Heights Tower and SteppIR DB-18 Beam at N6GR (

Last month while visiting Brad Rich, N6GR, he gave me a tour of his nearly-completed 69-foot foldover tower and his SteppIR DB-18 antenna. He also gave me lots of construction footage that you can watch while listening to his narration. Thanks, Brad!
Subscribe: / davecasler . Ask Dave Playlist: goo.gl/inaQeB. Tip Jar: ke0og.net/tip-jar
To learn more about me, visit: www.dcasler.com/about/
Tip jar (on my website): www.dcasler.com/tip-jar/ (provides a method to use your credit card via PayPal, Also describes Patreon)
To pose an Ask Dave question: www.dcasler.com/ask-dave/ or www.ke0og.net/ask-dave/
To order the most recent and up-to-date Amateur Extra videos on a thumb drive: dcasler.com/aevids-on-stick/
Theme music is "Sour Tennessee Red," by John Deley and the 41 Players, courtesy KZbin Music Library.
I use drawings from OpenClipArt.org, including the "walking man"
Technician training videos, see www.ke0og.net/training/
General training videos, see www.ke0og.net/general/
Amateur Extra training videos, see www.ke0og.net/extra/
List of the Ask Dave videos, see dcasler.com/ask-dave/#askdavelist
Thanks to my sweet wife, Loretta, KBØVWW, for both audio and video assistance! (Her website is www.aldea-art.com.)
My primary website: www.dcasler.com
The ham radio part of my website (direct link): www.ke0og.net
My publishing website: www.mtsneffelspress.com, where you can find my fantasy and science fiction books, as well as some local history books I publish for the Ridgway Railroad Museum and the Ouray County Historical Society
My Amazon author page, which lists my print and Kindle books: www.amazon.com/-/e/B00471I0Q4.
I'm often asked what equipment I use to create the videos. The devices include the Panasonic DMC-G7 camera, Panasonic HDC-TM90 video camera, GoPro Hero2 HD camera, Tascam DR-05 audio recorder, Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lapel microphone, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W560 digital camera, the Kodak Zi-8 video camera, my iPhone 5S. Software used: CyberLink PowerDirector 17 on an HP Gaming Pavilion, also using Smoothdraw 4.0.5.0, FastStone Image Viewer 5.3, FastStone Capture 8.0, Audacity 2.1.1, LibreOffice 5.0.4.2, and Ink2Go 1.7.2. You can see how my studio is set up by viewing • Tips for Making Instru... .
Twitter: @dcasler

[@graywolf1911]

This was VERY interesting Dave. Thank you for providing this excellent video.

[@williamstaylor5449]

Congrats on the tower install Brad.

[@michaelfogarty3239]

The Tower looks amazing. the biggest one i had was a 3 section heavy steel. 15 ft it took forever to wind up and down at the time we were only on 27 Mhz and one day the tower was leaning over after a very bad storm. the mounts had loosen and bent the threads over. i was only young but to us that tower enabled us to get out 40 Km send running about 10 watts AM. I hope it goes well and maybe one day i will hear his CQ in Australia. thanks again for your videos. 73

[@tommybewick]

Dave's in a tee-shirt and N6GR is in a winter parka and looks like he's freezing! Great video though, and very nice set up!

[@davecasler]

You can tell Brad is from Texas and I'm from Colorado!

[@tommybewick]

@@davecasler yeah I figured it had to do something like that!

[@jeromemckenna7102]

@@davecasler I am from MN and when I worked in TN, I would be wearing the lightest possible windbreaker and my local colleagues had parkas one.

[@bradcfi2]

Awesome Production!

[@wtxpatriot7189]

Awesome job Brad; Welcome to the area. We recently moved to some acreage where I can raise anything without asking permission so will be checking on Heights Tower Systems before I sleep. Dad had a tower at four different Alamogordo area addresses from about 1960 into the 2000s. Leland Fellows N5DGH

[@gerryorlandostagehand3705]

Thank you Dave for a great video.

[@jimlanigan7298]

Excellent video Dave. Very informative

[@stephenjones9153]

This brought back memories of my one and only Tower installation in Christchurch NZ, 35ft steel. I did all the wind loading calculations and dug out and installed the concrete foundations all by myself although I had help from a very good kind Ham friend who did the welding off the base tilt support for me. It took me about 8hrs to raise it using pieces of 4x2 and plastic buckets filled with bricks and rocks, I used nothing but turn buckles and steel guy wires to crank it up inch by inch. Glad to say it stayed up until I left the property and I had many an enjoyable qso back to UK using it, over all it was 43ft to the 3 element beam which I originally turned by hand until I was able to afford a rotator, which I climbed the tower to install. sadly it's no longer there after I had to sell up and return to the UK although I can still look at the concrete foundation's using google earth.😔. Most of us sadly can only dream of Antenna installations like the one in this video but thanks for sharing.👍👍

[@jimei8km21]

Great video, very interesting. Thanks!

[@OldSal-d8h]

Amazing setup! Thanks de N9NY

[@stridermt2k]

Oh yeah that's really nice! Wow we dream of systems like this, us little guys. ;) I really respect the design philosophy used where Brad is comfortably over-designing to account for extremes and to make living with the thing as easy as possible. As if that awesome antenna could be overshadowed (only birds and aircraft), that is also fantastic. I sincerely hope the construction of this system was followed by extended ops! Congrats and thank you for sharing this! 73 DE N2NLQ!

