How to Install Ham Radio Tilting Crank Up Tower

This video presents how I installed my 40ft crank up tilting base station tower and Mosley TA-53M antenna. I am by no means an expert and may have missed a step or could have done some things better. I just tried to make a more complete tower install video to share my experience and or help other learn from my mistakes.
Thanks to Neil W4NHL for the tower, antenna and rotor!
Note: Your location and soil may require additional prep work to help improve ground conductivity.

[@KB2CWN]

Very nice job David and your dad! That baby ain't going anywhere, and you'll never have to worry with our storms down here. Two thumb up!

[@JohnMyers]

Excellent video, MUCH better that sideshows I sometimes see with no verbal narrative.

[@chalemi]

You have a good Dad! Good father and son project-looks good.

[@sanjayd411]

Great job! In a couple of weeks from now I will be raising my 50ft EZ Way crank-up/tilt-over tower with a Mosley CL-33 tri bander.

[@richarde735]

I’m glad to see that Dad didn’t dig the hole! Nice Job David! It looks great!

[@rico1319]

She looks sweet. I used an A4 S for many years great antennas! You did a great job just don’t let any of that rust starting on the tower base to get away from you. Look forward to working you someday!👍👍👍🇨🇱😎 W5PN

[@SilverCymbal]

You have a ton of clever ideas with this, thank you for sharing this!

[@mjinabnit4481]

Outstanding video work! I wish the audio on some parts was stronger but HEY! Also super cool you had help from your dad! tnx for your help om! happy dx 73 j

[@ThePauperPrepper]

Well done. I bet you are quite the proud guy!

[@moonshinerphd9523]

Down here in the foothills of the southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia our bases are usually 2'x2'x2'. I reckon in Florida where the soil is more sandy y'all probably need the extra foot of depth. Great job, I enjoyed watching!

[@radiotech181]

GREAT JOB!! Thanks for sharing!

[@MrZonacat1]

I am jealous. Thanks for this video as I am planning on putting something like this up but need to learn what it is all about.

[@BradMorrisKA3YAN]

Excellent video David!

[@jasondaigle6887]

Awesome awesome job I like that ten plate idea I’m getting ready to put a 30 pole up my self thank you

[@ramonalicea1176]

David nice job and great video.

[@butterbean4195]

man i dream of that kind of soil to dig in! im up in north Georgia where it is clay and tons of rocks from marble size to car size. hope to hear you on the air. 73`s

[@DJBlackhawk]

Move on down to FL, we are open haha. I'm temporarily at FT Stewart, GA area and I see what you mean... Are you on HF? Maybe we can try 10 or 15 or even 20 meters on the mobile depending on our distance? Especially since there is only one repeater in this small town that is quiet most of the time. What's your call sign? 73 DE KK4MND

[@butterbean4195]

@@DJBlackhawk noooo i`m from fla borned and raised i`m afraid of storms/hurricanes. . lol i left there in 74 joined the army and never went back except to visit. right now my HF rig is on its way to Tampa to a tech to get a tune up. but i do have a ts 430 and a 160 mtr ant up i can talk on. i think we can try that if you have enough wire in the air. I just lost a tower and beams to a tornado 2 weeks ago so all i have up now is a G5RV and 160mtr wire and a 6btv hustler slightly bent. i was at Ft swampie many times while in the Army last there in 2000 working at the Youth program on base in the Natl guard area.

[@seminolerick6845]

yup same soil in NY... 1st tree hole I dug in FL ... I literally laughed out loud... sooo easy ! 👍

[@yachtwork]

Nicely explained and shown video. Thank you for making that. Gave my project some good ideas.

[@jimsak]

Thank you so much for your video!! I followed your plan and the tower base came out excellent. 73's N1PQR

[@DJBlackhawk]

Awesome, no problem! I'm just so glad this video was able to help you! 73 DE KK4MND

[@waltsnyder886]

very nice i plan on putting up a rohn 25 in the spring and it will tilt over and i am looking fir all the help/ideas i can fine thanks for posting.

[@vexbomer]

Looks good thanks for showing the whole process 73's KM4VBI

[@DJBlackhawk]

No problem, glad I could help! 73 DE KK4MND

[@johngoold1218]

Wow. Well done.

[@CT1JRZ]

Great job. Looks good and firm. 73 enjoy it

[@1OFGODSOWN]

Good job my friend.Mosley beams are AWESOME & you know I love my TA-53M as well. 73 & God bless de W4KVW

[@alexviademonte898]

Buen video David !!! lo usare como guia para mi instalacion !!!!

[@Markinpuff]

You should have a 6 inch/turn choke on the top feed line.

[@nlo114]

Don't forget your tower ground!

[@giulianoggg2035]

Great super job! Bravo. How big was the hole the foundation size wide deep ?

[@brianmoss5483]

Great job, I'm jealous

[@barryinn1778]

Why did you not show video of raising tower with the crank.?

[@cd1168]

excellent and you did it yourself! congrats

[@glennroberts7183]

THANK YOU ! ! THANK YOU ! ! THANK YOU ! !

[@BigDogsHunt100]

Nice job with the hardware. I was worried you were mounting the bolts flush with the top of the nuts, but the final job is right on once the wood frame template was removed. Bolts should always have threaded rod above the fully seated nut, with a minimum being the width of the bolt itself. I didn't notice a grounding rod going through the base to contact soil below... What kind of grounding system do you use for that rig?

[@stephenrussell1766]

BigDogsHunt100 I had the very same question.

