Ham Radio Repeater Relocation Project #2 - Erecting the Tower

[@earlwithmore9065]

WOW, I was just watching a 70-year-old and his wife putting up a 50 freestanding tower with a small yard tractor. buzzsah. He would have loved this trailer. lol

[@ScuffedRadio]

These tower trailers are super cool

[@dangruner5926]

Climbing up there manhandling that antenna without wearing a harness or any other PPE. Absolute stupidity…

[@ScuffedRadio]

You gotta do what you gotta do... I have since purchased a climbing harness.

[@agems56]

Caution and pacience are all that is needed to be safe! Horse play and carelessness is usually the problem!

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@agems56 well I had neither lol

[@RealToti]

seems you need to add proper grounding as an additional protection there.

[@jimw7ry]

Safety first on this video! Nice fall arrest gear!

[@ScuffedRadio]

I have since acquired a climbing harness

[@earlwithmore9065]

For sure, I sent a link to the Buzzsah aka Buzz. I'm sure he would want to see it. @@ScuffedRadio

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@earlwithmore9065 whos that?

[@beechpilot57]

Good luck on the duplex noise, maybe a big problem with the tower sections and guy wires not bonded. Keep the power down if u have to.

[@ScuffedRadio]

It's caused by the tower pully wire moving in the wind. I strapped a lot of it down and that mostly solved the issue except on super windy days there's still a tiny bit of crackling.

[@mikeh39]

I hope you invest in a climbing harness at some point.

[@ScuffedRadio]

I purchased one right after this. No way I was gonna climb to the top without one.

[@stargazer7644]

@@ScuffedRadio Climbing on an extended crank up tower is nuts. It's a good way to lose a body part. Or all of them.

[@mjc4502]

I like the setup. Hustler G7 lighting rod at the top works well ( I put my G7 at the top of the tower too- I was lucky!) what are the repeater specs? Freq? Etc.

[@ScuffedRadio]

Freq is 147.425, -1.0MHz offset PL 156.7hz. Running a Hytera RD982iS repeater. The G7 works pretty well but ultimately I want to put my 4 bay commscope comercial antenna back up there.

[@mjc4502]

@@ScuffedRadio tnx for the info.

[@johnnyphillips9735]

Nice setup i can hear you from my place im at grant

[@ScuffedRadio]

Please feel free to chime in some time! We are aiming to make this machine the most active repeater in northern Alabama and every user helps!

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@VicGreenBitcoin there's always room for improvement but this was the best I could do with the resources I have

[@tylermulkey330]

whats your Zello's name??? awesome job with thte Tower Mount brother.

[@ScuffedRadio]

The Zello channel is called "KM4OVZ-RPT". Case sensitive

[@jimcphelan]

The weak link in the rigging are the quick links at the ground anchors. ☠️ They will fail well below a rated shackle, please omit the quick links!

[@ScuffedRadio]

Thanks for the advice. I will swap them out.

[@141711472520150]

LMR coax will cause duplex noise, because the shield is made of dis-similar metals. Some of my friends that are professional radio guys tell me that LMR that’s made for direct burial will work better for duplex operation.

[@ScuffedRadio]

That's why I did not use LMR. I used M&P.

[@stargazer7644]

There is literally no physical difference between lmr-400 and lmr-400-db except for the waterproofing compound inside the PE jacket that keeps the water out. The shield consisting of aluminum tape and copper braid are identical in both.

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@stargazer7644 I used Messi & Paoloni brand feed line, so idk what you mean by the lmr-400 info.

[@stargazer7644]

@@ScuffedRadioI'm replying to the OP's comment that "Some of my friends that are professional radio guys tell me that LMR that’s made for direct burial will work better for duplex operation."

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@stargazer7644 ohh yeah that sounds like a load of crap

[@LB6QJ]

Why dont you put the antenna on before you putting the Tower vertical up?

[@ScuffedRadio]

The antenna weight is the problem. It's not as bad with the hustler but when I had the pro decibel on it was a lot more stress on the trailer supports when trying to raise it.

