An Aluminum Tower on a Windy Day

This video features a trouble shooting and repair of a single bay FM broadcast antenna mounted on an Aluminum tower. For the British people Aluminum can also be spelled Aluminium but we "yanks" prefer Aluminum. :-) For an excellent paper on Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) and what forward and reflected power is all about, go to the following link
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www.maximintegrated.com/en/gl...

[@sbc_jake_9677]

As a fabricator, I personally wouldn't trust those aluminum rods to catch me if I fall knowing how soft aluminum is. Awesome video 👍

[@lancelowe4218]

I climb towers for a living... Just not aluminum ones! LOL

[@KC9RXP]

Some of those welds though. Yikes

[@timmack2415]

I have a 100-foot, aluminum, free-standing tower at my house. I was up at the top last weekend and became suddenly religious! 😁 You have a few years on me, but you make it look easy. Stay safe, brother!

[@1Esteband]

Looking the aluminum top pole and thinking that it looks like aluminum pipes that I've crushed with so little effort, and looking at you hanging from it gives me the chills. Great videos and commentaries. Thank you!

[@jhettish]

The pipe is about 3/16" thick and Two and a half inches diameter. That's just an eyeball guess. The top tube may be sleeved with another piece of T-6 aluminum pipe but I'm not sure. The aluminum in this structure is plenty tough. John

[@everydayj9330]

I know I'm late to the comments here but, hats off to you Sir. It takes a sound mind & body to do that kind of work. 🙂👍

[@cowboyfrankspersonalvideos8869]

Thanks for the voice overlay and the link. Very informative. While I never knew the math behind VSWR, (until now) we had the same issues in cable TV systems. Especially with cables with no TV on the end which were lacking terminators. End of cable reflections can cause (in the older analogue signals that I worked with) ghosting and degraded signal strength. All too often I would find open port TV outlets with no terminators. I've been out of the business since 1986 so you can see how far behind the technology I am.

[@Hp2G1]

Great video John! You are an inspiration to all of us, older folks. I started climbing trees (not towers) by necessity, with ropes, about 3 years ago at 54. I needed to take down, in section from the top, 3 dying 80 feet trees leaning onto my country house. I now kind of like it, and everybody I know are saying I am crazy. But looking at what you do at 72, and been doing for many years, I am a sissy! Thanks again!

[@jhettish]

Hi Guy, (I start a lot of my correspondence with 'Hi guy'). Trees are pretty unpredictable so I definitely wouldn't call you a sissy. I also imagine you're using a chain saw to do the work. I've done that before and while not particularly scared of doing such work I do know that it requires a laser beam type of focus in order to be able to descend out of the tree and do something else later. As a kid I was always climbing trees and playing on the jungle Jim in the school playground. Some of us are born climbers and some aren't. I've often heard if you think you're crazy then you probably aren't. Crazy people don't think they're crazy. Thanks for the comment. John

[@davemellott701]

Nice job John. I've been climbing since around 1980 also. Sooo many climbs over the years! I've climbed the Aluminum tower "several" times. I thought the brand was "Heights", but apparently not. Anyway, due to the construction of that particular tower ( the legs of the upper section going inside the bottom section), this tower has a tendency to corrode when the person assembling the tower fails to use "never seize" at the joints. A suggestion especially for that tower you climbed in the video. The next time you climb it, tape each leg joint to prevent water from getting inside the joints to prevent corrosion. If the corrosion gets bad enough and you need to disassemble it, you would swear they were welded together.( and you'll swear at it also!). I've had some that I could not disassemble, even with heat and/or a jack (which is a no-no because that will destroy the section) !! Lots of fun at the top, no? Anyway, just thought I would pass that bit of info along! 73's. KE8KT, Dave

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the information. I have no idea when or if we'll be asked to go up the tower in the aluminum tower again. I think I've only climbed five or six aluminum towers in 45 years but I'm not sure. Seems we sold several aluminum towers in the 70s. Aluminum jacketed coax was also popular back then. I've seen aluminum towers with rusted bolts and I've also seen one that broke one its legs where it attached to the foundation. I sunk some anchor bolts in the foundation concrete and attached two cables and two turnbuckles and made it solid again, so to speak. That last one mentioned is behind our EMS main ambulance garage. It's only 80 feet tall and has one two-way antenna on it. It also has one steady burning red light on top. One year the EMS technicians decided that since they'd just finished High-Angle rescue training they would change the single 116 watt lamp at the top. I was called a few days later and asked if I'd change it. I went to the site and was told that one of the EMTs had got about 30 feet up the tower and decided that wasn't for him. I liked to use that particular tower for training purposes. I'd send "the new guy" up the tower to change the single lamp. I'm not suggesting I'd do that on the first day he shows up for work. He would have been climbing for a while with us but since there are so few wiggly towers he would not have experienced what an aluminum self supporter could convey. The new guy would be a bit shaky but then would figure out how to distribute his weight and how to climb without swinging his butt. he'd climb and finish the job in about 20 minutes or less and by the time he came back down he really knew how to distribute his weight and climb smoothly. They closed the helicopter landing pad so we never get asked to replace the lamp these days. John

[@jhettish]

I tried to upload this video yesterday but the network switch associated with the computer I was using gave up the ghost after 34 minutes of upload. It's always something. :-)

[@gekkedirkie]

Nice video for the sunday

[@lewiemcneely9143]

You made up for your ground time on this one. I could tell you and the tower were weaving back and forth and I was glad for the mumbling, singing and whistling. Back to your old self if you ever left it. The tower makers did you no favors. Those stretches were L O N G. Good job, John!

[@captainpike8908]

John I find your videos quite entertaining and instructive. Especially the working at heights. Being a PM for a commercial roofer I've had my share of working at heights my self, however I've only topped out at mere 470 ft. Again falling is not an option. Just wanted to say thanks for the entertainment and make sure everybody goes home!

[@jhettish]

Glad you enjoy the videos. Comments like yours make the 3.5 hour edit for a 17 minute KZbin video worth while. John

[@B81Mack]

You have my utmost respect... You couldn't pay me enough to climb up that thing!

