KJ6RA Antenna Project
The boom length is 32 foot and the elements span 36 feet. We assembled the elements and the boom in the front yard. Before we could put the antenna up though we first had to custom fabricate the thrust bearing plate for the top of the Rohn 65 tower and the rotor mounting plate for the Orion rotator which is mounted at the bottom of the top section. My friend Rick, KE6MZR did all the metal fabrication and his expert craftsmanship paid off. It took most of the day on Saturday August 28, 2004 to fabricate all the brackets. When the brackets were installed Sunday morning, all the holes matched up perfectly on the tower!!!
Rotor Base Plate Thrust Bearing Plate
This is the partial assembly done in the front yard. Yes, the sawhorse is leaning, but it never fell over!
My son Kyle , my cousin Gregg assisted as my ground crew and we installed the top plates and the rotor plates. Next came the 21 foot Chrome Moly mast, complete with steps to get to the top. The steps were made by another ham friend Chuck KG6RKO. Sure is nice to have friends that do metal work when you have a tower project.
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