[@paulwhitmore4240]

Wouldnt that need an aircraft warning light?

[@ScuffedRadio]

Not since the tower is under 200ft

[@notlem80]

What is the minimum safe distance from a power line to allow when installing an antenna? Enough so that if the antenna falls, no part of it can come closer than 10 feet to the power wires!

[@ScuffedRadio]

There isn't a set rule for that. What I was told by the power company was that as long as I left 15ft distance from any part of my install I'd be fine. The guy wires come no closer than 15ft and the tower itself is around 50+ft from all lines. If it did fall, it could conceivably contact the power lines. But that's the same with trees and all other sorts of structures. Nothing we can do about it and there's no rule against it so it's alright.

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

Then u dony remmber u r tech lic and being some one who was born and raised in al knows all it takes is one sever weather and 2 you never put that tower that close to power lines smh😮​@@ScuffedRadio

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

​@@ScuffedRadiothe power company is stupid and they are the last one you should ask about rules dealing with towers etc

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@AndrewMurphy8383 The power company is who would care if the lines were hit by my tower. The freaking inspector himself told me the 15ft rule... by your logic, the area that my tower is located at would be all wrong. There are 5 commercial towers and several 200ft ham towers that are all WELL WITHIN falling distance of power lines. I guess they should all be removed in case they fall. Nevermind the trees that will fall long before my tower goes.

[@aidanbrennan7389]

Looks too close to those power lines.

[@spr00sem00se]

If you left that in the UK it would be on the classifieds within 24hrs

[@ScuffedRadio]

Well it's a good thing I have security measures where it's located. You screw with my tower and you're risking getting shot on top of the other 'surprises' at the tower 🤣

[@spr00sem00se]

@@ScuffedRadio thats why in the UK it wouldnt last 24 hours, shooting people or leaving suprises will land you in jail. and cameras are no use against balaclavas.....

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@spr00sem00se just another reason I'm glad I don't live in that toilet of a country 😅

[@stargazer7644]

7:27 The air conditioner draws air out of the cabinet already. That's where the air comes from that it blows back in.

[@ScuffedRadio]

Ohhh thanks for pointing that out. Seems obvious now with the filter and grille on the front of the unit but I did not think about it before.

[@stargazer7644]

@@ScuffedRadioSure. Air conditioners have two separate air loops. One loop draws warm air from outside, blows through the hot radiator removing the heat from the refrigerant, and exhausts the hotter air back outside. The other loop draws warm air from inside, blows through the inside radiator that is cooled by the refrigerant and blows the now colder air back inside. There's a compressor and evaporator in the refrigerant loop that makes the hot/cold magic happen to move the heat from inside the cabinet to the outside without mixing the air.

[@TheAlexd51]

Pretty cool. How much does a set-up like this might cost?

[@ScuffedRadio]

total cost for everything was around $10k here in the U.S. But I went with top notch equipment on everything. Best repeater and best duplexers. I have the best antenna too at home waiting to go up as well.

[@juanfgonzalez2039]

👍👍👍

[@W4BIN]

Thems is called "quick links." (or French links to dullards) If you are up on a mountain top, why is the tower over ten feet tall? If you are only serving one valley consider mechanical beam tilt. If you intend to serve omniduirectionally consider a lower gain antenna or an antenna with electrical beam tilt. Ron W4BIN

[@ScuffedRadio]

Well as they say height is might so the more height the better even if it's already on a mountain. The antenna is super high gain as well (9.1dbi). The range is phenomenal at that location and the height will he increased another 30ish ft when I get new guy wires. My goal isn't just to cover the valley, it's to cover as much as physically possible.

