04/25/2024
St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club
Yes, it’s time for an antenna get together.
The plan is to remove the log periodic antenna from atop the storage containers, followed by the mast, rotator and thrust bearing. If you would like to help (or supervise) in this effort, the party starts at 10:00AM on Saturday (9/8) the day after the next SPARC meeting.
Hope to see you there.
Our trusty tower team consisting of John, KI4UIP; Donn, N4KII and Dave KR4U were at it again. Today (9/27) the tower tilt mechanism was mated with the telescoping tower. The tower mounts to the base with two large bolts that also serve as hinges when the tower goes from horizontal to vertical or vice versa. Once the third leg is bolted to the base, the tower can then be extended to a raised height of approximately 54 feet.
Final installation details include adding tower grounding, installing the rotor, mast, and … Click for more
Today (9/20) the crew of Dave, KR4U; Donn, N4KII; and John KI4UIP installed the tower tilt assembly on the concrete base. Notice the ancient Egyptian influence used in keeping the heavy mechanism above the threaded rod so as not to bend the rods. Now we get to prepare the tower while the concrete base continues to cure.
Today (9/13) we poured concrete. Four yards (16,000 lbs.) of mud, 200 pounds of re-bar, followed by
by eight ¾” threaded rods. Everything went as planned. As we wait for the concrete to harden, we can now come up with a plan to relocate the log periodic antenna that is currently atop the Glen Martin tower that is mounted on the shipping containers.
Our tower foundation has been dug, the re-bar cage has been installed, and inspected. We are ready to pour concrete. A few photos below show our progress. We will need to wait awhile while the concrete hardens. Then we get to install the tower base, the tower itself, and finally transplant our LP antenna. Thanks to all that contributed to this effort.
The site behind the DMI Research building where the SPARC station is located is being prepared for the tower. Click on photos to enlarge.
Next step is getting the dirt out that is in the way of the concrete (a.k.a. a BIG hole is needed). White paint marks the spot! The hole will be dug near the building foundation. The tower base will be angled to allow folding over with clearance for the fence and A/C units. John, KI4UIP reports the … Click for more