[@halrice770]

I will need to see your permit.

[@peterock8217]

Sweet, definitely motivates me to dig also, lol !!! 9 years ago, how's it holding up??? 83's N3WUB

[@tonymcgee1146]

I've hand dug two holes for tower bases. Not a one-day job, lol.

[@roynorman3650]

How do you figure the load on the raising cable?

[@oldtimeengineer26]

I really was hoping to you crank it up so I could see how it worked

[@DJBlackhawk]

Would have loved to film that part but I was so excited, I forgot! Haha I'll try to remember to film next time soon as I need to replace the 2m/440 Cubex beam atop of the Mosley.

[@oldtimeengineer26]

yep I know the feeling

[@MountainMan7.62x39]

Good video! What size rebar are you using?

[@bradleysmith681]

I think I saw a serious mistake in your installation. Was the rebar cage actually driven into the soil, or otherwise touching the soil? If so, that is a concern because the rebar will begin to decay where it meets the soil and continue into the cement. The cage should have been suspended off the soil and completely enclosed in cement.

[@DJBlackhawk]

Thanks for pointing this out will have to dig around the base and inspect every year. I thought we but rocks in before we poured but I forget...

[@awdbroadcasting272]

The base wasn’t wobbly because it was too thin. You failed to add leveling nuts underneath it. That would’ve increased the distance between the base and the concrete and allowed the top nut to tighten down all the way.

[@Jay-hr9ci]

Shouldn't the bolts be connected to the re bar frame? All that's holding the tower up is the bolts set in concrete. Is that right?

[@DJBlackhawk]

The bolts are not just bolts they are J Bolt Anchors rewatch at 3min 40sec mark they have J shape anchors that get embedded in concrete. The rebar most likely won't last and eventually rust away. To prevent that I should have used rocks and gravel at the base of the hole as someone else recommended.

[@thomasbonse]

@@DJBlackhawk You could've used fiberglass rebar instead.

[@DJBlackhawk]

Thomas Bonse where were you with this comment 7 years ago? Haha

[@thomasbonse]

@@DJBlackhawk Sorry I was late to the party, a cookout and tower raising party would've helped. 😉 If you decide to do it again, you might want to check out these guys telescoping towers and their fold-over kits for self-supporting towers. www.heightstowers.com/fold-over-kits.html

[@riddick1125]

Did you guy wire the tower?

[@ericlessard6653]

Nice father son time

[@tomdixonzl2hgr15]

Clearly Daddy and son :-)

[@johnjohnson2826]

Beautiful. KD2IHZ NY...

[@ChrisHobbs42]

David, great video, thanks. I'm curious about the feedline; do you just have it dangling from that extension you showed at 5:36 to the ground, or is it attached to the tower elsewhere? I've been trying to figure out (without having seen anyone's rotator setup up close) how to deal with the feedline and avoid getting it wrapped up around the tower/mast. Thanks again!

[@W3TFART]

Great video . How long did you let the concrete set for ?

[@DJBlackhawk]

W3TFART a week

[@petercharlesphotography7169]

It appears your coax down lead just droops and circles the tower as you rotate; is this correct?

[@KevinModz65]

Excellent video, very comprehensive. KD9NTD

[@DJBlackhawk]

Thank you so much! I'm glad I could help! 73 DE KK4MND

[@earthenergyhex]

did you make the tower base plate?

[@mikebohemia1947]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing. 73 de ok8msw.

[@Mr.Amplifier.]

Hi do you used the J concrete anchors from Home Depot? Thanks for the video..

[@DJBlackhawk]

petpphack1 yes

[@alanhughes1262]

your foundation hole looks ok but the base plate is just too small should be 3/4 bolts welded to the rebar 1/2 plate i removed my base and engineered the swing over with 2 inch pin on 1/2 inch plate with collars.

[@randyreynolds986]

Would the tower happen to be a Tri-Ex Tower?

[@DJBlackhawk]

I think so, I purchased used from a local ham..

[@bills1613]

How well does that TA 53M work for you? That's the one I've been wanting.

[@DJBlackhawk]

Bill S great! No issues for being used I’m impressed.

[@andreskim1005]

Good Job XE1KIM

[@seminolerick6845]

You are my hero... all that digging & no sweat ? I live a few miles N of you & sweat my buns off doing minor work...lol

[@torres_arriostradas]

Is this tower needs to be guyed?

[@DJBlackhawk]

carlos santamaria no

[@torres_arriostradas]

@@DJBlackhawk very Good and excellent work, could You share the specificatons about the materiales has builded the tower, I mean, the size about the tube

[@marcelbenhur6230]

😳. Si peu de béton? Sans haubans ? Il est toujours vertical le pylône ....

[@AlamoCityCello]

Cute lil baby tower! lol

[@barryinn1778]

Plus we can't hear you talking at the end of video.

[@robertheintz8017]

Next time weld the anchor bolts to the rebar.

[@gewglesux]

Ad's..

[@DJBlackhawk]

?

[@gewglesux]

When i looked at this video i saw a bunch of Ad's for Ham gear I dont see them now... i wonder if it's my browser. Mosely is a fine Antenna..

[@1OFGODSOWN]

I see no ads of any kind.I run an ad blocking software so it's never an issue.Yes Mosley makes AWESOME antennas & they have for over 70 years.

[@gewglesux]

I'm not sure why i saw them... it's funny.. i see them a few on a few videos of guys putting up their towers.. Thanks for the reply..

[@davidmercado4749]

Hi