Building a Ham Radio Tower, First Steps - in California

#HamRadioTV #HamRadio #Tower #AmateurRadio
Fiori Films Presents Ham Radio TV: How To Put Up A Ham Radio Tower - Part 1: The Dig
In this video Art / WD6BQX, gives a very thorough presentation on what it took him to get a tower installed. Time, money & city permits will be needed to get this done.

[@nivid01]

Finally, a proper tower slab that rises above the ground and has been finished off to a correct standard!!!

[@donaldsmith3048]

You talked about the power of Lighting. I live in Florida, Lighting is very common. I have seen 2 ground rods about 6 to 8 feet apart that had 40 volts between them. One had taken a lighting hit and we have sandy soil and when you heat sand hot enough it makes Glass! The ground rod had glass around it. This is why they want the ground rods wired together with heavy wire. Hope you have a lot of fun! 73 W4DES

[@baredog6774]

I’m in KY. I do what I want on my land. I have a “blanket permit”. But, still do things safely and correctly. Best management practices.

[@HamRadioTV]

Right on! Yeah, I will probably need to leave the state before I build a tower. 73 K6FAK

[@ryanmall]

I'm from TX me to it's nice not to deal with that crap

[@jadonbeehner6041]

Correct free.People do not ask for permission to utilize their personal property

[@karlschwab6437]

Wow! All that you had to go through with legal, weather, and expense, you have done one amazing job! Any towers that I have put up here in Michigan, abit rural, we had to do nothing like what you had to go though. We just put them up and they all have been up for years, one up to 72', and all still standing! Please keep the story going until completion. 73, Karl

[@HamRadioTV]

I know it. What a crazy story. I’m just learning all this legal stuff too and it sounds a lot easier to build it out of this crazy state. I recorded this at our meeting this last week. 73 Jason/ KM6FAK

[@johnnyrebellion8672]

I live in a rural county in Idaho. I have a 40' guyed telescoping tower that I will be putting up. I have no intention of talking to anybody but the guy at home depot about what I need to do.

[@jakemorgan5477]

Thanks for putting this video together! My condolences that you spent so much money on permits and inspections, BUT Kudos for the fact that you did it right. I have seen several 20-40' RHON 25s that people just poke in the ground. Some are still standing, and some have caused damage and fatalities. Thank you for doing it right.

[@jakemorgan5477]

de KG5PDF

[@HamRadioTV]

Yes, Art was a Boy Scout and school teacher and only knows how to do things one way, the correct way. I need to get over to his station and shoot the Part 2 of the video with the tower up. ~73 KM6FAK~

[@syfr]

Fatalities?

[@jakemorgan5477]

@@syfr while Ihavebeen lucky enough to not been personaly involved in said tradgety, some if the people Ihave been around where directly involved. Old ladder style tv ant towers are usually severly deterorated and have been the demise of many people. A pro wont step foot on most.

[@chalemi]

Thanks to being in California, this was 10 times more complicated than it needed to be. Should have been a disclaimer with the video-"not all states require an arm and a leg to get this done." Could be an immediate turn-off to people that don't know.

[@butterbean4195]

noway in hell i would live in a place that you have to go through all that crap, only to give the government money. great video on why not to live in places that dictate every part of your life. but well done video brother.

[@bryantjayce1273]

I guess Im quite off topic but does anybody know of a good site to stream newly released tv shows online?

[@jhonsiders6077]

Keep voting for the liberals and it will just get worse

[@Chasing_The_Dream]

A lot of good takeaways from this. Thanks for posting.

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks! Art did his homework on this!

[@deanlaclair265]

Takeaways? #1welcome to California! What a joke! For 40ft tower?

[@deanlaclair265]

6 yards of concrete for a 40 ft tower!!!! BTW it's approximately 4000lbs a yard!!!

[@WC4WCRN]

Welcome to CA... I got my 60' Rohn self support. Distributer to me via truck. Had my concrete guy to pour my pad and rebar via mfg recommendations. Getting a local Land mobile climber put it up with antenna. No County, gvt permission...

