TV & FM & AM Antennas
Saturday, December 21, 2024
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Approximate Guy Wire Lengths: 1) 107ft Stage 1, 2) 112ft Stage 2, 3) 122ft Stage 3, 4) 133ft Stage 4, 5) 147ft Stage 5; Total = 627ft.
See Calculations Below.
I Ended Up Ordering One 300ft roll And One 150ft roll.
Antenna Project Images
EZ 32A HD Ground Mount
Cemented In a 24' deep Hole Chipped Out Of Solid Rock. Perfectly Level.
EZ 30 Screw Guy Wire Anchor
Cemented In A 24' deep hole chipped out Of Solid Rock.
It Takes A Minimum Of 28 days For Cement To Dry Before Loading.
Lessons Learned.
1). The EZ 32A HD Ground Mount Should Have Had A Hole Drilled In Each Corner With J Bolts Bolted Into The Cement, Now I Gots To Drill The Holes And Drill The Cement And Put Anchors In. The Base Tilted When Attempting To Tighten The Bottom Guy Wires.
2). Had one M6 Size Turnbuckle Cross Thread On One End, Recommending Larger Turnbuckles M8.
3). I Bent Two Of The EZ 30 Screw Guy Wire Anchors By Rachet Strap Tightning The Guy Wires To Much. Oh Well.
Lowest Section Guy Wires Completed. Used A Digital Angle Finder Ruler To Find The The Stage One Guy Wire Angles.
Lowest Section Guy Wires Completed, LockTite On Turn Buckles.
Was Able To Achieve Perfect Level On Lowest Section By Slowly Adjusting Rachet Straps Then The TurnBuckles.
EZ 32A HD Ground Mount With Mast In It, LockTite On Base Holding Bolt, Just Snug Tight.
Took Some Key Measurements After Getting The Bottom Mast Section Guy Wired And Level. If Looking Down From A Plane, Starting From The North West Guy Wire Anchor And Going Clockwise.
Using Circle And Triangle Formulas To Calculate The Guy Wire Lengths For Each Ground Wire Anchor.
Convert Lengths Into Digital Inches And Convert Degrees Into Radians.
Ring One Height 5-
Ring Two Height 12-
Ring Three Height 18-
Ring Four Height 25-
Ring Five Height 32-
Ring One Anchor One Guy Wire Length 32-
Ring One Anchor One Degrees 82.95, 1.44775 Radians.
Ring One Anchor Two Guy Wire Length 33-
Ring One Anchor Two Degrees 80.25, 1.40063 Radians.
Ring One Anchor Three Guy Wire Length 34-
Ring One Anchor Three Degrees 80.7, 1.40848 Radians.
Anchor One
Anchor Two
Anchor Three
Anchor One Guy Wire Lengths.
Anchor Two Guy Wire Lengths.
Anchor Three Guy Wire Lengths.
Feet-
2). 34-
3). 36-
4). 40-
5). 45-
Feet-
2). 34-
3). 37-
4). 41-
5). 45-
Feet-
2). 35-
3). 38-
4). 42-
5). 46-
100 Ft Tape
Box Tape
Note: The Upper Guy Wires Are Lengths By Formula In Order To Maintain A Straight Up Pole, Tighten All Three Turnbuckles Per Section The Exact Amount Of Turns To Maintain Straighness.
1). Ground To First Mast Ring. 5 FT 9 & 1/2 Inches.
2). Length Of Anchor One Guy Wire. 32 FT 11 & 1/2 Inches. With A Angle Of 82.95 Degrees.
3). Length Of Anchor Two Guy Wire. 33 Ft 0 & 1/4 Inches. With A Angle Of 80.25 Degrees.
4). Length Of Anchor Three Guy Wire. 34 Ft 3 & 3/4 Inches. With A Angle Of 80.7 Degrees.
5). Ground To Second Mast Ring. Second Section Raised Sitting On Cotter Key. 12 Ft 3 Inches.
6). Ground To Third Mast Ring. Second And Third Sections Raised Sitting On Cotter Keys. 18 FT 10 Inches.
7). Ground To Fourth Mast Ring. Second And Third And Fourth Sections Raised Sitting On Cotter Keys. 25 Ft 10 & 3/4 Inches.
