Removing a Section of Rigid Coax Part 1

Just before Christmas we were called to an FM radio station's tower site. The antenna had failed but fortunately they had an auxiliary emergency antenna to switch to. As we worked on this problem we found a great deal of damage. This video only deals with a small part.

[@glennidalski6833]

John these videos are outstanding very educational thank you 1,000% I’m from missouri you are one of the best ever of the communication specialist/ tower worker thank you keep them coming

[@lemmy9996]

Great video John. It always surprises me that climbers in the States don't use tool tethering. Nothing worse than dropping a spanner when you are 300 feet up. Its a long way to go and pick it up!! In the UK its SOP to have all your tools on lanyards.

[@jhettish]

I don't disagree with the concept. However in the "modern" world we are using many different tools do do the kind of work we do and we're using one, maybe two bags to keep those tools. If you've ever put audio or video cables in a box you've already noticed that they become entangled almost immediately. Multiple tethers tend to do the same thing. When stacking tower the tools used are somewhat minimal so that can be done. In my case you may notice that I work rather slowly. In the case of the flange bolts the first step is to loosen them with two wrenches. My concentration is on those two tools. When the bolts/nuts are lose the wrenches go back in the bag. I then removed the bolts with my fingers concentrating on one bolt/lock washer/nut at a time. I've trained my guys to do the work in similar fashion. Years ago I had a really good climber tho dropped things with alarming regularity. I climbed with him and noticed he was working as though he was standing near a work bench rather than at elevation. I got him to slow down and he never dropped tools, rigging or radios thereafter. John

[@lemmy9996]

John, you make some good points. Working at height is never going to be quick. I don't think that you work slowly, as a matter of fact. You have to work methodically so that nothing is dropped. Its a fact that tools will always migrate to the bottom of your work bag but I don't know of any way around that. I have a small bag ( which is always referred to as " the sporran" into which i will deposit nuts and bolts as I disassemble them. With regard to tool lanyards I have a small stainless carabiner on a lanyard which allows me to swap tools out pretty quickly. Two of those work really well. You don't usually need more than 2 tools at any one time.

[@stanpatterson5033]

Love the graphic title at the beginning of the video... "Burnout in Nashville"... Oddly, I myself, suffered through a case very similar to that once, "Burnout in Knoxville". If I had to do it all over again, I think I'd like to try it in Nashville the next time. Happy (and safe) New Year to you and the guys.

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment Stan. I've done work on the Richland tower in Knoxville but that was over ten years ago. I'm guessing the Richland tower in Knoxville is probably owned by American Tower now since the Nashville tower has been for a little over a year now. I liked doing work for Richland. It was a small company with big towers but I'm sure the idea from the outset was to create something that could be sold for millions of dollars. I believe the area in K-Tower with the most large towers is Sharpes Ridge but I could be thinking of some other place.

[@jhettish]

I forgot to comment on the graphic. I've been experimenting with various graphics and sounds lately but I'm beginning to think simple is best. Still, I will continue to experiment. Who knows, I might get it right some day. :-)

[@Motham51]

Thanks for the great video, John! I look forward to more. Happy and safe New Year!

[@jhettish]

I hope to have the second part up within a week or less. I think it will be easier to edit. John

[@TerryMcKean]

05:42 Lol! :-D Yep... those bigger coax pipes definitely present a 'high-boltage' hazard. ;-)

[@miloxp]

Great video as always, thanks for uploading

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment. I hope to get Part 2 up and going quickly. John

[@stoneman3079]

glad to see you're safe Have a happy safe climbing New Year New Year

[@lewiemcneely9143]

I thought I needed something to get my digestive juices going before supper so I knew I could watch this episode of the tower guys and my stomach would turn over and get everything sloshing again. My Sweetie took one look and started getting swimmy headed. Just how far were you up in this clip, John? Glad you're still mucical and talking to ones self. Looking forward to #2 too!

[@jhettish]

Glad to have been of ........service. :-) I'm gratified that you enjoy the videos. I think, but I don't know for sure, that Part 2 will be easier to edit and thus quicker to upload. John

[@lewiemcneely9143]

John Hettish Take your time. I'll be waiting on it. You've got enough to do to cater to the public now that you're a celebrity!

[@4210-d2o]

Great videos man.

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you like them. John

[@carlosjohnson8834]

Think I recognize that tower. Western Davidson County, off Old Charlotte? Old WZTV tower?

[@johnteague136]

Love the view..

[@Fireship1]

I was wondering what those spots on the outer portion of the hard line were. At first I thought they were corrosion, but then you said they were damage. I'm assuming a lighting strike shorted the inner conductor to the outer jacket and then to ground? If so, are those spots burn marks? This didn't look like an easy job John. Working with the weight of that hard line at height amazes me. You make it look easy, but I know it's anything but easy! Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@jhettish]

I kept meaning to look up the section weight. It's 83 pounds. I have some still photos that show the relationship of the marks on the outside to the damage on the inside. I'll try to put a photo-video together soon. This is turning into a long and difficult job. The tower is 800 feet tall and guy wires attach every 100 feet. If we were to drop one of these sections and it fell 100 feet hitting a guy wire it could bring the entire structure down, with us on it. John

[@dennisqwertyuiop]

Good work glad to see still safe, do you carry spare wrench with you ? If that was me I at some time drop one, Happy New year keep safe

[@jhettish]

I actually had several extra wrenches but the only things I dropped were one bolt and one lock washer, no tools. John

[@JoseRobertoGarciaMGT]

Good work ! Thanks from Brasil !

[@jhettish]

Obrigado, Jose

[@JoseRobertoGarciaMGT]

John Hettish ainda fala portugues ?