[@carlschultz5437]

I loved you tower story it seams to me you had a lot to go through to get you a tower up, I hope you enjoy it for years to come . in South Carolina the main requirements are the concrete base and it has to be approximately 10 feet above your home and the closets home to you. Have a good one ,and 73 from Carl KN4RBJ

[@HamRadioTV]

Thank you! CA is a tough state to live in with all the red tape. 73

[@Likebirdsofprey]

Good info! I'll be building a Rohn 40 this year in Alaska. I'm not in city limits so I'm hoping that I won't have as much red tape. I'm a structural superintendent and have 25+ years in the industry but this was a great presentation. Thank you !

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks! Alaska sounds amazing! I've only had a few quick visits to Elmendorf.

[@Likebirdsofprey]

@@HamRadioTV Alaska has a decent ham radio community. I am in contact with Japan and Eastern Russia a lot. Elmendorf has a UHF/VHF repeater, I have not used it yet.

[@mikefrayman5224]

Back in the 70s we did everything with no permits. I had a Moonraker antenna and use the talk side band on the flat.Every heavy winds I would have to do repairs to the antenna

[@HamRadioTV]

Very cool!

[@carolmartin7042]

Thank you for your presentation. I am glad I do not live in a big city or in a big, populous state. N0QFT, Glen

[@marklowe7431]

The fight of every radio enthusiast. Towers.

[@HamRadioTV]

It sure is. If it's not the city/county it's the wife...lol

[@marklowe7431]

@@HamRadioTV Hahahh you're not wrong.

[@eugenecbell]

Great video, I loved all the information you shared. Yet, it has been a year and I think we would all love an update and some final pictures and how much did it help with your reach?

[@HamRadioTV]

Thank you and I agree. We haven't had a meeting in a year, but I do know where Art lives. lol

[@artur8403]

This is nice radio club

[@TexasEngineer]

I have a California seal and I used to work for ROHN. ROHN did not do ham radio tower sealing. We also did not like California and we would charge $5000 for towers in California that needed sealing. Do not weld rebar unless it is weldable grade rebar. It can snap off. A615 rebar, is junk steel and not weldable.

[@JohnDuncan0347]

Excellent presentation!

[@HamRadioTV]

John Duncan Thank You!

[@geckoproductions4128]

Thank God I live in Texas and not the People's Republic of California. We dig a hole 3x3x3 stick a tower section of Rohn25 in the middle and then pour in a cubic yard of concrete. No wet stamp required

[@HamRadioTV]

I hear you! I didn't grow up here and I'm not sure I will retire here.

[@WW5RM]

yeah i thought Texas was bad on its rules and regs! Some cities in Texas have a ton of rules but never heard of needing a Wet Stamp! jessssh! I have HF Radios i didnt pay $ 300 for! =]

[@petercarty6379]

enjoyed that

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks!

[@YahDude]

This is a normal practice in most all states so long as your property is in town. Most anyone out in the country is going to do whatever they want. You're going to have to pay for over-engineering on these sorts of practice to help remove liability to the city and anyone else involved where serious injury can occur. That's normal, and like it or not, the right way to do things. If you have an issue with that, move to the country and do whatever you want.

[@James_Bowie]

Good grief, what a bureaucratic nightmare. It's a wonder Kuliforniya hasn't banned ham radio towers altogether because a bird may crash into one.

[@JayN4GO]

What city is this? We have towers all over the city at 60 ft. We don’t ask the inspector jack.

[@HamRadioTV]

We are in Vacaville California. Which is 60 miles east of San Francisco.

[@mikemcdonald5147]

glad I dont live there LOL Love living in the country. I just put mine up. No regs, no reports, no permits. Tax man came out looked at it said looks good after I put it up LOL :) I live in free non communist California, in the state of Georgia USA. mines 72 foot tall. I can do up to 200 feet without permits as long as its for amateur use. Commercial use needs permits no matter the height.