[@ke4drj912]

Thank you for taking the time to share with us. Quite informative and entertaining. I've done some tower work in the Amature radio community so It's nice to see the prospective from the professional world. thanks again. 73 ke4drj.

[@jhettish]

From the professional world the biggest difference is that we do this almost every day for years on end, regardless of many weather and environmental hindrances. I've had a ham license for 57 years but working in the two-way radio business as an electronic technician, doing tower "work" on a regular basis and trying to keep my company's financial head above water leaves little time for Amateur endeavors. I do donate equipment to local hams and maintain at least three repeaters. Fortunately for this 10 hour a day guy the ham repeaters are very reliable. John

[@J11DNO]

Great videos, thanks for sharing them!

[@jhettish]

Thanks Brian

[@joebessette6565]

The guy who hooked it up originally must have forgot his wrench or something lol

[@mentalvmaxrider]

Now that's nuts!!! That tower just looks wayyyyyy too flimsy to climb. You have balls man

[@guntherultraboltnovacrunch5248]

Hope you guys get paid well. You deserve it. I get clammy just watching this stuff. Ballz-o-steel.

[@DunkTheHunk]

Cool video, been climbing for 12 months now and i remember watching your videos before i joined up. Haven't been up an aluminium tower yet, don't think we really use those in the UK and our towers are rarely above 40m high.

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment, Luke. I truly love all comments even the ones that ...................... well use your imagination. We have an aluminum (did I spell Aluminum correctly in UK) tower about 2 miles (3.21869 kilometers) from my office. It is an older version of simple self-supporting metal poking out of the ground and ascending to about 80 feet (24.384 meters) supporting one relatively small antenna (aerial). It's (the tower) rather flexible. In fact I used to call it the "aluminum spring" and I guess I still do. The main reason for climbing the tower was to replace the one marker lamp protecting the helicopter landing pad about 100 feet (30.48 meters) away. On a couple of occasions when lamps needed to be replace the "Paramedics" who also held the title of "High Angle Rescurer" had taken a look at the mini-mast and decided it would be very easy for one of their guys to climb the tower and replace the lamp. I would say "OK" and hand them the replacement lamp. About a week later I'd get a call indicating the paramedics had not made it to the top of the tower. They would get to about 30 feet and decide they did not need to complete the task. The idea was that they could avoid having to pay my company for someone to climb and replace the lamp. That happened two times and until the helipad was abandoned I would climb the tower myself or send one of my guys to climb it. I had a joke (of sorts) that when the 80 foot tall (how many meters) needed to be climb I'd send The New Guy to do that work. "New Guy" did not mean the fellow's first day on the job. He had to having been climbing regularly with us on other jobs, none of which had the tendency to sway more than a few inches (or meters). It wasn't a real joke however. When possible I would give one of my new employees the opportunity to climb the "aluminum spring". What happens when that particular tower is climb it immediately begins to sway a bit. The further up the tower it begins to sway a bit wider every two or three feet (almost a Meter). The climbing technician starts to automatically distribute his weight every more carefully. The body position needs to be as close to vertical as possible instead of the normal climbing position, leaning away from the tower. Standing taller, vertically, is something that can be noticed when climbing. The further one leans away from the tower the more uncomfortable the climb becomes. Long story for a short answer. I have had so much "aluminum" tower experience that the weight distribution begins as soon as the climb begins. John

[@DunkTheHunk]

@@jhettish That's crazy. I think sending one of our new lads up something like that would instantly put them off and they wouldn't turn up for work again haha. I'd imagine any steel tower you climbed after that must've felt rock solid.

[@jerryhubbard4461]

I have worked in some high places in my past, but I be damned if I would trust that tower, especially as windy as it is that day. Yours are bigger than mine.

[@jefflummus431]

😂 "like an aluminum spring in a high wind" is what I believe I heard at the end. It certainly looks like a trick to climb, even more interesting than the old tower you had to relamp previously, I believe is was a 40's build with all the flat bracing. Nice climb and great attention to the details as usual.

[@jhettish]

Thanks. If one can avoid climbing a Windcharger tower it's a good idea. Bad tower, bad. The Aluminum Spring isn't all that bad and it can teach a new guy a lot about controlling his movements. Main thing about an Aluminum self supporter (never seen a guyed version) is that it can be stacked by hand. The sections usually weigh 10 pounds or less. John

[@user-us6ii2ph2q]

Thank you John for taking as with you there. we are using pliers to remove the water proofing from 7/8 rf cable it is making little bit easier. The antenna design is once more unacceptable..

[@johnsiders7819]

Had a problem with my unit the coax was getting warm well other day the transmitter clicked off as the power came up so did the reflected power until the safety feature shut it down disconnecting the 90degree off the transmitters end of the cable water dripped out ! the local shop advised to use the CQ original 1000 its center is solid got it from the wire man the shop put the new ends well tinned the braiding soldered every thing up good he also tested my antenna with a unit similar to your site master I had the antenna tuned correctly at 89 watts I had a reflected of 2 I taped and then used the mastic to water proof the connecter as you suggested I do now at 100 watts ZERO reflected NO warming of the cable and the range has extended 3 miles !! My Rohn HDBX is hard on the feet like than Wincharger one you serviced thanks for all the great advice !!! good to have a pro out here that knows his stuff !up there and I found a great radio shop here too I had the wrong cable all along ! how the water got in all the way indoors thru it I have no clue had to be a bad job from the mail order shop I bought it from .