[@W4BIN]

Hi @ScuffedRadio With height and high gain your antenna is shooting over the top of everyone with it's highest power lobe. A ground plain will give a higher signal strength to radios out on the ground, even if the ground plane is only up ten feet. Ten feet is a much safer height, Earth is round and all power over the horizon is wasted. Increasing height above 10' increases the coverage, but the added area will be at such a low signal strength will be unusable. Ron W4BIN

[@ScuffedRadio]

@@W4BIN what a load of rubbish. Anyone who knows what they are doing will run a high gain antenna. The beam width is not so extremely tight that all the energy goes over everyone. It's aimed at the horizon for maximum range. Coverage on my system is absolutely fantastic, easily outperforming other stations with less gain at the same location.

[@mikeshardautoroadsideassis3049]

Crazy question. So I take it that you own that land? I see there's a power meter on the pole

[@ScuffedRadio]

I lease the land and have my own utility pole which is part of the lease agreement.

[@LLIBS]

@@ScuffedRadioTy has

[@pd4dd71]

nice content.. subbed. that is some amazing portable mast u have over there. that bended antenna is that a 3band antenna? what type is it? 73

[@ScuffedRadio]

That is a Hustler G7 VHF monoband antenna. It's a cool antenna but totally not suitable for repeater use. I have a Commscope db-224e that will be going up soon.

[@billthompson3677]

So what did you have to do to eliminate the crackling noise ? i am working on a repearer myself, and am struggling with a few problems

[@rpcomms1]

1.Double shielded patch leads.2.Extra bandpass filter on RX port for high "Q" front end.3.If using SMP PSU ensure your not get AC leakage on DC rails and DC noise,this can be elimnated by isolating the antenna on mast avoaiding eath to dc ground loops.4.Check your duplexer is tunned correctly with tracking generator and spectrum analazyer.,good starting points,you may also have grounding loops and audio issues if not using balanced audio. Rob P

[@billthompson3677]

thank you it helps

[@ScuffedRadio]

The crackling was caused by a few of the pulley wires moving in the wind. I secured them and the crackling is gone except on super windy days. I will be fixing that soon as well.

[@arctikSilver89]

Is there any requirements to have a blinking light at the top?

[@ScuffedRadio]

Anything over 200ft requires a light. This is a 100ft tower and the maximum structure height will not exceed 140ft. However, I may still add a light just for fun!

[@Wildlandfirefighting]

Those "carrbiners" are called mailons

[@ScuffedRadio]

Thanks!

[@itsmyview2024]

Maillon Rapide in France. Very commonly used in speleology. Tough and not easily deformed@@ScuffedRadio

[@ryanmigliori9142]

I hooked up a led acid weel chair battery to my ups.

[@ScuffedRadio]

That's a good idea. I plan on simply hacking this UPS with a few giant batteries so as to keep it simple. Maybe some solar charging as well.

[@Chiavaccio]

👍👍👍👏

[@patrickknowles8572]

Was getting a bit uneasy watching you work at height without safety gear. Noted a number of safety violations. You were lucky--but you might not be next time! Take care of yourselves!

[@ScuffedRadio]

I have since acquired some proper safety gear, so I won't be climbing without it again.

[@mikesradiorepair]

"Suck the hot air out of the box." Uhhhhhhh... You do realize a window air conditioning unit recirculates the air in the room (enclosure in this case). If you add fans to blow or suck air into the enclosure the AC unit just has to work harder. There are two coils in a AC unit, condenser and evaporator. One lives in the outside environment and the other the inside environment. Do you add holes to your house to circulate air from the outside to the inside to help the AC, probably not. If you did I wouldn't want to pay your electric bill. And for the love of God man, get a climbing harness. Had a friend that died when he fell off a tower at about 18 feet. Climbing harness's are cheap, lives are not.

[@ScuffedRadio]

Yeah I realize that now about the AC unit recirculating the air. Also I did get a climbing harness after this video was made.

[@mikesradiorepair]

@@ScuffedRadio That's good to hear. Don't have to fall far to severely hurt yourself. Just ask Super Man (Christopher Reeve}.

[@lyzFPVdrones]

me hear windows xp install music

[@ScuffedRadio]

It's actually the Tetris Max theme, but it does sound a lot like it.