[@johnmunk5067]

@@mikemcdonald5147 Same here. I'm in upstate New York just above Pa and I called the town clerk just to be safe and he said "Amateur Radio? Just put it up. You don't need us." I put up a 110' aluminum tower on a hinge/4'x4'x4' concrete with angle steel base. Pulley 50' up a 90' oak. Single handedly (except a friend wanted to come see it go up & he helped hook up the guy cables). No inspectors; no forms; no taxman; no nothing. Maybe I should enjoy paying my taxes more. At least I have a little freedom.

[@peredavi]

I live in Wyoming. I have to deal with high winds. I hope it won’t be that expensive for foundation.

[@HamRadioTV]

From what I understand, there is less red tape in most other states and tower projects are a lot cheaper.

[@justanotherguy3850]

Which is why I live almost in the middle of nowhere and don't go through all this fuss in California. What I did instead was document every phase of the tower construction with photographs. I met all the engineering standards. It's not like they had a patrol driving around town looking for unpermitted amateur radio towers. Unfortunate if I had to pull it out and do it all over again. I would have been quite unhappy since it cost me over $10,000 to put up a 65-foot tower with over spec 3200 PSI cement in a 6x6x6 Cube and a SteppIR on top. Wrong thinking on my part. I should have protected my $10K investment by spending $310.

[@HamRadioTV]

What a fantastic sounding setup! I'm looking forward in building a big station as I get closer to my retirement years! 73

[@southboundsuarez9832]

Yes me too! I just acted fast and documented everything and now keep my fingers crossed. They could screw with me. It's a good old boy community where I live. Lots of stringent codes that are only get enforced selectively. You are best off keeping quiet, not brag, build things exceptionally right and be a very cool person not piss off anyone especially influential people in the community. I live in HorseTown USA

[@justanotherguy3850]

@southboundsuarez9832 :: It is really a shame that you have to live in a town that treats its citizens that way. One should never be afraid to open their front door and go out for a walk when there might be a cop out there ready to write you a summons for jaywalking across the dirt road when there aren't traffic control devices on both ends. On the other hand, I admit that I should have spent $310 and got my installation permitted since I put it up and over specified everything.

[@RobertWardJones]

Why more complicated In that county in CA? No. 1. Earthquakes. He built his tower near several active earthquake faults. No. 2 High winds. Lots of high winds in the area. So much so that wind generators are erected in the area. His design has no guy wires to support the tower so a big, expensive, engineered foundation is required so it stays up in a storm that he showed flooded the hole and turned the soil to mush. I other counties in CA im sure you can get it done for cheeper. But $6000 for that part of CA is very reasonable.

[@HamRadioTV]

Art did it by the book, and my hat is off to him. We know a few others with towers that just put them up, without getting the city/county involved. I'm aware there is a lot of building codes for earthquakes out here but I've not felt anything above a 1 for the last 20 years. Rio Vista is where the windmill farms are, and does have a lot of winds, but it rarely gets windy in here Vacaville.

[@6foot7dad]

Great video! I am curious to know what performance difference there is vs the antenna system you were using before the tower.

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks! Art was using some homemade wire dipoles and now has a multi band, rotatable beam on top. That gives him a lot more gain and is bringing in further stations than before.

[@ED_K3CU]

great video

[@HamRadioTV]

eddiezx10r Thank You!!

[@toddhardin9508]

Good stuff but just my 5.6'x5.6'x8' deep concrete hole/pad was exactly $6,000 and that is for just the pad itself. That was $6,000 turn key from start to finish and im installing a US Tower TX-489MDPL. All in I'm going to be more than $60k, i understand were talking two different towers but alot of money today in 2023 for just the foundation pad.