[@jhettish]

I had decided that the most convenient thing to do for a test antenna (VHF-UHF) was to purchase one of the dual band (2 meter-2 cm)antenna and install it on the test tower on the other side of the wall where my bench is located. I didn't do any measuring and only used it for receiving for a while. Then I checked reflected power with a transmitter. I had a great amount of reflected power. However it was good LMR400 and there was no water issue. In fact a Distance to Fault (DTF) showed no faults. I then swept the antenna from 100 to 512 mhz. I found that the antenna was resonant at 403 Mhz and 170 Mhz and the resonant point (lowest VSWR) was very narrow at that. The antenna was useless to me and I couldn't even give it away knowing it would be useless to others. It was purchased form one of the ham radio vendors on Ebay. I'd let the world know the model number and brand name of the antenna but I cannot remember and haven't got time to research it having worked steadily for the last two weeks. The heat in your coax was due to the reflected power. Consider power going in and then coming right back down the coax. The reflected power would also be hard on your Power Amplifier (module/transistors/tube). Resonance (lowest VSWR) occurs at minimum PA current. High Current is an excellent way to heat things, like in your water heater, toaster, coffee maker etc. I'm glad you were able to get things fixed and Yes, I have climbed HBDX and it is hard on feet, but not quite as hard as a Windcharger. If you ever are near a very old AM transmitter site they may be using a Windcharger. Ask the station owner if you can get a close look at it. When you get close (not too close) you will see just how bad it is. John

[@mikec9537]

Well done...great respect for you sir.

[@jhettish]

Thanks. John

[@jaiffee]

I helped do some repairs on the dome of a county courthouse in N.S. Missouri years ago- it was a two story brick building with a giant, high-vaulted attic upon which perched the dome. We worked from swing staging hung from the very top hatch of the dome and, even though it was a brick building, you could actually feel the entire structure sway slightly in the wind.....

[@johnteague136]

You are a very brave soul....does look like fun, I've lost 22 pounds working on getting down to climbing wait, about 30 more and well, at least I won't have as much to haul up, I think. 😎👍

[@jhettish]

Hi guy, I was in my office, minding my own business, with Clay and Garrett in Monterey when the call came in. I knew it would be difficult to get the antenna job done next week so I seemed to be the only person available. Fortunately Clay and Garrett were coming back from their job and were able to stop and give me some ground support reading the Sitemaster. Climbing the tower I was able to get ahead of my help. Losing 50 pounds would help when you have to put a 20 pound harness back on to climb the tower. John

[@nikf3188]

"An aluminum spring in a high wind" :) Gotta love that comment mate. Greetings from little ol' England.

[@jhettish]

Actually that one wasn't nearly as "springy" as a local, smaller, shorter aluminium (your spelling) stick. Thanks for watching. John

[@nikf3188]

Luckily most of my gigs these days are rooftop sites - I've become a bit of a softie climbing towers of late. That said there is work on an old sectional tower looming soon to decom it - better get my ass in gear. Not doing anything for a while yet - Narda monitor off for repair as the sensor has gone bad. Oh wonderful!

[@stevensproull9388]

I really like the video...I am considering the purchase of the 80' version of this tower...

[@Fireship1]

The top of that narrow tower didn't leave you with much room for comfort john! The previous installers didn't look like they were too concerned with how they ran that heilax cable. Seemed to be only be secured by the strain relief and not much else. You might be going back up there when it chafes and shorts out! Anyway, great video as always. Now I know why you called that tower a spring. It really looked like it was swaying in the wind!

[@joetroiani1781]

So funny you are so relaxed that you can whistle. I am on my couch watching this video and my knees are weak. Lol.

[@jhettish]

Actually I am relaxed but I think it's part of my psychology. I do a lot of stuff that would scare other people, like playing adult sports, rock climbing, cave exploring, flying airplanes or SCUBA diving. I've always looked at the activity dispassionately, studied the potential risk and if the risk wasn't worth the experience I'd do something else. People have asked me if I have a "death wish". Nothing could be further from the truth. I have a "life wish" and generally get to do a lot of things. My adult sports stuff ended when I hit 45 and at 55 running became a problem due to previous injuries. Obviously I still climb towers but I'm still young at 73 and I like to whistle and sing. :-) Life is generally good and it might have been a bit better if I'd stayed away from women but I'd probably do what I used to do if I had the chance. John

[@jhettish]

Yes, I've been worried about Zombies. I keep a watch out constantly. In most cases it's hard to tell a real Zombie from others who might have the same characteristics but are still breathing. John

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

That tower looked new. No apparent oxidation and the safety label on the way up was bright yellow.

[@jackdavis8992]

Especially at fast food and retail outlets...

[@alanpeterson2160]

Thanks for taking us along. How are you certain that whatever you hook onto will safely hold your weight ? Especially when you were tied to the mast on top ?

[@malanvogt]

It's been years since I've been up a radio tower. I used to climb fairly regularly a couple of 300-foot powers that were used by western union back in the day. Had a few others I did bit 400 was my highest climb and it was a haul. All volunteer work for a ham radio club.

[@jannejohansson3383]

On Finland we talk meters. ~300m is nice to "climp" because elevator. But you have to climp for real when you get antenna point..

[@michaelw9aam426]

I have been up two Aluminum Towers in my career. The first one was a 50 footer and when I moved climbing it, the tower moved, and I didn't. That made my but pucker!! I got up the 2nd one 10Ft and saw fractured cross pieces and that was it. Aluminum towers are designed for the aluminum can scrap pile.

[@jhettish]

Wow, 1139 views in less than 24 hours. I think that's as viral as my videos can get. I guess if I'm willing to throw a camera attached to a manikin from a tower, making everyone think someone has fallen. That would probably get about 20,000 views in a short time. But now that clear thinking has returned I don't want to trash a perfectly good camera. Actually I constantly play down the idea that this is "the most dangerous job in the world". This job is dangerous to people who do not think clearly. To keep from having accidents that turn into fatalities all that's required in most cases is a clear mind. In my not so humble opinion the mind (brain and body) is the most important piece of safety equipment that exists on this planet and more people should. John Hettish

[@jordanrodrigues8265]

I'm years out of date, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think the anchor at 1:33 is much safer than at 3:06. If you fell and tore that weld out, well...

[@Okanagan48]

Exactly.

[@goutvols103]

John Hettish thanks for sharing. Have you ever climbed up to the top and then realized that you forgot something and had to climb back down and do it again?

