How to install a Horizontal Waller Flag antenna at 150 foot

Perhaps you guys and gals would like to see my latest Antenna Install? This tower has so many antennas on it that it would have been about impossible to put this 44 foot long boom new Horizontal Waller Flag receive antenna for the low bands up without a Crane. So the Crane it was. This is an 8 minute You Tube Video created by Dino Raptis KR9V. Dino flying his Quad Copter and me wearing the GoPro camera while I was up in the "ManCage" along with one of the Don Fruchey Crane Crew.
The Horizontal Waller Flag antenna is a produced and sold by Carlos N4IS http://top-beam.com/ The boom on this one is 44 feet long. Interlaced with the Waller Flag is a 5 element HyGain 10M yagi. Enjoy the video.

73
John k9uwa

 

John, its breathtaking...

But....

Curious why you need a flag sntenna if you have that terrific height?

Most of the QRN is high angle stuff, and you have more than enough height for pushing the balloon to very low launch angles.

Are you variably phasing two RX antennas, for example?

73
Chip W1YW

 

Nice antenna and video, but I can't belive that you say a all safety was followed.
In the basket (which is called a widow maker) one of the guys had no harnesses or fall restraint equipment of any kind. You're not required to have full fall protection equipment (PFAS), just fall restraint equipment when in a basket, if it would get caught on something and tip have some other problem the standard is to try to keep the people in the basket so they can work safely. It's required particularly in this case were the door to the basket was opened while the antenna was being installed. We've had a number of fatalities on amateur installations over the years. Hams are not required to follow OSHA regulations, or NATE )National Association of Tower Erectors) guidelines when working on our towers. However for best practices The OSHA standards should be your minimum requirements. But this case is different, because you have a commercial crane operator who required to follow all regulations.

K0UO
Steve

 

The horizontally polarized double phased loop aka Waller Flag is much quieter than my vertical 4sq transmit array. It doesn't hear the QRN near as bad as a vertically mounted antenna. And it hears nothing of the man made noise. We will see this winter just how well it does work. Example was monday morning just prior to my sunrise. I was listening to the E6 guys on 160M. On the HWF antenna I could copy 100% of the callsigns of the guys there were calling and working. Where on my tranmist 4sq I could somewhat copy them and probably have picked out my own call had I called them. I didn't call as I don't need E6 on 160M. But for sure not 100% copy on their signal like the HWF heard.
And Steve sorry that is me in the mancage and I had on my lineman belt with lanyard tied to the mancage. Sorry my shirt was hanging over the belt. It is called .. too fat these days!! The other guy from Fruchey was wearing his 5 way harness and fall arrest tied to the mancage.

John k9uwa

 

I see a great antenna and a great job. I will not criticize your work.
But I will say thank you for sharing your video. I was very impressed.
73's
W4DRA

Dave

 

If you were wearing a "belt" you WEREN'T WEARING ANYTHING that would save your life.
Positioning belts are not fall protection.
Wearing a "belt" would only give you more time to think about the death awaiting you. If you did fall, odds are you'd flip over and slide out - head first - since the upper body tends to be heavier. If you did somehow manage to remain upright, gravity would pull you down into the belt until it either cut off your ability to breathe or you slipped out.

The operators harness didn't look like anything I'd feel safe in, didn't see a D-ring on it (high in the middle of the back) and his single lanyard looked like it was very dirty and also didn't have a shock absorber. If you screw with gravity - you usually lose.

We wear quality harnesses and dual lanyard shock absorbers, both get tied off - 100%


Coulda, woulda, shoulda.... doesn't cut it.

 

The above is why ham's are called amateurs and not professionals

 

Hi Steve,

Just thought you should know the tower-men did indeed make the hook-up to the basket. If you look at 2:09 through 2:15, and 2:30 through 2:47 you'll see the main rigger is hooked up. Yes, I know, there are numerous times throughout the video we are seeing a unoccupied safety ring in the corner of the basket, but there are 4 rings, one in each corner between the horizontals. Nothing can be said definitively for the second man as the camera is helmet mounted on him and the drone footage is too broad. But by the way he is holding the upper horizontal (tightly!), I would claim he is hooked-up.

 

What do you call that safety ring high on his back clearly visible at 3:52 in the video? Not only is it clipped on, but appears to be wound through twice. The length of the tie-off will dictate if you need a absorber or not; these are not tower men per say, but rather basket men (the tie-off is short).

 

Thanks for sharing the shoot! With all that land, and all those towers, and all those antennas... you're the guy that wins at the end with the most toys. (lol) I sure hope you are putting it all to GREAT use.
Don't be jealous, but I might be going to 305'+ soon with runs less than 60' (but no beams, no radials) less than 2 miles from one of the biggest interstate highways in the nation. Neat trick, right. Can you figure it out?

My thought is - Why not just build a single massive walk-up tower (like a forestry service observation tower) with outriggers? And what's with what appears to be inferior transmission line? At 150' up to the top and the additional run back to your 'shack', I'd think you'd be using something approaching hardline to make up for the long runs.

 

This once again proves if you want to be a top dog in contests, pileups or bragging rights, the person who has the most money wins. No I do not envy this setup at all, I would expect to make a large number of contacts with this setup otherwise you wasted a huge amount of money. When I work a DX station using 450 watts with a single 3-element yagi @ 50' from the mid-west I feel like I have accomplished something. I also would wager that my entire antenna system cost his less than the crane rental was.

 

I have a 25' vertical for 75/80M that I use every night. It has 25' radials. I get great reports of 20 over from within a 500 mile radius and I can hear myself on software receivers in England many nights. People have been after me to publish it, but truthfully it's a variation of a one off design done 40 years ago by a broadcast engineering company for me for a station where I was doing engineering work. To take credit and put my name on it would be un-ethical.

 

Thanks for the excellent video, and my compliments on your antenna system.

 

John, great show as usual!

Have you had a chance to fully evaluate the 10M yagi performance?

Ive an 8el on a 36' boom for 6M destined to go at just under 200' and with the modified 2 el CC for 40 down for now there wont be any install interference but Im quite concerned about degrading the 6M which has been designed for 40db F/R which the one at 60' on another tower has provided for the past 15 years.
I do have a 38' boom for 15M in the works also to go on another tower at 110-120' so that is an option but I really like the idea of it at 200' Any comment about the HWF wind and ice survivability, as you know it can get nasty on this hilltop!

Did you buy the WF and yagi as a package? No pricing on Juan Carlos' site and deliveries postponed until at least November so how much is just the WF and the weight of it alone? Would you say doing it homebrew is worthwile; it wont get done either way until the spring as Im not the fastest guy on the block.

Carl

 

Very nice John. Looks like all the beams are stationary?

...DOUG
KD4MOJ