[@jhettish]

Apenas google português

[@johnteague136]

I'm like a tight spring on occasion...LMAFO!...thanks 😂

[@qrplife]

Happy New Year John & Crew. Have a safe and prosperous 2017 !

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment. I'm guessing that QRP doesn't apply to your broadcast interests. When I was in Germany I had a reciprocal ham license with the call sign of DL5HJ. That was in the late 60s and I was able to communicate occasionally on 20 meter CW with Russian hams running less than 6 watts. No information of substance went between us except for RST. I've been fascinated with low power ham radio every since but my work in the two-way business (44 years) caused ham radio to not be a hobby often engaged in. John

[@qrplife]

Funny you should mention that. My broadcast interests are very much QRP. Well, QRPp actually. I run a Part 15 AM "station" on 1700 KHz with a whopping 100mW. richmondradio.wordpress.com/ FB on operating as a DL5 - from the cold war to the solar cycle, getting on the air from Germany must have been an interesting and possibly exciting time.

[@jhettish]

The Germany hamming was good but working from a Sealand ship while I was in Vietnam was even better in some ways. I would travel from Saigon to Cam Ran Bay by Sealand Container ship and use the radio operators ham gear once outside of the 12 mile limit.

[@sized4spills]

Great video as always!

[@jhettish]

Thanks Justin

[@TangoUniform300]

Love your videos! Would love this job!

[@jhettish]

When I hadn't been in business very long I used to get help from friends with climbing skills. One of my friends was talking to a group of club members one night talking about the 350 foot climb he'd just done, the perfect temperature, the lack of wind and the sudden moment of clarity he experienced while I did the work. The moment of clarity went, "My God, he does this in the winter also." He never volunteered to work with me again. I actually found the comment quite funny and we're still friends, at least on Facebook. :-) John

[@matthewweber6590]

I don't see a safety climb in your video, did you have to double hook all the way up to your location on the tower? 800-ft I think you said at some point.

[@jhettish]

Yep. Got to remain connected. I've ordered all the components for a safety climb. We're going to rig a temporary 5/8" safety rope next time we're at that tower. Double hooking such a ladder is quite a pain and even violates some of OSHA's repetitive muscle strain rules. It's sort of a "can't win for losing" type of thing. John

[@royamberg9177]

was those stainless bolts. they didn't gall up

[@jhettish]

Yes they were the typical SS bolts we see in broadcast work. I only removed six sections and during that time I only had two bolts that tried to gall. The newer bolts come with a grey nut which I believe is treated with teflon. I need to look further into that. The color of the nut is a dull grey and they do not gall. Usually when I'm going to be working on these types of bolts I take a "torque multiplier" (short piece of pipe) to extend the length of my rachet wrench. Usually a certain small percentage of the bolts need to be broken to get the pieces apart. John

[@royamberg9177]

I hate SS bolts just for that reason. They have there place

[@lovelakeozark]

John Hettish

[@lovelakeozark]

John you should be able to get the ss moly nuts through Endries International If you contact Dielectric someone in purchasing might Give you the part number . Mark

[@jhettish]

Yep those were SS bolts and nuts but I didn't experience any galling that would cause the nuts to seize.

[@dwaynemiller68]

I don't know if this video is correct but that safety rope should be on the outside the steps just in case one of them broke it would go down to the next one you all have balls of steel not mean but I would say that would be better

[@lucaspeake9954]

how come you don't use power tools

[@jhettish]

Good question. I think mainly because we're not in a big hurry and we only deal (in this case) with 8 bolts and nuts at a time. More often we deal with 3" rigid and that's only 6 bolts and nuts. Secondly, power tools are heavy and somewhat awkward to handle in a confined space. I think power tools are best used on a tower when setting coax hangers or anything that requires focus on one thing. We do have a 6" elbow and cut section coming up. The six inch flange contains 12 bolts and nuts on each end.

[@infinitecanadian]

What causes a burnout? And who is ‘John Teegan’?

[@jhettish]

Often it's some physical damage like a bullet or dent that changes the impedance of the coaxial feed line. Lightning will also cause holes from the outside under certain conditions. In one case, especially the one above, poor installation, caused by poor design, created a hole in one of the coaxial "elbows" which started a sort of chain reaction through the upper 100 sections of 4 inch rigid coax. There's a photo slide show where the damage can be seen. It's amongst the group of videos that include the one above. John

[@infinitecanadian]

@@jhettish Thank you for the information; also, who shoots at transmission towers? People can be such idiots.

[@jhettish]

@@infinitecanadian Second part of the first question not yet answered. I only know a "John Teague" and he works for "Tower King Two". I don't know a John Teegan" but it's easy to guess that maybe the name got mangled somewhere in internet land. I don't remember mentioning John Teague during the video but I could have easily done that. As for who shoots at transmission towers you already answered the biggest part of that question. The answer is "really idiotic people" but the second part might be, "really idiotic people with guns". Any one who works on towers has seen the aftermath of gun fire. Often the idiots are aiming at lights on the tower and being crappy shots usually hit the coaxial cable or something harder to find holes. John

[@infinitecanadian]

@@jhettish Madness. Do you ever catch them doing it?

[@jhettish]

@@infinitecanadian No, I only see the aftermath. I have a "bullet" repair video on this channel. I find the holes electronically. I had one customer (owner) offer a $500 reward for information leading to conviction but there were no takers. The following link is from a different bullet hunt. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKCaeKqtrpeih68

[@actthree34]

Interesting video as usual, John. Can you buy a 20 ft. section of that line and just bolt it in place or is it more complicated than that?

[@jhettish]

That's pretty much it though in this situation nineteen, 20 ft, sections will have to be purchased (around $1600 each) and one section that is 17 feet 7 inches, which will probably cost more.. John

[@glennidalski6833]

John stay safe from this Coronavirus garbage