ARRL

Register Account

Login Help

Forum Home - Rules - Help - Login - Forgot Password
Members can access, post and reply to the forums below. Before you do, please first read the RULES.

40 foot tilt tower winch system

Sep 20th 2014, 17:56

brakemanbobsmith

Joined: Aug 23rd 2014, 19:57
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0
Hi Everyone

I have just purchased a used Rohn 40 foot tilt tower with a Hustler 4 element beam and Ham Rotor.

I would like to build a crank up winch system for this tower when I install it.

My first question is how tall should I make the pole that will be used to mount the winch and pulley for the cable that will be attached to the tower to raise and lower it ?

Second question is how far up the tower should I connect the cable to the tower ?

I will be using a 4" x 4" x 1/4" wall square structural tubing welded to a mounting plate 3/4" thick 12" square with it's mounting bolts anchored into the pad and will have two angled braces from it to pad to brace it in the direction of tilt.

Anyone build a winch system that may have some word of wisdom or experience ?
Sep 22nd 2014, 17:38

WA9WVX

Joined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0
Bob,

I'm trying to visualize what you have for a Rohn Tilt Over Assembly. Is this what you're using? http://www.antennasystems.com/Merchant2/graphics/rohn/BPH25G.jpg

Or something like this?
http://www.nn4zz.com/images/TiltPlate/TiltOver100.jpg

You haven't provided which Rohn tower size you have: 25G, 45G, 55G, or 65G?

These things matter when anyone would recommend what you might do. I hope you have cleared this with your City, Town or County's Building Department for a Permit as they require drawings in triplicate. You better know a Structural Engineer to approve what you're planning on doing or you'll end up having to remove the structure at your cost. PRB-1 is only as Good as you doing the official paperwork, not I thought I could do this and ask for foregiveness. Building Departments do not have that type of a Sense of Humor, no matter who it is.

Dan
WA9WVX
Sep 22nd 2014, 22:12

brakemanbobsmith

Joined: Aug 23rd 2014, 19:57
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0
County/Zoning requires no building permits for tower installation that was first step I took before buying tower, Tower already is a tilt tower from factory, all I am wanting to do is build a winch system to raise and lower tower so we don't have to have to use ropes and manpower like previous owner did an like we took it down. He purchased it new in mid 80's from Rohn doesn't have paper work any more and painted over I.D. label on tower so model ? but was factory tilt tower. I'm a county dweller Building / Zoning not real tuff here don't even need permits to build pole barns, now to put electric in barns yes! Build no.
Have the skills to do the fabrication work, last 15 years of 37 years on industrial maintenance job spent working for engineering department fabricating the equipment they designed.
we like to call ourselves Re-engineers cause have the time were the one that end up making it work!
Looked good on paper is a saying we hear a lot! LOL I guess I could get one of the engineers to provide the data I need just thought someone may have had a working design ? Some videos on U-Tube look good?
Sep 23rd 2014, 02:27

WA9WVX

Joined: Apr 4th 1998, 00:00
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0
Hi Bob,
I believe I know what you have as the Tilt Over Section is in the middle of the 40' being 20' above the ground and there should be a triangular brace that mounts to the top 3 rd section and over laps the 2 nd section above the ground. Those tower were marketed in the mid 1970s and probably production ran 10 years. The bottom of the triangular tower section that over lapped to of the main 10' sections normally had Galvanized steel cable attached to the over lapped bottom of the triangular section (this section was a little smaller to the standard 25G or 45G sections so it would lay flat against it) and on the very bottom 10' section Rohn mounted the hand crank assembly at 4' so one individual could raise or lower the Tilt Over Tower, Rohn used an unusual way of guying the tower, where the hinge is they set up four (4) individual guy lines but at the top they used three (3) individual guy lines. These tower could be set up as 40', 60' & 70'. I believe the 60' & 70' were hinged at 30' and naturally the over lapping triangular arm assembly straddled the 30' & 40' sections. Of course the length of the Galvanized cable had to be longer for the taller towers to Tilt Over. If this doesn't sound like what you have, perhaps it isn't a Rohn tower. The Crank assembly was similar to what people use to pull the boats up om to trailers so you might want to stop by a boating store to see if they can sell you that type of a Cranking assembly.

There a tower company known as Heights that uses a different method to raise and lower fixed length towers. They used a case harden huge steel screw something like 3 or 4' long built on to a triangular steel assembly. I hope this isn't what you have but they are still available:
http://www.heightstowers.com/#!foldoverkits/cqqv

Dan
WA9WVX

Back to Top

EXPLORE ARRL

Instragram     Facebook     Twitter     YouTube     LinkedIn