[@Doggeslife]

Most dangerous in the world? I've seen worse. But this job is still dangerous to anyone. You are in a hazardous situation. With you and your back and equipment up high, I wonder how much of a gust that tower can take? How awake was the guy who welded the base that day? That guy's drone is getting awfully close! Sudden showers make the rungs slippery. Ya never expect the unexpected. You are doing a risky job that, and I agree, requires a clear head as well as brains and an ability to work at very high heights in open structures without petrifying fear making your job more difficult. You earned your bragging rights, my friend. Enjoy them. ;-)

[@jordanlilly2985]

Man I tell you you are a brave man ! I used to climb trees and cut them down dead or green did a lot of them from 120 foot tall but I definitely couldn’t do what your doing ! I respect you be safe out there

[@israelswearingen8219]

Did you slack em welds and whett those wires per spec ? Retro all past the bull nut ?

[@voodoosurgeon9337]

Been watching loads of these cool vids, first 'Aluminium' tower i have seen. Not to keen on them welds, bud😂👍😮

[@Slugg-O]

Really enjoy your videos and I have a question. Do the installers ever leave an expansion loop, or at least some slack for the next tech in case the coax had to be cut back for a new connector?

[@jamesvandamme7786]

Note that at the end of the larger coax there's a short pigtail of more flexible and smaller stuff. That can be replaced easily.

[@donalfinn4205]

Did the top of the 7/8” need to be tied up as well? It seemed to be moving around slightly but maybe not? Great vid.👍☘️

[@torres_arriostradas]

buen trabajo!!!

[@1010tesla]

is the feed line connected to the tower with electrical tape? seems like there would be a better way to secure it, or is that material something better than basic hardware store electrical tape?

[@jhettish]

Yep it is. If it were my tower, or if the client wanted us to rearrange things then I would do it differently. However they haven't asked so I'll wait until they do. If the coax were to blow lose from the tower the we would affix it in some other way and probably add a couple of ground kits. We're generally overloaded as it is. John

[@Isszarya]

Nice one John

[@jhettish]

It occurred to me that the tower in the video might have been my fourth aluminum structure in 45 years. I don't see many of them. Aluminum towers were more popular in the 70s but obviously a company is still making them. I believe i need to do a bit of research. John

[@tonywestvirginia]

Hi John; Love your videos. How much would a job like that cost? ( if you don't mind me asking) Thanks!

[@rascalpup5237]

Dang, your videos have convinced me that when I get my tower it'll be a crank/tilt down lol. Sucks having a fear of heights but wanting to get that antenna ever higher.

[@kevinshieldsw1kps785]

What was that tower for? Is that a ham radio antenna? Also how high is that antenna? Looks pretty high. Thanks

[@harbselectronicslab3551]

Crickey, that tower looks very home brew.....the trussing looks like the apprentice welded it up as a project........better you than me my friend !!......bit of a ordinary instal by the look of that duct tape up there lol..........and is that RG58 ? ........must be a bird free area.....ok ok I will shut up.....you are a brave and skilled man.....nice video

[@EdEditz]

What an unusual cycloid antenna with the ball shapes on either end. I recently build one of these myself from copper tubing. They work great although they are very narrow banded (mine is 1 MHz).

[@jhettish]

You're right. The resonant point is extremely narrow. SWR (The Company) is the only one who seems to like the "balls" on the elements. I do like these kinds of antenna in that they can be tuned relatively easy. I have a translator receiver that's being overcome by a close by 100,000 (ERP) station 2.4 miles and 1.4 Mhz away. I'm going to use one of those types of antennas as a receive antenna, a four cavity filter and a highly selective $2000 receiver to see if I can make this translator hear a 55 watt peanut whistle 18 miles away. If this doesn't work these guys have spent a lot of money for nothing. John

[@freuderickfrankenstein8417]

Apparently they're called 'corona speres'. Very interesting patterns :-) (remove spaces) swr-rf. com/files/Download/fm1specs. pdf

[@jhettish]

Yep, not that you mention it and I finally remember. The same function performed by the little ball on top of a mobile whip antenna. John

[@Okanagan48]

What is the height of the tower,, and is it an omni antenna?

[@evilkidd174]

Have you ever gotten up on a tower and just had that feeling of "I need to get off here NOW!" Like something just felt wrong when you got up on the climb? Or have you ever gotten scared?

[@SJ_999]

It’s probably twice as fast if not more to climb down so 400ft with few obstacles takes less then 10 minutes

[@rico1319]

Nice job and simple fix. Looks like a beautiful climb maybe 60 or 70 feet?? 👍👍👍😎🇨🇱

[@JG-tk7ov]

I’ve been a climbing arborist for 22 yrs, Id like to have a go at this

[@jhettish]

Thanks, I'll get back to you tomorrow hopefully. I truly loved tower work but am retired now. John

[@bobcriss600]

Hi john, it’s good to know you have plenty of experience doing this. I’m about to setup a small radio station in my town and was curious if you wouldn’t mind to give some advice on how to construct the tower and of what material to make it? We are less than 1/2 mile from the ocean and subject to typhoons from time to time....thanks.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

You need to consult an engineer at a tower company (or three). It's not something you can homebrew. You'll have to answer a lot of questions.

[@chaddthompson]

I realize that the super 88 or 33 is just for UV protection but I always wrap from bottom to top so that the overlap will shed water.

[@zatchsmp3262]

Hey man I’m in the corporate world managing departments but I’m 34 and already burned out on managing 24/7 departments and employees. Would you say this is a good field to get into? I see the pay isn’t awesome but maybe at Forman it could be... idk. Thoughts?

[@philipmarq]

So... if he drops the wrench, does he climb back down to retrieve it, and does he charge more.

[@JohnLobbanCreative]

What was the height at the antenna?

[@dennisqwertyuiop]

great work,, never seen a alum tower but puling up 10 ft rohn 25 would be easier, was that a n connector on the helix ?

[@jhettish]

Hi Dennis, The 7/8 had a Type-N female connector. The jumper was N-Male to N-Male and the receptacle on the antenna was an N-Female. The connection to the antenna was the actual cause of the earlier problem. Also, you are correct concerning the weight of the sections. When erecting an aluminum tower one person can easily pull the 10' section up the tower and install it. They're are incredibly light but also incredibly strong. Years ago I installed an 80 foot self supporter by myself. I had brought a gin pole and rope with me but the gin pole didn't fit the tower and was heavier than the sections. John

[@brianscantlin8247]

These videos are scary to watch yet I cant look away lol.