[@southboundsuarez9832]

Yup, it seems a little cheap only 6k all in for a tower. But why even spend that much cash outlay for only a 40 ft tower. Seems a bit penny wise and dollar fooolish. 75 -80ft requires same investment of time, labor and money to erect as the 38 ft tower! Usually it's not the cost of buying the actual tower itself,,, it is the investment erecting it and especially permitting it. His county required updated PE stamps and he bought his tower only one year prior and US Tower made him pay for new docs? 200 or 300 seems not too bad but they should provide that support with the tower purchase and updated for free.. I wonder if the county requirement was because of the new TIA specifications? I think that US Towers had to hire a PE to update to the new spec and passed the cost along to him. What in the world does he have planned as far as this 18 plus foot mast and all these collars and thrust bearings he was talking about. Are these included in his plans? Same question for his coax running inside the tower on a chain hanging from rotor shelf? It does not sound included in the drawings and are afterthought that the building dept overlooked when permitting his construction. Seems unconventional if you ask me.... A couple of stupid simple vague statements when going to the county is to say it's an antenna mast and not tower. Also many times you can get away with crankup extended tower and using its nested and retracted size on your plans. As for antenna don't detail it a a multi element beam antenna. Many times they assume that the structure itself constitutes the radiator. It's best to not be too specific. Less is more!

[@73xlh]

Terrific presentation! I just can't understand why anyone would want to live there. Too much pELOSI in the air

[@eugenecbell]

I did some work in California this year. There are beautiful mountains and forests there, but the government is a real turn off.

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks! Yeah, CA can be a real pain in the butt. I don't think I'll be retiring here.

[@chansetwo]

More Americans choose to live in California than any other state in the country.

[@73xlh]

@@chansetwo I dont think so

[@chansetwo]

@@73xlh It does not matter what you think. It's a fact.

[@henrythompson7595]

Replaced an existing roof on my home, required a permit, and smoke and monoxide detectors. Also, roof materiel had to either be near white, or the entire attic would need to be insulated!

[@karlfrederick5731]

I have a question about your mast, using the heights you listed: 38' tower height, 40' Mosley 3 el beam, 46' 6M beam and 52' 2M vertical, is your mast height 15'? Or is it taller? Curious what mast height US tower recommended for your configuration? 73 N7TWP

[@bobroberts2482]

California is so regulated it’s ridiculous. From taxes to just engineering money. Most counties in other states don’t even need any building permits. Glad I moved that that state.

[@HamRadioTV]

Yeah, they really like to squeeze us for everything they can. Some people call it a Good Weather Tax. lol

[@stargazer7644]

Concrete weighs about 140-150 pounds per cubic ft. A 6x6x6 chunk of concrete weighs 30,240 to 32,400 pounds.

[@75ohmHAM]

You can make this as complicated as you want, or in this case, they want

[@coolstuff_.]

Cool

[@dougtaylor7724]

In rural Alabama you can do anything you want. Why would anyone live in a hell hole like CA? There is no high paying job I would take to live there 5 minutes. All my in-laws have fled to TX and AL and love it.

[@richarde735]

how much did California rock you for the two 20' poles holding up the dipoles? here in Virginia with a bunch of (southern engineers) friends, three or four pickup trucks loads of (home dopie) quickrete and plenty of beer... your tower would have been up and working the first weekend after it arrived.

[@HamRadioTV]

I forget exactly what Art paid, but I know it was over $6,000.

[@larryjanson4011]

ok so all well and good. you live down in the mud flats. i live up in the hills of what is know as "the gold country" lots of hard rock. one almost needs diamante to dig a hole to plant a flower. how does this change the hole standards? possible to just dig into the rock, (aka remove all dirt) and add a bit to the square? a friend had his back yard dug out (everything here is sloped) and the crew used a crawlers hyd jack hammer... not the little guy, but a full sized unit as it also loaded up the dump truck.

[@HamRadioTV]

Yeah, rocks would make this more difficult. The hole size depends on what tower and how high it is. Also if it will be guyed or not. This info can be found on tower manufacture websites when picking out a tower.

[@JasonCooper-em4gt]

Cook stove for get the left coast

[@Kooskave]

I have a big steel tower with an old antenna on it. Free to anyone who wants to wrestle it down. I have a video of it, if anyone is interested.

[@HamRadioTV]

Ok thanks, I will pass the word on.

[@KX6D]

The 45 degree angle is actually the grout after the tower is in place and not the concrete. After the rain and the new larger hole the rebar is no longer the required 3" from the edge. You're lucky the inspector didn't pick up on that.