[@rico1319]

Now your talking!! 👍👍👍😎🇨🇱 W5PN thanks, those towers are starting to be pretty popular👍

[@jamesr.owensph.d2563]

I have a Heights tower; 50 ft. tilt-over for about 4 years now. It's an excellent design and virtually maintenance free except for lubrication on the torx screw. Just make sure you check the allen set screws from time to time making sure they stay tight. KM7KK

[@sewren]

Very Nice! Enjoyed the drone footage. 73! W0OSH

[@expert244]

Wow. Amazing setup. One day…

[@__bam]

That is cool!

[@mikemcdonald5147]

wow what an auger LOL that things crazy big. I had no idea they had anything like that. I had my neighbor use a backhoe and we dug out a square hole.

[@bradcfi2]

I had no idea either about the auger truck and laughed pretty hard when the truck showed up. The crew was awesome. The forman laughed at me when I asked if the job was difficult or not.

[@seeharvester]

@@bradcfi2 He also laughed all the way to the bank when he took your money. First of all, that hole diameter isn't 6 foot. Second, the re-bar cage should not touch the earth at any point; it should be fully encased in the concrete. The concern being that the foundation is not up to the engineered design strength, and, of course, rust. The cage will eventually rust out from within. Might take awhile in the desert, but... Lastly, the cage touching earth allows any lightning strike to propagate through your foundation possibly damaging it. I don't know what you paid them, but they should have known better, and I suspect they did.

[@Tom-W7TMD]

I would like to see an update on the tower and antenna.

[@RCB757]

WOW!!! Very cool tower...Really nice UAS (Drone) coverage! Many of us can only dream of such an Antenna system. Also Dave...I for one wouldn't mind knowing more about your Unmanned Aerial System. (UAS) I am a Lifetime member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and have been flying model airplanes for almost 50 years. I earned my UAS License last year. I plan on purchasing an Aerial platform this year. Unfortunately my antenna system will not be as interesting to video. Thanks once again for Ask Dave #243.

[@davecasler]

My drone is a DJI Spark. Exceptionally easy to fly and a great platform for HD camera work.

[@ryanjacob8568]

I was curious to know if cost was shared for a tower like this? I have been considering either a fold over or crank up tower.

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Impressive! Unfortunately for me, my total backyard space doesn't even equal the square footage of the base of this tower. But, by gosh, I have no HOA to worry about!..... ;>}

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Dave, Enjoyed the video. I can only dream of what Brad has installed. :-) 73 WB3BJU

[@Dave_N2OA]

What was the cost to have a professional crew install the base?

[@opticalman1jeffkeokro741]

Well I can dream can't I LOL.

[@markmarquardt8016]

What antenna are you going to recommend for the reference station?

[@davecasler]

I have a pretty good idea. The next video will discuss antenna options.

[@MoTown44240]

Wonder if he has a sleeve to cover the screw protecting it from blowing sand?

[@stridermt2k]

I observed the same thing. I work in QA I see failure points in everything. Everything. By the way I'd like to see that hinge a little closer.... LOL

[@seeharvester]

I don't know, but I _do_ know sand is your enemy when screwing.

[@seeharvester]

@@stridermt2k Me too. Everything. What did you think of the foundation?

[@KE6DOA]

Steve KE6DOA here.. i had/have a 4ele steppIR up at 60ft. that i only used for about 6 months and then fell out of the hobby for 7or8 years then went to use it again and found it dead and already work with steppIR to try and resolve it.. not going to happen, but i was looking at maybe replacing it with the DB18 but not the E model. how have you liked yours ? any issue's ? 73's

[@OverUnity7734]

9:14 Does that remain true for any gauge ground cable ? 000

[@davecasler]

Buried, bare cabling bonding between ground rods acts as a ground rod itself. Motorola's book suggests putting in ground rods every 10' or so if you have a long bonding run.

[@peterstratikis]

Hello Dave, I enjoyed the video, however, to my mind the total costs should have been included to complete the "Picture" All the equipment required, the tower, its accessories and the manpower I would estimate upwards of $16,000 including the Antenna etc. Correct? AC4PS.

[@lt4324]

I will bet cost are WAY above $20K, the labor alone is very costly guessing about $2K just for the hole, then the tower cost with motor ? $15K Minimum at LEAST, Antenna about $4K, Rotor about $1400 , Gravity plate $800, damn it may run around $30K by the time everything is complete. I would love to have this but no way I have funds to sink into this great hobby as this ham does! BRAVO on this great setup! Thanks for posting.

[@MikeKoss]

How is the county able to limit tower height to only 35' in the face of FCC regulations protecting amateur radio antennas from unreasonable regulation?

[@ReefMimic]

I’d have to sell a kidney for that setup:(

[@danm3532]

County has such low limits on tower installations? I thought local governments must reasonably accommodate amateur operations in zoning decisions as documented by the partial preemption called PRB-1. The legal cite for PRB-1 is: 101 FCC 2d 952 (1985). § 97.15 which provides that an amateur station antenna structure may be erected at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate effective amateur service communications. Here, they request that if your tower falls, it falls on your property (only limitation mandated by the local government).

[@davecasler]

I lobbied for a 50' limit but they put in 35'. Anything higher requires planning commission approval.

[@marklowe7431]

Me, I'd use a tilt because I'm just too chicken to climb it.