[@jhettish]

I feel the same way when looking at local (USA) political news and the Ukrane/Russia war. On the aluminum tower I missed a great video shot. My camera is on my helmet and other than turning it on and later, off, I don't often think much about the scene I'm capturing. Since the story was mostly about the wind and the rather elastic (aluminum) tower I should have stopped what I was doing on top and looked steraight down to the base of the structure. You and everyone else would have seen just how much the tower was moving. During the majority of the video I was focusing on the work, as I usually do. The sway of the tower was not all that evident because I was moving with the tower, therefore my camera was moving with the tower also which made the scene look pretty stilll instead than of swaying back, forth and circular. At my age (77) I probably won't get that opportunity again. :-) John "Slava Ukraini!"

[@russellhltn1396]

Question: When you're putting on the tape, it looks like you're going from top to bottom. Wouldn't it be better going from bottom to top so the layers would shed water better?

[@jhettish]

Probably so but I'm actually putting on three wraps. Sometimes, possibly most times, I start with a layer of tape starting from the bottom. Next I'll get to the stuff that really stops the water and will go bottom to the top. The stuff in question may be rubber splicing tape or a gooey medium known as mastic. The first layer of tape, before the mastic protects the connector from the mastic. Once the mastic is applied I apply a third layer of tape to keep ultraviolet light (sunlight) from destroying the mastic. Having three layers makes it a bit easier when trying to remove weather proofing. 45 years ago we just used tape before the antenna and connector manufacturers started trying to find a perfect way to keep water out. I've removed antennas I installed in the late 70s and early 80s and they were still dry inside. One of the tricks back then was to fill the connector with silicone grease. Silicone grease is a good dielectric but it also traps metal particles that may be present so the antenna manufacturers stopped shipping it with connectors and antennas in the early 80s. Today's weatherproofing has been almost perfected mainly due to the advent of cell towers. That's where most of the connectors manufactured today find their home eventually. John

[@dealingdog3043]

How come you don't get a wind block for the mic

[@MrMac5150]

Three questions John: (1) If the tower itself is grounded, why do you need to provide additional grounding cable. (2) Do all Antennas over a certain height require a flashing light. (3) And are there certain towers that do not need guy wires. ( I did not see any light on this tower)

[@jhettish]

1. The current philosophy of lightning grounds is called "single point grounding". These guys have grounded the tower but have failed to have the tower grounding system come back to the building's ground. Having multiple grounds causes voltage imbalances when (not if) lighting strikes. Grounding the coax at certain points to something other than the tower itself in this case would help balance the load during a lightning event. 2. All towers over 200 feet with some rare exceptions, are required to follow lighting and painting rules in FAA document AC70/7460-1L based on when an FAA Hazard study was completed. Twenty year old towers may be following the rules that end with 1J or 1K. The Air Circular breaks it down nicely. I'll try to come up with a quick explanation as to why certain towers are not painted even though they may be 1000 feet tall or taller. You can find this FAA document at the following link. www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_70_7460-1L_.pdf 3. The tower in my video just prior to the "Aluminum Spring" is 500 feet tall and does not need guy wires. Such towers taper as they rise. The tower in that video has a base about 75 feet leg to let then tapers to 6 feet leg to leg at the top. John

[@isettech]

In some locations the utility company forbids using the utility ground for towers. In high lightning areas multiple ground rods on radials are used around the base of the tower to reduce the voltage gradient in the ground during a strike. I had to repair a transmitter where a tower strike resulted in a flashover in the transmitter between the equipment bonded to the tower and the utility. This damaged the power supply in the base of the transmitter. Additional grounding was added to the transmitter and an additional ground rod was added to the utility at the service entrance to reduce the ground gradient in the building. The utility pole ground was too far and resulted in too high of a gradient.

[@bradleysmith681]

Thanks for the video.. I'm curious how those connections are sealed.. Are you using 3M mastic tape, covered by 3M 33+ or 88 electrical tape?? Thanks!

[@jhettish]

Yep, that's the way it was done, best I remember. John

[@bradleysmith681]

John Hettish thanks!!

[@davep6977]

I even ad a zip tie around the whole thing just so the tail end of the tape doesn't get a chance to unravel. But the way he did it is 100% industry standard

[@kipk12]

What's the other cable on the tower? It looks like a 1/4" copper ground bonding wire, but I would think you wouldn't want a bare copper wire in contact with the aluminum, for the eventual RFI it can create (galvanic action creating a corrosion barrier diode like junction)

[@jhettish]

You're right on both counts. We didn't install the tower and if (big if) I'd chosen to run a copper wire from bottom to top of the tower I would have selected something insulated. Of course there is a possibility of induction between tower and insulated wire but I would have connected it several times down the tower in an effort to keep the two conductors, aluminum and copper, at a similar potential. These church run LP FM stations are springing up all over the country and are being installed by people who have suddenly found a niche. There are other grounding issues that I've advised them about but unless they ask my company do do the work we'll stay on the sidelines. John

[@isettech]

A poor connection is also responsible for generating harmonics. This is critical as some bands are for low power use and emergency services. You don't want your tower identified as a source of RFI. Had to trace one RFI issue from a complaint. The harmonic was very present at the complainant location. However all testing at the tower was clean. Radio direction finding of the harmonic with a beam antenna found the corrosion was at the complainant home in the rain gutter due to corrosion.

[@erwinrommel4561]

Awesome video, getting sweaty palms from watching. I'm wondering why your tools are not attached to a security wire / line. If they fall down they become deadly projectiles ?

[@jhettish]

I'm guessing you've done the same thing as me by placing a bunch of cables in a box and when you took them back out of the box they were all tangled together. When stacking a tower generally one only needs a few tools. When troubleshooting an antenna system often we take quite a few tools with us not knowing what we're going to encounter. When removing a tool from our "nose bags" that has a lanyard attached it's easy to snatch something else int he bag that might come flying out so basically we do everything by feel and I've trained my guys to have a laser like focus on not dropping a tool, nut, bolt, washer or anything for that matter. In addition anyone on the ground is required to wear a hard-hat. According to OSHA the falling object radius is half the tower height and therefore hard-hat country. That makes for quite a bit of territory that needs to be watched for safety. I hope this helps. Basically lanyards get in the way unless we're doing very specific work and a spud wrench will be the only tool. John

[@erwinrommel4561]

Thank you for the detailed explanation buddy.

