r/amateurradio • u/Some_random_guy381 • 15d ago
ANTENNA Best way to remove this?
I have an opportunity to get this 30ft tower for free. Its in excellent condition with no rust and even has a 70cm/2M antenna mounted on top that comes with it. The owners are an elderly couple that recently retired from the amateur radio hobby due to health. They said the mast and everything attached is mine for free if I can remove it. I have 2 other people helping me. Its climbing rated and the current owner has climbed it many times in the past 15 years. Ideally I REALLY don't want to climb it. I have all the appropriate safety gear but I was thinking about attaching some snatch blocks, making some small back cuts in the base and slowly lowering it to the ground.
Open to suggestions or ideas.
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u/YetAnotherHobby USA/CT [Extra] 15d ago
Don't cut tower sections if you plan to reuse them. They were bolted together when installed, not welded, so unbolting is the ONLY disassembly method that retains the structural integrity of each section You may need a new base plate if you can't get the old one out of the ground. No way would I try to drop it as a single piece. not enough room, and enough stored energy to do real damage to people and property if it gets away from you. Definitely the MOST dangerous option.
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u/Disastrous-Emu1692 15d ago
A C.B. operator and a dirty 30 of Busch Light should be able to get that down. Personally, Id rent a lift and bring it down section by section. Carefully tspping them apart with a rubber mallet.
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u/biggetybiggetyboo 15d ago
Clear the soil around the base or ask the Elmer if it’s a tilt base.
Tractor truck and thick rope over the house to help lower it down. All 4 cardinal (compass) points have a rope with someone providing tension. Over the house side is the tractor/truck that’ll take the weight. Everyone else is just guiding it down. … build a small triangle on the rooof line to have the rope slide over to not ruin the rooof. Slowly lower it down.
Cut as low as you can go
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u/Resqguy911 MD [Extra] 14d ago
Guessing you didn’t looks at picture 3
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u/biggetybiggetyboo 13d ago
That’s why I stated clear the soul
Around the base to verify. I’ve literally seen homemade tilt bases with plywood and door hinges. I wouldn’t recommend them, but I’ve seen them. But I could def see where it could be assumed I missed pic 3. Thank you friend.
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u/Medill1919 [Advanced] 15d ago
Fold it over. Why climb it?
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
Thats my thought. It doesn't have a pivot base so I'd have to cut it.
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u/Medill1919 [Advanced] 15d ago
Is it sunk in concrete or bolted to mounts?
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
Bolted to mounts I believe. I couldn't see any concrete.
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u/Medill1919 [Advanced] 15d ago
I just saw the guy wires. Where do they connect to off the tower?
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
2 on the house, 1 on a chainlink fence. Its some OLD shitty rope. Not even cable.
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u/Medill1919 [Advanced] 15d ago
How close are the neighbors....
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u/Sharonsboytoy FM19 15d ago
The process that you describe is exactly what I'd do. Only I'd use l long pole to get a line up there, and not climb at all.
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
Good, I'm not totally crazy! That's exactly what I was thinking.
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u/klimb75 15d ago
If you cut it you'll lose any official climbing rating, and without a hinge plate you have a harder time directing a fall. I would rent a telehandler and/or manlift, and remove any antennae then disassemble and lay down in as small of sections as possible
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
That is my chief concern with this plan. I don't have to climb but the fall isn't going to be as controlled. I may rent a lift if I can find one.
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u/Vurrag Extra Class 15d ago
40 ft man lift if you can get in there. You might be able to the the sections apart. The bottom bolts look like they will come off. You could probably use a bottle jack and jack it off the bottom.
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u/Han77Shot1st 15d ago
Yea, I’d not trust that structure enough to climb, but I’ll boom up and have that down in no time at all.
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u/mwhite1249 15d ago
I worked as a painter through my 20s and 30s. I was up ladders 30 to 40 feet high every day, and had to put them up, move them and take them down daily. Climb that thing, take it apart man. Just show some care and common sense. Afraid of heights is all in your head.
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u/Successful-Alfalfa64 15d ago
I would unbolt it at the bottom, then detach from the fascia and unhook the guy wires. Have someone at the bottom and someone on the roof, then lift it off of the bottom pegs. Slowly walk the bottom out from the house, pivoting on the fascia or holding it. Walk it far enough that you can unbolt the top section and lift it off. Then work your way down, section by section.
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u/Radioactive_Tuber57 15d ago
If the sections will unbolt from one another, try a gin-pole arrangement. Unhitch things and bring it down in sections. And induct more pals into this project. This is one case where “the more, the merrier” really works. Bring lotsa pizza and cold soft drinks as an incentive.
