This is the page where I post the progress of my tower setup.
I was looking into getting a tower to relocate all the antenna that I have on the front of the house to the backyard. I was searching for a tower, for maybe 8 months to a year, and I got an email from the CCARC (Central Coast Amateur Radio Club, my local club) saying that someone was moving, and he was selling some items. On the bottom of that email, he said that he had a galvanised tower that was for free for removal, So I emailed him back and he said I could come get it the following Sunday.
When Saturday rolled around, the NSW Covid restrictions came into play, and we had to postpone the pickup till the next Sunday. That Sunday, my dad and I loaded up the tower on my brothers Ute and went back home. We arrived home and we realised “How are we gonna get it up there”, so we planned out about getting into the backyard. We managed to get it back there and we dug some holes out using an auger (post-hole digger) and dug out the remaining dirt. Here are some photos of the base plate:
After I did some welding, I noticed that the plate started to warp, and we had to cut out the hinges and locking plate. We then Welded the frame onto the tower and welded some bars onto the bottom of the hinges and looking plate and put them into the hole.
We then concreted the hinges into place, and we left it to dry.
The following week, we slabbed out the base to make it look nice. We first built a frame.
We then concreted it that night.
The following morning, I unscrewed the frame and took it off.
A few days later, I lowered down the tower, using a wooden post as leverage. When I was nearing the ground, the post snaps the tower slams onto the ground. I inspected the tower. I didn’t see any bends, so I cleaned up the area.
I then started putting on the Tribander yagi.
We tried to turn it around, to attach the other side, but it got caught in the ground and one of the elements got bent. I then quickly bent it back. We successfully made it so the antenna can turn a full 360°. I attached a rope to the boom of the Yagi, so I could rotate it, by hand. I connected some spare RG58 coax on the balun and then we raised the tower.
Now we just need to get some proper coax and a rotator to fit the antenna.
But before we get any coax and a rotator, we need a winch system to winch the tower up and down. I had a boat winch set aside for this and all I had to do is weld up a pole and concrete it.
I got some 6mm wire rope and wound it on the winch. After that, I tested out the whole system, and it works!
I then messaged my CB radio friend, Dave, for some LMR400 coax and he made some up. I brought it home and put some PL259 connectors on it and put it through some conduit.
I then lowered down the tower and connected the coax to the balun of the beam.
Now I could use the beam and it was basically finished, but I still needed to put a rotator on it.
I was searching all over Facebook, Gumtree, VKClassifieds and did find a couple within my budget, but those have sold very quickly. I did find an ad on FB with an Archer Rotator and checked it out. It suited the beam and I bought it.
To be Continued
First Edit: 22nd July 2021
Latest Edit: 7th September 2021