[@jhettish]

Thank you for watching. I appreciate the comment. John

[@jhettish]

Thanks for understanding. This morning someone asked a simple question about a noise heard on one of the videos and I answered in detail. Basically the topic was strobe lights. After answering in detail I wondered, "Should I be doing this? I may have told him more than he wanted to know." I'm sure I'll keep replying in detail on a take-what-you-like-delete-the-rest basis. I'm a pretty quick typist anyway. John

[@steve65109]

Hey John, really enjoyed watching your videos & explanation of what you were doing. Very curious & nosy, your not required to answer, but how does a single climb repair job pay? Always wished a had gotten into that line of work when I was young. Thanks & keep safe out there Sir.

[@midcenturymodern9330]

Wow! This tall and no guy wires!

[@Vgp-rp4iu]

My gosh there would only be one thought going through my head and that is that thing buckling and falling backwards. Omg I can't even imagine

[@RichardArnold151]

John, when sealing connections do you first "back-wrap" the connector with 88 tape and then apply the mastic so that when it does require servicing it will just peel right off? I was taught this trick by my dear departed father many years ago and never stopped doing it. I hate finding a connector or electrical termination with the mastic applied directly to the connection. Horrible and time consuming task to get the mastic to release. Keep those videos coming.

[@jhettish]

I've heard that called a "courtesy wrap". Yes I do the three layers. One to keep the mastic off the connector, the second (mastic) to keep water off the connector and tape to keep sunlight from ruining the mastic. As I've said often, "It's difficult to take off the other guy's weatherproofing" especially when they don't know what they're doing. John

[@RichardArnold151]

Never heard that term applied to it but it seems very appropriate. "As a courtesy to the next person, don't make it impossible to get the mastic off". I like it. Learn something new every day, even at 60 years young!

[@09keller]

Very interesting! How do you know the weight or load limit when climbing a tower like this, to be sure it doesn’t come down on you?

[@timsnider2092]

I work for the company that designs and engineer the towers and have direct access to the engineer

[@Penfold8]

Have you ever had a weld point give out while scaling a tower?

[@jhettish]

Never. I have seen broken components on very old towers and large rust holes in pipe legs but I've never had a structural failure of any component while I was on a tower and I've been on hundreds during the last 45 years. John

[@syntaxis5584]

did you leave your carabiner up there?

[@jhettish]

No, I did remember to retrieve it. I wondered if someone would notice. Actually I started down the tower then remembered it. Actually I had not started to descend so stepping up and retrieving the carabiner wasn't a big deal. Once upon a time two of my crew members left a perfectly good snatch block 1208 feet up a tower and it took me 5 years to get it back down. We still use the aluminum snatch block but only for somewhat light loads. John

[@Ithinkiwill66]

Note to self: Don't look down, when watching the video! Damn that tower looks tall enough, it should have the aviation beacons too, eh? Lol

[@melmrty]

First thank you so much for the great videos you do such a good informative job...I am 72 and would love to try to climb one...Do you worry about the aluminum towers buckling on you

[@jhettish]

No, not at all. I've dealt with only three or four aluminum towers in 45 years and they've all been strong but limber and light. If I was worried I wouldn't climb, simple as that. I'm glad you enjoy the videos. If I can find a free hour I have a video almost ready to be uploaded. it just needs a bit of tweaking. John

[@jmurphy1973]

Odd that the top of the serpentine rod on the sections doesn't end horizontally. Never seen one like that.

[@DougPaulley]

Do you ever slip off and end up taking your weight on those short ropes you're tied in with? I should imagine if you did so with an aluminium tower like this, the arrest after a few feet of falling could bend and snap the "rungs"?

[@georganatoly6646]

kind of makes you wonder why towers/etc. are built with, idk what they're called, but metal eyes/w/e like you see rock climbers use, I can't imagine it would cost much or compromise the design of the rest of the structure

[@1RadioShowHost]

John, Being close to your age, I sometimes wonder how we survived our early years of climbing.I once refused to climb a guyed 220 foot communications tower because of a serious bend I detected by using a string with a heavy washer tied to the end. The tower came down in a severe t storm about a month later.

[@jhettish]

That was truly a good call on your part. I don't think I could live through one of my guys getting seriously hurt or killed. That's why I stress all aspects, especially the common sense, aspects or our work. I still thing the most dangerous thing a professional tower worker does is drive between sites. John

[@stargazer7644]

Considering the high mortality rate of commercial tower climbers, I don't think the drive is what kills them. But you know that already.

[@jhettish]

The majority, around 90%+, of those fatal accidents have involved Cellular antenna and line workers. There's an excellent video produced for the PBS Frontline program by Propublica called "Cell Tower Deaths". Google that, watch the 30 min documentary and see if you don't get an idea why it works out this way. The breakdown of tower accidents can be seen on a web site called "Wireless Estimator" www.wirelessestimator.com. Craig Liketus, the web master, has been keeping records since 2003, about the time I stopped keeping them. He's done an excellent job of digging into information usually kept quiet by the National Association of Tower Erectors. One can't really blame the companies for keeping quiet. It doesn't matter what an employee does. The company is always at fault. I've said this many times during the last six years when I started uploading videos to KZbin. We do not, and will not, do cell work. We do work for broadcasters, public safety, private tower owners and utilities. Cell work is a rat race I don't want any part of. John

[@zapataoffshore]

I'm curious who manufactures/ed the antenna itself? Thanks for this video, I, too, worry about the aluminum strength but assume it must be strong enough to stand on if it withstands those lateral forces...

[@jhettish]

The antenna is manufactured by a company called Systems With Reliability (SWR) in Ebensburg PA. The tower is manufactured by a company known as Universal Towers in Clinton Township, MI. If you'd like to see spec sheets on both I can upload them to a cloud drive and pass the link to you. Concerning Aluminum strength keep in mind that until recently just about every airplane was made primarily of aluminum. Aluminum was strong enough for that application.