[@HamRadioTV]

Thanks for the heads up.

[@JimmyShot]

Where is part 2

[@HamRadioTV]

You're right. It hasn't happened yet. The club was supposed to go over to help him raise it and I think we missed it. I think I need to re-title this.

[@EgoFiveFiveSix]

good ol' Kalifornia

[@HamRadioTV]

Oh yeah, lol

[@straightpride451]

Some ham radio operators take the hobby a little too seriously. Sometimes they forget it's a amateur radio hobby. They want to feel like they're wearing big boy pants when they put up a tower like that. Lol!

[@sirmordrede]

thats what you get for living in California

[@HamRadioTV]

I know, it can be brutal.

[@snotrucker4416]

Here in southwest Pennsylvania. I’m putting up a US Tower TX-455. 55’ . It requires a concrete base 36”x36”x75” deep. NO Permit needed. Even if the county or township required it. Screw them. California is to strict on everything.

[@MrJcknight007]

My god. Why would anyone choose to live in California? Wow! I could put up a 100 foot tower in my backyard with duct tape without even making a phone call.

[@HamRadioTV]

Yeah, it's a little crazy here lol!

[@darrell320]

what state is this

[@HamRadioTV]

We are in Northern California...yeah, a lot of rules made by crazy people. At least the weather and geography is really nice.

[@mrmotofy]

FYI the Federal regulations override any local restrictions. Many have easily won against the local prohibitions and BS. As long as you have a HAM license you're covered and Federal overrides local.

[@stargazer7644]

You don't have any idea what you're talking about. PRB-1 specifically states that "local authorities can regulate amateur installations to insure the safety and health of persons in the community." They can't stop you from putting up an antenna, but they can make you jump through whatever building permit hoops they want.

[@gregwallace648]

Your ground rods need be 16ft apert from each other and run a link ground to all three

[@richarde735]

hey, hey, California knows best 🙄

[@mrmotofy]

No you do what the inspector says...then fix/finish it properly later

[@greenharvestproductions6743]

How do you figure six bags of concrete is 6,000 lb

[@SMShannon55]

It wasn’t six sacks of cement, it’s “six sack cement”, meaning it requires six bags of cement per cubic yard of mixed concrete. Once you mix that with the required water (six gallons per bag of cement) and gravel aggregate, you end up with a very heavy mixture.

[@chord972]

I was nauseated with the bureaucratic red tape and tyranny you had to go through...I would NEVER go through this.

[@HamRadioTV]

lol Yup. Good times.

[@justanotherguy3850]

One thing that's ironic about California is that it has its own codified prb-1 that was signed into law in July 2004 I Believe by then Governor Gray Davis. It echoed the national prb-1. But yet they make us jump through hoops, charge us unreasonable fees, and then there are still cities that refused to accept California's prb-1. They fight it vigorously citing the fact they believe that it drops property values in their City. What's even sadder is that some ham radio operators have acquiesced to government regulation that requires no regulation Beyond California's prb-1. One particular City allows you to ground mount a 2-meter antenna. The top of the antenna cannot be more than 20 ft above ground. The Hamm's considered it a win.

[@HamRadioTV]

Yes, it can be very frustrating. Thanks for watching and dropping a comment!

[@devilsatan2973]

The "city allows"? Really? It's YOUR property! I understand that safety regs. But a lot of it is just b.s.! And people just put up with this? Sad. The project ends up costing more in money and time than it needs too! Whatever happened to PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS? Guess you folks in California don't actually OWN anything? Sure is what it sounds like to me! Glad I live in Wyoming! The land of the FREE. 73 de kd7cjo

[@mrmotofy]

Federal HAM laws say the locals can't restrict you...as long as you have a HAM license

[@justanotherguy3850]

@@mrmotofy :: the locals can and do ignore the Federal prb one. There's a long history of this in Southern California where amateur radio operators have accepted mounting their 2 m antennas no more than 6 ft off the ground.