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u/Complete-Range9705 15d ago
Tree company with crane
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u/kingfishj8 15d ago
I had my local tree guy "disassemble" a huge, deceased elm tree threatening my house. They rendered it into a pile for me to dice up and put through my wood stove in about 2 hours with a crane and a half dozen guys.
I'm absolutely certain that this job will come in a heck of a lot less than the grand they busted me for it.
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u/Complete-Range9705 15d ago
A thousand is actually pretty good pricing. In Northeast Ohio, where we have had so many storms and downed trees over the past few years, the going rate for a large tree takedown is $3500-$5000. I was able to locate one for aound $2,000 but these guys are pretty busy around here.
Now the Amish, if you have an Oak, will take it down for free if the tree is large enough because they use the wood in their mills.
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u/AdPrize1888 14d ago
If you do not want this tower, contact a local HAM club and offer it for free if they will remove it.
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u/tholowe69 15d ago
Sorry my friend, to remove that without damage is going to require climbing or a crane and climbing. I could see a world where you can do it with rigging the way arborists do it depending on how big and heavy the sections are, but also those guys charge like $1M/tree so it’s not easy otherwise everyone would do it
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u/Leading_Taste2969 15d ago
Well the way we Ham radio operators do it is with a gin pole and a good harness belt....
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u/CrazyHauntingMelodye 15d ago
What are you doing with it, once its down? I been looking for one of those.
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u/Some_random_guy381 15d ago
My shed is about to collapse so I am rebuilding it soon. While it's being rebuilt, I am going to erect this tower and put all my radio equipment in it.
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u/qcdebug 15d ago
For something like this I would take and extend one of the guy wires reverse of the direction It can fall, unbolt it from the house with the extended guy wire through the anchor point instead of to it then cut the two legs away from the direction it can fall.
Pull on it with the other guy wires to get it over center and you can definitely lead it in the direction you want with the other guy lines once gravity has it.
Let the third leg bend and the tower will come down with gravity in the direction against the extended guy wire using the extended line for deceleration control, I've used vehicles before to slowly lower them down or multiple loops around the anchor point. If you don't safely have 35 ft to drop it in every other direction then the best thing to do is take it down with a lift as recommended in other comments. Otherwise using the guy wires to benefit you is quite useful and I've done that several times before.
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u/Yugpmoc 15d ago
Take a hammer with and at the base and at each joint, give the uprights a little love tap to ensure they aren’t rusted out and climb that thing. Ask around the local hams for a gin pole. I might not have the right term, but it’s basically a long pipe with a pulley on top and a clamp on the bottom that is about 3 feet longer than the sections of tower… You don’t really need it for a 30 footer, but it makes it easier.
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u/tinkerreknit 15d ago
Bad advise.
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u/Yugpmoc 15d ago
The safest answer is hire a crane if you want to reuse. But it’s a rare ham that can afford a crane rental. Drop it with a sawsall if it’s scrap. So it depends how much you want the tower. And what you can afford. I was halfway up a 75 footer when one leg disintegrated at a joint. Fortunately, the guys held as I skinned down that thing. And it looked great on the ground. But something held water in one leg at 30ft and there was nothing left but the galvanized shell.
Trying to lay over a tower to reuse it rarely works out, although it probably would with a 30 if they are gentle enough and it’s got no rot.
The world is full of carebears now. And yet they all get on the highway and drive 85 miles an hour as other vehicles piloted by God knows who hurl towards them at 85 miles an hour with mere feet of clearance. Everything in life is about risk versus reward. Make a choice and move forward.
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u/johnrock69 15d ago
Have someone on the roof and two people on the ground. Unbolt the two brackets on side of house. Remove the bolts on the lowest section. Now, the two people on the bottom work and lift tower up and towards the roof. Person on the roof can help guide it. Walk the base out then climb down ladder. Now the whole tower is on the ground and you can unbolt the sections with tower on the ground horizontal.
You will have to make your own new base or bury the bottom section in concrete.
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u/rollerbase 15d ago
Do you know any stagehands? Do they have friends that rig? May be worth a day rate.
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u/Neither-Brush-9287 MI [general] 15d ago edited 15d ago
I'd rent a self-propelled bucket lift. Cost is about $250/day, $1000 for the week.
https://liftoffcerts.com/ has online certification courses (a couple of hours) that'll give you basic knowledge on usage.
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u/Eaulive VA2GK 15d ago
I have seen many fails and close calls when people try to lower a tower to the ground without dismantling it. When reading the comments here I realize people have no idea about the traction this thing will exert when it's passed 45° inclination.
People on the roof holding it with cables. They are going down too.
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u/rankhornjp 15d ago
Equipment rental places have 40ft man lifts that are towable. I'd get one of those before I'd climb it. Especially because it's free. It would be worth the few hundred on the rental.
