you.  

Loose hardware, missing hardware, rust or even damaged antenna components can cause a
headache for your communication towers and communication systems. 
Tower Inspections and/or Maintenance is an issue a lot of operators either overlook or consider
an unnecessary expense.  However, in my professional experience, regular tower inspections 
and maintenance can help avoid the sometimes extreme costs of tower repairs should a failure
occur with the tower itself or with your antenna systems. Early detection is the key in avoiding
any disruption to your communication flow.

Even the best tower installers have been discovered to have missed tightening a nut or two,
forgetting a nut or washer or both and many times I have discovered short cuts taken to save 
time or money have failed, in the long run you the owner and/or operator will pay the ultimate
price.

Regular inspection and maintenance is a bonus to your system, but how often you should 
perform these functions is entirely up to you. "I recommend that you preform a routine check at
least every 12 months, but often find it better to use a 6 month interval period."

Severe Storms can cause havoc on your tower at any given time, and "I strongly suggest that
you perform a visual check of your communication site if such a storm occurs." Loss in radio
signals, loss in pressure of waveguide systems, or coax slapping against the tower, or even 
components found on the ground that should be found on the tower only should be cause to
perform a tower inspection to correct any damage from the storm.

Just a NOTE:
If you're going to take down a tower of unknown quality then you'll first look it over and them 
climb it if safe enough to at least check out the condition. If the outside looks fine then about 
the only other thing to check is the bolts which join the sections together. If they look bad then
replace them as you go up the tower. It's not that difficult, and it's not all sitting on each bolt of 
course. Remove the nut, and then try to punch the bolt out with a center punch or a smaller 
bolt. If there's a good deal of weight on a particular bolt, then use what is known as a "jacker." 
Immediately put a new bolt in, of course. 
I always use Case harden and friction nuts when replacing these bolts. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The things I'd check before climbing old towers are: 
1. the tower itself. If it's rusty to the point that it has holes in it, then don't bother with it at all,
unless it's to knock it down. 

2. the bolts that hold the sections together. The tower section is not really that heavy, and you 
shouldn't have much trouble jacking up the tower at the joints and checking both the bolts and
the metal of the tower that way. If the tower is fine but the bolts are bad, then replace the bolts
as you climb up it the first time. 

3. the guy wires. If they're bad then just get some 1/8" galvanized wire from the hardware store
(it's cheaper than dying) and make new guy wires for the tower as you climb it, one set at a 
time. The guy wires don't have to be any more than hand tight, to tell you the truth, and that
wire is easy to work with. Get some of the small u-clamps if you buy this wire.

As far as the tower being tilted goes, that's not a very big deal so long as it's not more than a
1/2  foot out of plumb at the top. If everything else is OK I wouldn't worry about it that much.
However, if you replace the guy lines, make sure that you leave enough spare line on the
ground ends so that you can straighten the tower (bit by bit) while you're safely on the ground.

ROPE: I can tell you in my 29 yrs of tower work that a 60 foot tower can be safely supported 
by Nylon 1/4 inch rope for up to 12 yrs without going back to do anything. Any tower over
60 foot should be supported by 3/8 inch nylon rope. Anything above 75 feet, I strongly suggest
galvanized guy wires. Nylon can be given a long life of up to 30 yrs PROVIDING you use a 
product called Lin-seed oil. A bit messy but extends the life of nylon tremendously, There is 
nothing wrong against using nylon rope, regardless of what some say, just not suggested for
anything higher than 60' foot.  Towers should be guyed at 30ft- 40ft and 60ft, etc...a minimum of
three guys per- section.  The guys should be set ABOUT 60% of the over all height, from the base. 80 ft tower should have guy supports about 120 feet from the center base. 
Just don't take any shortcuts.  Important Items I Inspect and look for: 

Site Conditions

Building/Shelter

Drip loops and weather heads for cables

Cable trays and supports 

Waveguide Bridge 

General Condition of Site 

Fencing 

Tower Structure

Foundations 

Tower Plumb/Straight 

Galvanizing Condition 

Paint Condition 

Climbing Devices if any

Taped or tie wrap areas up the tower

tree branches that may need trimming back or cut down. 

Tower Hardware 

Tower Members (I don't mean Crew)

Grounding!!! 

Tower Guying System!!!

Anchors and Anchor Foundations!!! 

Guy Cables!!! 

Guy Tension 

Tower Lighting Systems if applies

Changing old or burned out bulbs

Adding lighting if desired or FAA demands it, 
Note: it may not be a demand but nothing wrong in being 
safe either. I have lighted many a 60 foot tower at the owners 
request regardless And it must be done accordingly, if lighting 
is desired, I warn you lighting is not cheap! 

Lamp Illumination if it applies

Conduit Runs 

Controller Box 

Power Outlets 

Photo Cell Operation for lighting if applies

Antenna Details

Model/Serial/Size/Location 

Polarization/Azimuth to support

Centerline 

Hardware Condition If you need to replace bolts and keeping 
the tower up, go with Case-harden bolts as I do, grade 6 or better!
NOTHING LESS!  It's worth the money and time to do it right! 

Paint Condition 

Radome/HP Cover Condition 

Stiff Arm Attachments 

Waveguide/Coax Details

Type/Length 

Supports 

Overall Condition (Kinks, Bends, Protection, Weatherproofing)

Bee sure to view the adobe file attached here>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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