Completed 100 ft Tower

We completed our 100 ft Rohn 55G Tower today! Matt at XX Towers got the second Star Guy Bracket from Rohn, installed it on the top section of the tower and raised the top section into place. After he and Andrew attached the second level of Phillystran guy lines at the 95 ft level, our tower was up.

Completed 100 ft Tower in Back Yard

Matt placed our 21 ft x 3″ mast inside the tower at the base prior to installing the top section of the tower. This makes getting the mast into place when the rotator goes in much easier!

Mast Inside Tower

Matt also finished the guy equalizer plates and grounded them. Here’s what they look like.

Guy Equalizer on Anchor

As you can see, the Phillystran guy material transitions to Extra High-strength Steel (EHS) guy cable near the ground for safety reasons. Here’s a picture of a portion of one of the Phillystran guy lines on the ground. You can see the transition to the EHS cable at the end.

Phillystran Guy Line

The Star Guy system worked out great and should keep the tower from twisting under the torque of rotating two large SteppIR DB36 antennas at the same time.

Two Levels of Star Guys

The tower base is also grounded at this point. We will be adding two additional ground rods on the other two legs and bonding the tower ground to the station ground over the next few days.

Tower Base

We are really happy with the results of our tower project to date. Now we need to get some antennas on our new tower! We are expecting our SteppIR antennas to arrive soon – it sure is tough to wait!

Looking Up The Tower

You can read more about our tower project via the articles which follow:

• First Tower Part 1 – Ground Broken For New Tower!
• First Tower Part 2 – Tower/Antenna System Design Details And Equipment Ordering
• First Tower Part 3 – More Excavation For Feedline Conduits
• First Tower Part 4 – Tower/Antenna System Analysis And Design (Planning And EZNEC)
• First Tower Part 5 – Tower/Antenna System Analysis And Design (HFTA Analysis)
• First Tower Part 6 – We Have A Tower!
• First Tower Part 8 – VHF/UHF Antenna System Design
• First Tower Part 9 – Feedline Conduits And Electrical Power Complete
• First Tower Part 10 – Building Yagis (70 cm)
• First Tower Part 11 – Building Yagis (2m)
• First Tower Part 12 – Building Yagis (SteppIR DB36)
• First Tower Part 13 – Building Yagis (SteppIR DB36 Continued)
• First Tower Part 14 – Building Yagis (SteppIR DB36 Continued II)
• First Tower Part 15 – Building Yagis (SteppIR DB36 Completed)
• First Tower Part 16 – Building Yagis (Second SteppIR DB36 Completed)
• First Tower Part 17 – Feedline Breakout System
• First Tower Part 18 – Antennas On The Tower (Preparation and Upper Yagis)
• First Tower Part 19 – Antennas On The Tower (System Integration)
• First Tower Part 20 – Antennas On The Tower (System Complete)
• First Tower Part 21 – Antennas On The Tower (Final Odds and Ends)
• Complete Presentation on Amateur Radio Station Design And Construction

– Fred, AB1OC