An update on the antennas and towers at the new site are now on line. This shows the steps for assembling 27 sections of AB-105 tower which Steve had re-galvanized. This is the beginning for assembling three 190 foot towers plus others at a lesser height.

NR4M AB-105 Tower Assembly

The antennas have been a work in progress. At my former house in Clifton, Virginia, a 4 element, 3 band quad was installed on a 90 foot Rohn 45 tower. This antenna worked well, but although not obvious, the topographic maps showed that I was located inside a large bowl. This definitely affected the low angle radiation pattern of the antennas.

This was later supplemented by a 170 foot Rohn 55 with the top 130 rotatable. The rotator is a B-29 prop pitch motor with chain drive to the tower. Unfortunately, my wife decided we would sell that house and move to Spotsylvania County, Virginia, before I was able to install any real antennas on that tower.

When we moved into the house with 15 acres, the first antenna installed was a 80-10 meter Butternut HF-6V vertical with about 240 radial wires buried in the ground. While not providing a very competitive station, this antenna worked well enough to get NJ4F a clean sweep and high Roanoke Division CW station for the ARRL Sweepstakes.

The initial tower installation at the new location was 105 feet of Rohn 55 with about 100 feet fully rotatable. The antennas installed were:

• Mosley 3 element 40 meter Yagi at 110 feet
• Hy-gain 205CA 5 element 20 meter Yagi at 85 feet
• Hy-gain 155CA 5 element 15 meter Yagi at 65 feet
• An 80 meter sloper with a northeast alignment
• Gamma matched the tower for 160 meter vertical

This arrangement worked well as a single station or for multi-operator, single transmitter events. A 55 foot crack-up tower was installed with a 2 element, 3 band quad antenna to add versatility to the station.

For a brief period, a 1,500 foot beverage was added to the mix and performed well during 160 meter contests.

A second Hy-gain 5 element 20 meter Yagi at 45 feet to give us the option of running a 20 meter stack. This antenna configuration made a marked improvement in the performance o 20 meters.

Because the 20 meter stack performed so well and we decided to add a second station to allow us to run multi-two or for a multiplier station during those contests, we installed 80 feet of Rohn 45 tower. Three 5 element 15 meter home-brew Yagi antennas were designed and installed on this tower with the lower two antennas pointed toward Europe and the top Yagi rotatable.

A 10 meter Yagi stack was added to this tower with antennas fixed on Europe and the top beam on the rotator with the 15 meter beam.

This current arrangement works well for running a 4 station limited multi-multi operation during contests. A 580 foot beverage has been installed to help the top bands during the upcoming fall/winter contest season. The crew had been thinking of additional ways to improve the station.

In the mean time, my wife and I had the opportunity to purchase 70 acres in Orange County, Virginia, about 8 miles west from the current location. This certainly will provide the space for an antenna farm for towers, beverages, etc.

In fact, I bid on some towers at the deactivated U.S. Army Vint Hill Farm Station in Fauquier County, Virginia, and now own six 90 foot AB-105 towers. The towers have been taken down and are presently being disassembled by the Crew. This material plus the AB-105 which I currently own will provide enough to build four 200 foot towers. But that is a down the road project in the "round to it" file.

Photos of the new towers before disassembly are available here.