[@SkyCharter]

I was told by Universal their designs are not structured for climbing.

[@ITSaJOKEEE]

How does someone get into this career field? What are the requirements?

[@malanvogt]

Usually to do it professionally in the US requires training. I've dont it for fun for a few ham clubs. I have so e wonderful pictures and memories but I don't miss doing it.

[@andrewwilson8317]

Great video mate,not an easy tower at all! Tower looked to be fairly new? I have a deep mistrust for aluminium towers,old ones seem to crack around the welds. I was told this was due to the continued flexing in the wind work hardening the welds as they age and this leads to the cracking? Can't beat the feeling of a steel mast!

[@jhettish]

I've seen cracks in old ones. There's a tower in Shelbyville that has a cracked pin in the foundation where one of the legs enters the concrete. I've got anchor bolts, cable and a turnbuckle to repair the problem. I have no idea how long the station has been on the air but you are correct. The tower, antenna and coax appear to be quite new. John

[@andrewwilson8317]

John Hettish we had a similar aluminium tower in Kuwait for an L band microwave antenna and I hated it! Just the amount of movement in the wind was horrible. I had to continuously clean the antenna after sand storms as it attenuated the signal. Never has 120 feet felt so high!.

[@jddr.jkindle9708]

Thanks John. That jumper between the Heliax and antenna looked kinda' short (tight)? Perhaps another 6-12" would have been better?

[@jhettish]

Maybe a 6' jumper might be better. I'd be reluctant to use a 12' jumper, unless it was the only thing I had up the tower with me. :-) I tend to cable tie the jumper to the supporting arm of the antenna but many of these single bay, LP, antennas have a connector mounted at a right-angle. This connector was mounted vertically and a longer jumper would have ended up having a "big drip loop". If I have to go back at some point I may go ahead and replace the jumper with a slightly longer one. I'd like to keep the torsional forces off the connector. John

[@jddr.jkindle9708]

That was my concern also.... torsional forces off the connectors.

[@ghostrider729]

fearless!!! not me!!! good job!!

[@jhettish]

Like one viewer said recently, "All in a day's work". John

[@09keller]

Also, I have watched many of your videos. What makes a tower Free standing and one that requires guying?

[@lt4324]

its gauge and wind load specifications if I am correct.

[@JanStaes]

Did it ever happen, or are you ever afraid that some metal you grab or stand on breaks off? This tower doesn't look extremely strong to me. A lot of weight on those thin bars.

[@jhettish]

I've found loose structural pieces but nothing that excited me. The idea that guides me is to be aware and to never focus all your weight on one thing until I know without a doubt that it will hold me. The aluminum towers up to about 120 feet and perhaps even higher are quite strong. Much of the strength is in the T6 aluminum used and the engineering design. They cost a bit more than steel towers which accounts for their lack of popularity. They can (I'm told) have a bad reaction when in contact with concrete. I've never seen a bad condition like that though. Keep in mind I've probably climbed no more than 10 aluminum towers in 45 years. John

[@billmoran3812]

I never liked climbing a tower that flexed. Even Rohn 25's are pretty wobbly if unguyed. I'm not a light guy, so I don't think I would climb a small aluminum tower. I liked your comment about the "new guys".

[@jhettish]

The "new guy", after a bit of experience, is going to be depending on having a job and an income. I have to make sure the guy is comfortable on towers. After a bit of work-type climbing under his belt a trip up one of the "aluminum springs" is (in my opinion) very helpful and allows him to lose the fear of the bend and sway. There have been certain questionable towers that needed to be climb over the years. Rather than have an employee climb I do the climbing. If I can't climb it then there's no reason why the guys should climb. (Their) Safety First. John

[@khalidhebshi5318]

How tall is the tower? And how is there no Beacon?

[@jhettish]

Hello Khalid. The tower is either 90 or 110 feet (33.5 meters) tall. I don't remember the exact height but this was two years ago. As for a beacon, the Federal Aviation Agency determines if there is a requirement for a beacon. I didn't sell or erect the tower but I do know it's short enough and far enough away from the Murfreesboro Tennessee that it would not have required lighting unless it was within a mile of the tower. John

[@davidkierzkowski]

Curious what kind of power you would feed into that kind of antenna?

[@jhettish]

The licensed power of the station is 100 watts but that's effective radiated power (ERP) Based on the cable used and the negative gain of the single bay antenna they run around 200 watts up the coax to the antenna. I haven't calculated the losses and have not had the urge to research the items involved but I know the engineer who set the thing up and he's top notch and quite honest. That's enough for me. John

[@davidkierzkowski]

Awesome, that's for taking the time to reply!

[@jhettish]

I forgot to mention the first time that I had a dog that looked a lot like yours. She passed away in 2014 at about 14 years of age. John

[@jaa93997]

John Hettish you use a thing called a "link budget" its the sum of gains and losses in the entire system, from the output of the transmitter to the input of the antenna. Every connector, every feet of cable has a specified loss. In cellular, its all expressed in dBm. And yes, that LDF5 is super lossy, you need a ton of power to get your target ERP accross 😉

[@jhettish]

Actually in real life I express everything in DB, DBv or DBm depending on the situation. However when I'm explaining ERP or EIRP to someone who may have never heard the concept I try to use simple terms while respecting their intelligence. I'm not the brightest lamp in the box myself when it comes to certain topics. One of the things I've grown to enjoy is the engineering aspects of transmitter and antenna work. John

[@dougtaylor7724]

They make some of these towers that are only rated to three or four square feet. I wondered that if you had an antenna on it will it support a 200 lb man in the wind. I personally do not want to find out.

[@kirbysteel2766]

How tall?

[@hoyle7780]

Where was this? I know you can't give out a specific location just curious like what City/State?

[@stanpatterson5033]

Mid Tennessee is his territory.

[@no.thanks278]

Wow. HIgh, aluminium and no guy wires. Scary movie :)

[@jhettish]

I look at it like this. The tower hasn't fallen down .......yet. It's withstood higher winds. It's well set up so it's not going to fall over and I am NOT going to fall off because I'm connected and "falling is not an option". I think you might have been the first viewer. John

[@johnswaim3919]

That tower looks flimsy as hell. Kudos to you for having the cajones to climb it!