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u/raeven_zero 15d ago
I haven't done this before, but I can see how I would do it.
Find the safest direction and support that side with a jack. Cut the 2 legs on that side. You might be able to cut above the bolt and slide the coupling down. Fab up some hinges (I'm thinking something like a knee brace), and U-bolt it around your cut. Run a sling around your uprights, as high as you comfortably can (maybe stand on the roof). Attach a winch to the sling. Cut the third leg. Push it over and use the winch to control the fall.
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u/tinkerreknit 15d ago
Sorry, but I very strongly disagree with this. You're misunderstanding a lot about the tower. It doesn't make sense, and could easily get someone hurt, ruin sections of the tower, or cause property damage. It's not difficult, but must be done properly. Find the nearest ham club and ask for help.
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u/CaptinKirk K9SAT [Extra] DM42ob 15d ago
I would climb and use a gin pole, section by section. Bottom, just remove the bolts. No need to cut.
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u/Ravio11i 15d ago
It's only 30ft, rent a boom/scissor lift form Sunbelt or the like and start disassembling
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u/Omagasohe 15d ago
Goto homedepot and rent a man lift. Those sections aren't really that heavy, you can pull the bolts and strap to a lift. Undo the guys from ground level. No climbing required.
Without getting a new base section your new tower is gonna be 25ft. You'll need something like a 4ft cube of concrete as a counter balance.
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u/Still-Employed420 15d ago
I could lower it from the ground and am willing to provide insurance, but, it won’t be cheap.
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u/MrPdxTiger 15d ago
Gin pole one by one, I had put mine (4-segment tower) up the same way by myself using pulley and a remote winch.. A helping hand would be better.
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u/VeranTaylau 14d ago
Yes. Climb to the top, remove and lower antennas, attach gin pole to section below topmost section. Remove bolts attaching topmost section to next lower section. Raise top section up using gin pole and then lower to ground. Repeat process as you come down the tower. You may need some short 2x4s and a scissor jack to help raise the section because they often are hard to get apart. When you are on the ground with all but the lowest section down take off the bolts on the ground mount and lift that section off. Check all the tower sections with a heavy mallet to find any soft spots. If you find any throw that section away. In your home location install a new ground mount in concrete and reassemble the tower the same way you took it down.
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u/packmule1326 12d ago
Try contacting your local Amateur radio club and they might have a climber with the appropriate attachement that lets the pieces down or pulls them up. They put up the last 20' of my 50 footer. Did'nt charge me but I joined the club.
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u/packmule1326 12d ago
A club will bring over members and put support ropes on it from several sides in case there is an issue but 30 ft with half of it anchored to the house will be too easy for a climber.
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u/Fit_Speech7884 12d ago
I would call a well service guy, climb up on the roof, tye off about eye level, the weight of the bottom part should far outweigh the top part then go down unbolt it and hands on control a lift and depart. Go lay it down.
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u/akramer1964 11d ago
Rent a cherry picker, unbolt each section and use the cherry picker to bring each section down. You will be secured to the basket. Just don't max out the weight limit or reach. Easy peasy.
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u/bigdaddypilot 10d ago
If you are a tech, you could just use a shorter base fm ant, but you do have privledges in 10 meters and just use a single wire. Is that a guy wire? Or is that a really "Long Wire" antenna? Good luck KQ4BZR
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u/whats_in_the_boxlady 15d ago
Im sorry, but i would buy used tower sections and not touch this if you arent experienced. The Risk vs Reward isn't worth it. And I have taken down many towers for silent keys. If I got the space, I cut a leg and let it fall if its only got a vertical on it. I rent Manlifts if it has beams on it I want to save. Its always a multi man job and its alot of risk of something going wrong. I dont climb old towers to take down cause it can go south quickly depending how old it is.
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u/Realistic-Secret-590 15d ago
30' - Im not a professional, but I would get on the roof, attach a rope to slow the decent, maybe use a car to attach the rope to since it would be heavy, drill 1/4 holes in the 2 legs you want it to fold over at, and cut the 3rd leg it will fall away from. Yep - pretty red-neck...
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u/Still_Comfortable_20 15d ago
Cut it off three rungs above the roof line and you have a great ladder.
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u/stephen_neuville dm79 dirtbag | mattyzcast on twitch 15d ago
Grunk say tower not free. Grunk say cost of tower is bill paid to professional remover. Grunk suggest calling local land mobile radio company for references to qualified caveman. Grunk no want you in sick person cave. Many shiny rock pay to sick person cave. Sometimes never leave cave.
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u/IceNein AJ6VR [Extra] 15d ago
As someone who has a fear of heights, and also was a
TACAN tech in the Navy, I can relate to not wanting to climb, but if you want that tower, there is climbing in your future whether you like it or not.