8). The Fifth Ring Must Be Set 5 & 1/2 Inches Below The Top For Rotor, Lock Tite In Place. Ground To Fifth Mast Ring. Second And Third And Fourth And Fifth Sections Raised Sitting On Cotter Keys. 32 Ft 8 & 1/4 Inches.
9/16" Wrench
Fits
Found An Extension Spring I Can Use To As A Way To Protect The Coax Cable By The Rotor. Will Need 4.
I Can Use This Antenna Mast Clamp To Hold The Spring. Will Need 4.
Will Weld Two Springs Together With Washers Making A 6 Ft Spring, Will Need Two 6 Ft Springs, One For The Coax And One For The Ground Wire.
Lessons Learned. Continued.
4). When Attaching The Guy Wires To Each Section, Rachet Pull All Three Towards They Anchors, Before Attaching The Guy Wires To The Anchors. I Only Rachet Pulled Anchor One Ring Two Guy Wire And Had Two Inches Of Guy Wire Left Over. Hopefully It Ain't To Short Or To Tight To Raise The Mast. They Should Be Barely Loose. I Highly Recommend Leaving The Guy Wires They Calculated Lengths Until The End. Each Time You Add A Thimble (4), Your Shortening The Guy Wire 1.25 Inches, And The Turnbuckle Adds 4 Inches. I Will Say So Far That The Guy Wire Length Calculations Were Correct. Hopefully I Don't Have To Add Two Inches To Anchor One Ring Two Guy Wire.
5). Yea I Ordered The 150 Ft Roll Of Guy Wire Instead Of The 300 FT Roll. Down And Waiting On Parts.
6). Found Out A 8 Inch Cut Was To Short For Tying Two Turnbuckles Together, Went With A 9 Inch Cut, Works Much Better.
Found Some Silicon Rubber Strip To Insulate The Coax From The Tower On The Way Down, Help Protect From Lightning Better.
Stage Two Guy Wires Connected To Mast, Adjusted To Where Stage Two Mast Is Level.
2FT Cut
2FT Cut
9 Inch Cut Between Turnbuckles
2nd Turnbuckle For Loosening For Mast Lowering
1st Turnbuckle Adjustment To Perfect Level
Stage Two Guy Wire
Stage One Guy Wire
Angle Finder Tool
Lessons Learned. Continued.
7). The Ratchet Straps I'm Using Was Just A Little To Weak, One Stripped Out, I'm Up Grading Them Above.
Level 3 Done, And Level 4 Held In Place With Ratchet Straps. Gots Some Tree Limbs To Cut Before Eyeball Leveling Level 4 Since It's Beyond Ladder Reach. Gonna Stand Behind The Anchor Looking Towards The Mast And Level Till The Guy Wire Is Center Of The Mast.
Level 4 Held In Place With Ratchet Strap And Cable Puller, Ran Out Of Thimbles. Shut Down For Parts Again.
Lessons Learned. Continued.
8). Ran Out Of Thimbles, Should Have Doubled Up On The Order. Above. Apparently They Only Give Ya 50 Thimbles With 100 Crimps.
9). It's Hard To Run A Guy Wire Thru Tree Limbs, So Trim Tree Limbs First.
10). Found Out The Yaesu G-
11). I accidentally Twisted Off An (L Bolt), Top Section Of The EZ TM-
Fence Puller
Cheap POS Ratchet Strap
Lessons Learned. Continued.
12). Came Three Turnbuckles Short, Ordered Another Pack. Ended Up Needing 5 Packs Of 6.
13). I'm At The End Of My 450FT Of 1/8' Stainless Steel Cable, I Might Barely Have Enough. We Will See After I Get That Level 5 Bolt That Holds The Level 5 Guy Wire Ring Near The Top.
Got A Dewalt SDS Plus Rotary Hammer Drill To Hammer The Ground Rods In. Not Sure If It Will Go Into Solid Rock, But Will See.
Lessons Learned. Continued.
14). The Hammer Drill Could Not Drive The 4 Ft Ground Rod Into Solid Sand Rock. Gonna Get A 54 inch Long 3/4 inch Masonary Drill Bit.
15). The SDS Plus Hammer Drill Was To Small For The 54" Drill Bit, Gonna Order A SDS Max Hammer Drill.
