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Posts published by “Tom”

Tower base is firmly in the ground

The concrete is in the ground secured by a good amount of concrete. The contractor that rebuilt the house is doing the base and house brackets for this project. We had some false starts on the hole. Specifically, the first one they dug was too far from the house relative to the house bracket. The second hole was too far from the house in the other direction (the house bracket would have hung over). I really do not understand why it is so hard to look at a set of…

Tower project full steam ahead!

I thought I was going to wait a few months after the house was finished before I proceeded with the tower install, but plans changed. Since we obtained the tower permit as part of the house project, the permanent Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is dependent upon closing all projects on the main permit. Hence, the tower has to be installed sooner than planned. With this in mind, I ordered 4 sections of Rohn 55G which was delivered recently. The general contractor has the specs to have the rebar cage built.…

DXCC Update January 2019

The latest batch of cards I had checked at the Tampa Bay Hamfest were processed. I now need just 5 more confirmed on 12 meters for 9 band DXCC as I currently have 8 bands (Basic 5B DXCC on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m) plus 160 DXCC, 30m DXCC and 17m DXCC. After that my focus switches to VHF for DXCC on 6m but that will be tried again in Sporadic-E season in June when I have the tower all ready.

Tower Permit in-hand

After a contentious Special Exemption meeting where 5 of my neighbors made their case why this tower permit should not be granted, I am in possession of the tower permit. We submitted this permit application near the end of May 2018 and due to the hoops Madeira Beach required me to jump, we were granted the permit mid September.  I applied for the tower permit at the same time we are building the house as the tower is house bracket’ed in two places. The top bracket is built into the…

Special Exemption Hearing Date Set

The final step in the saga of the tower permit is for the Special Magistrate to review the application for special exemption. This seems to be just to cross the T’s for the way the City of Madeira Beach has setup for amateur radio tower’s to be reviewed. That meeting is Monday August 27th. http://madeirabeachfl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Special-Magistrate-Special-Exception-Complete-Packet.pdf  

Planning Commission Approval!

The Madeira Beach Planning Commission met tonight and approved the tower project. This now moves to the Special Magistrate to just verify it meets the Special Exception process on August 27th. During the presentation tonight, the planning director and two commissioners mentioned how thorough the packet of material I presented was. It does make one wonder what they normally get for these things. The planning directory also mentioned that the city may want to review this whole process to simplify it. After my tower is permitted and our house is…

Tower Install on the Planning Commission Agenda

Madeira Beach has scheduled my tower permit on the Planning Commission agenda. The city staff has recommended approval. After the planning commission approval, it goes to the Special Magistrate at the end of August. Here is a link to the agenda packet with my info for those interested.

Tower Project

To catch up, we are rebuilding our house in Madeira Beach. We lifted the house to avoid future flooding (the house has been flooded 6 times so far since 1985). As part of this project, I am installing a new shack and tower. The tower will be 45 feet of Rohn 55G house-bracketed to the house in two places. I have engineered drawings showing the system to support the house bracket. The tower will be free standing.   In Madeira Beach, Florida, the city has some confusing language regarding amateur…

Building a Serious Field Day Satellite Station

I have been acquiring hardware for a serious portable satellite station for several years. I have used various setups at Field Day and Winter Field Day with irregular success. Here is what I have so far: Green Heron RT21 Az/El Rotor Icom 9100 HF/VHF/UHF Satellite Radio M2 LEO Pack Satellite Antennas Yaesu G5500 Az/El Rotor SSB Preamps for 2m and 440 Mac Doppler for radio and rotor control One website I check out from time to time is the wonderful site of Fred [QRZ call=AB1OC] and Anita AB1QB. I first…

DXCC Update December 2017

Total confirmed country count is up to 277. I added 4 more on 160 and 6 more QSLs on 12m. Now up to 77 on 12m. So for 9BDXCC, I need 10 more on 160m and 23 more on 12m. I have a 160m card and a two 12m cards to be Card Checked at the Tampa Bay Hamfest next Saturday.