Pic1.6To assure the integrity of the tower in windy conditions, guy wires are used. Bobby-B WA1ZJG fabricated the guy points from 1"-1.25"-4' stainless steel rods. The guy rods have welded wings on several faces to provide adequate anchoring in the concrete.
The guy holes are 4 feet deep and 2 feet wide, filled with high strength concrete. Bobby-B built wooden frames to hold the guy points and align them with the tower. Several weeks were allowed for the concrete to cure.
The guy rod is attached to guy plates with a 3/4" bolt. The guy plates allow several turnbuckles to be attached to the guy point. All stinless steel hardware is used for maximum strength and long life. Bushings are used in the turn-buckle ends to maintain plate spacing, and provide a strong bearing surface for the turnbuckle bolts.
Dan and Faith, N1JEB & N1JIT pre-built the guy cables.
The triangular piece is the mid-tower girdle. The girdles help prevent the tower from twisting. The girdle has rigid arms attached which are part of the "moment arm" system.
Tom WA1RHP, is finishing installing the small girdle at the30 foot level of the tower.
Bobby-B WA1ZJG, built a very stong girdle for the top of the tower, with longer arms. Again, Stainless steel is used.
Tom WA1RHP wearing bright yellow to attract hunters, and gawkers, is standing on another tower step just below the big girdle.