[@mrmotofy]

@@justanotherguy3850 That's because people LET them ignore the Federal...take to court it's an easy win. Federal will always override...been done lots of times with no tower restrictions Or HOA restrictions etc

[@mikemcdonald5147]

I installed a 72 foot tower in my yard. I didnt call anyone or get any permits or stamps or anything else. I had my next door neighbor bring his backhoe dig a hole, framed it, called a cement company, put in cage, had them pour cement, built and installed my 72 foot tower. No problems. Thank goodness I dont live in a communist country like this guy does. I live in Georgia USA. When my tax guy came out for his yearly check he saw the tower asked what if it was a fm or am tower I said it was a ham radio tower. He said ok no problem. Had it been a fm or am tower they would tax me for it and would need permits etc. Ham radio no issues no problem.

[@kd4stt151]

Good presentation, sorry you have to live under such oppressive regimes. Not meaning to be a smart a.. I'm glad I live in Tennessee.

[@HamRadioTV]

Thank You!! Haha, I hear you there...we live in a great area with great weather with not so great laws and legislators. Thanks for watching!!

[@dr.dickie1418]

Yep, exactly what I thought. Damn.

[@fasnuf]

5:48 You think the engineer would have known this. smh

[@HamRadioTV]

🤷‍♂️

[@Brenda-jf2pe]

A lot of good reasons not to live in California! Brenda’s husband, JohnBoyUtah KJ7TBR 🎙📡🎙🎙

[@JasonCooper-em4gt]

Pack of wolves on my land plus gates

[@petbytes7167]

My final inspection will require that I have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in my home. Yes, I’m not kidding! Another one of CA laws.

[@HamRadioTV]

No kidding, lol! I have herd of some wild inspection stories in CA when people are just doing small upgrades to their home. Before you know it the inspector is on the other side of the house pointing out something not even relevant to the current upgrade.

[@raysaircraft]

Thank you for the video. I am putting up a tower in Fresno county. May I contact you if I have any questions. Great job... Ray kb6lqv

[@HamRadioTV]

This was Art/WD6BQX and he is good in QRZ. He would be happy to chat with you! 73 Jason/KM6FAK

[@luisruiz-rios3383]

I think it was cheaper to move out of Kommiefornia.

[@JasonCooper-em4gt]

30 acres of bamboo land ki4 land antenna every where 😅

[@scottmash4929]

CALIFORNIA !🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@elmoreglidingclub3030]

Just move. Seriously. Those of us who live in the USA are constantly perplexed as to why good people would live in the regulatory, micro-managed s***hole called California. I like visiting but no way I’d put myself through that crap-while paying outrageous taxes-as a resident.

[@HamRadioTV]

Yes, some of the laws are a huge drag. Most likely I will be retiring out of state.

[@fordnut4914]

I would move out of California if I were you their aint no sense in all this for a tower.

[@HamRadioTV]

I hear you. I will most likely move after the kids finish school. Do you have a states to recommend.

[@JasonCooper-em4gt]

Hide away antenna

[@dixsusu]

Mafia.

[@arshooter1]

California, so sad!!

[@jhonsiders6077]

Who would want to live in that liberal run mess ! Get out while you can ! Here in Indiana you do not even have to get a building permit in my county to put up a tower . My Rhône HDBX 85 took 10 yards and a cage of rebar that I cut and welded myself then painted with cold gal 4500 PSI concrete no inspection no permits

[@JasonCooper-em4gt]

Jed moved away from that stink hole flat Texas land good soil construction put a camper tolit shed hose solar rohombic wire mesh antenna plastic t post speakers wire antenna just hit us man blah

[@Skullfocher]

Fist step to building a tower in California: move out of California....

[@MikeFrench81]

There’s your first mistake, living in the People’s Republic of Commiefornia.

[@tonytyler6390]

wow i would hate to live in communist california...

[@HamRadioTV]

Yeah, I will be moving away eventually...

[@sbc383zz]

So move to Fascist Florida.

[@mezmerizz]

is this in communist California?

[@HamRadioTV]

lol..Yes

[@rudert56]

mezmerizz it’s the People’ Republic.