[@shotgun6942069]

Were you ever worried on that aluminum tower that the stability would have been compromised with an additional 200lbs plus the resistance of the wind on your body may topple the structure?

[@lanaescraftydesigns2988]

That's what I was thinking.And if it fell over,the safety equipment wouldn't help at all.

[@evanh1410]

@@lanaescraftydesigns2988 oh really it wouldn't?

[@julietgolf3331]

I spent 2 hours removing weather seal from a conector splice. Know how it feels

[@PkwyDrive13]

I hate those wonky aluminum towers, not sturdy at all.. At least the ones I've been on.. Did that have any guy wires?! I didn't see any unless they were below 80ft

[@jhettish]

They're not my favorite either however I've never seen one break. I hardly ever see them and when required to do something with or on them I am extremely cautious.

[@letitrotfuckit]

I have a low power FM radio station, that coax is thick, looks like they are using a lot of RF power.

[@jhettish]

Hello, The tower in question is used to support an FM Broadcast (88-107 mhz) non-profit radio station, The system belongs to one of the many churches in our area. The coaxial cable feeding the single bay antenna is 1/2" (12.7mm) diameter. The loss between 88 and 107 Mhz is minimal. The antenna (as I remember it) has no gain at all. I believe the transmitter power at the connector was something like 250 watts. Based on the length of the coaxial cable and it's power loss (absorption) the power delivered at the antenna would have been 500 watts. However the effective power would be reduced by the negative gain of a single or even two bay antenna would reduce the Effective Radiated Power (ERP) to 100 watts. Mainly though the only reason to use larger coax would be to deliver more transmitter power to an antenna system due to distance or the negative gain or the antenna. When I talk about negative gain I'm talking about it in the terms of the RF pattern and the antenna's engineering rating. A single bay antenna has (roughly) a -04db gain. That's a "minus 4 DB). That's a considerable effective rating loss since "plus 3db" is double the power (roughly). Minus 4 db would mean that the effective power, and its interference with others using the same frequency, would have been drastically reduced. Minus 3db, when 250 watts is applied to the antenna, would render an ERP of roughly 125 watts. Coax loss would have caused the effective power to drop even further. John

[@letitrotfuckit]

Thanks for explaining, this is one of the reasons i prefer using folded dipoles and GPs. them church stations are annoying, they take up a huge chunk of the fm band here and some of them are stuck saying the same thing over and over. I have a disadvantage because my antenna is on top of the roof not up on a tower.

[@jimbass7867]

Now, that one would have made me nervous. Water towers do this kind of "dancing" in wind, but slower. The water inside gets to moving in high winds just from small vibrations that start it I guess.

[@jhettish]

I missed a perfect opportunity on this tower but as usual I was focused more on the work than on the wind. I should have taken a look straight down the tower because wherever I look the camera is also looking. If I'd looked straight down the tower the viewer of this video would have gotten to see just how much the tower was actually moving. During the video I was moving at the same rate the tower was moving so total movement wasn't readily evident. I need to take another look. Maybe the relation of the work site to the horizon might have given a better perspective. The wind was ripping. I do have to say that I've never felt any movement in a LEG style water tank. They are usually supported by 4 to eight 36" diameter legs. Usually the tank is kept half full and there's a lot of inertia associated with 1000 gallons of water (6000 pounds dead weight). Other towers I've worked on the roof were the newer CET (Composite Elevated Tank) storage tanks are like being in a very rigid building. We have very few of the slender cylindrical or pedestal mounted tanks which might be more prone to movement. After all that most of our water storage in Middle Tennessee is done in (FB) Ground Flat Bottom tanks.

[@jimbass7867]

Yes, the multi- like ten leg - towers are very stable. the tall four legged ones seem to have a twist and a sway in wind. You mentioned standing on top of the ball- that is hairy feeling. You can't see the rest of the tower, so it's kind of eerie and you get the feeling of an "unknown zone" of no return if you venture too far from the "arctic" area. On one, I had to repair a pulley that was part of the level gauge. The pulley system was inside a 24" cube steel hinged box weather shield. Here I was right there, on top of the ball, no tie-off and after quite a struggle I opened the box and it was filled with bees. Their nest had frozen the pulley and had made the box hard to open! Fortunately, I had kept bees when i was younger and knew not to panic- I just eased the box back down, the weather was cool, so the bees were somewhat lethargic, though angry at being disturbed so rudely and I backed down the rungs to the platform. It was a scary moment. I took a few stings, on my face and neck but, not too bad for the number of critters in that box. If the weather had been just a few degrees warmer, the outcome would have probably been much worse. Imagine a repairman afraid of bees being assigned the repair task? Later, I climbed back up with a smoke box and proper bee gear and got rid of the bees and fixed the system. Awesome video, by the way. Can you tell me what kind of station that was. It looked domestic or agricultural. JB

[@robertsistrunk6631]

Watching this is giving me anxiety

[@ninjawasher]

Why wouldn't they use Loctite when they installed tower long way up for a loose cable

[@davep6977]

lock tite compound could & would be resistive on the connection and have the same effect as the loose connection

[@ASgfjyhgyi]

I just remember to turn the camera on but forgot take cover of from lens.

[@richcallahan2968]

Leverage? You’re scared John, just let go, it’s a shitty little tower nothing will happen. To be clear John Hettish has some awesome videos and heavy work at high altitude.

[@bobbyray9825]

I remember the first time my company started talking about aluminum gin poles. No thanks.

[@garyblack8717]

So many questions, like, why would someone buy an aluminum tower if it's not portable? Surprised there's no safety climb on what looks like a fairly new antenna. Where's the top coax ground? Strain relief on the jumper is questionable at best... Oh, and thank goodness I don't have to climb! (I know you didn't do the install, just being a nerd).

[@jma5177]

Cara você deve ter 4 ovos. Essa torre e de tubos ou é maciça? Não tem tirantes? Realmente você tem muita coragem. A torre parece balançar direto.