MARCA - Motorola Amateur Radio
Pinal Peak ARA Work Day
5 Sept 2003
Site Coordinator: Erv Heimbuck K0OTZ (AZ Repeater Association)
MARCA has a digipeater on top and looking to put a APRS repeater on top.
MARCA has two volunteers to help ARA - Joe Beckman N7RQD and Paul Bennett
KD7KDO.
ARA has seven volunteers - Jim Pierce N7QVW, Don Metzler N7UKN, Erv Heimbuck
K0OTZ, Leonard Bice N7ZVQ, Joe Oliver N1KQ, John Braden N7LKL and Skip.
Mission:
-- install Heliax on new tower.
-- install grounding for new tower.
-- Move panel from west side to east side.
-- Remove dead antenna from old tower.
Beginning of the day. New tower on left. Old tower on right.
Roll out the Heliax ...
Install the connectors .. bundle together and mark the cables.
Joe works on the ground system. Uses Cadweld mold to bond grounding
wires to tower base.
Finished weld to base of tower.
Joe fires up another magnesium weld.
Weather is building around us to the North and East.
Climbers have pulled the coax up the middle and working to secure it to
the tower. Nice and sunny day, right?
The weather is not encouraging the tower team to install any antennas
today. In fact, the tower team spent a little over a half hour pulling
and securing the heliax.
Installing the new panel and grounding kits. Grounding at the base
of the tower and at the entry panel.
We installed five 7/8" heliax and two 1/2" superflex cax cables.
We need two grounding kits for the 7/8th coax and connectors for the 1/2
superflex.
Climber and Erv the site coordinator.
The old tower with the 2m vertical removed. The third guy wire (not
shown) is no longer supporting the old tower. A temporary one was put
in place to remove the antenna that was broken in half.
This tower will be taken down when the new tower is put in operation.
Day ended with fog blowing in and teams heading down the mountain. Mission
accomplished.
Next week to next month ... new ARA antennas to be erected on tower, moving
of Digipeater antenna and MARCA APRS repeater to be installed.
Report by Paul Bennett
KD7KDO