North Adams Tower update II

Work continues on rebuilding the North Adams tower after the collapse of March 2014.  Over last winter, a new tower was erected.  This is a fairly substantial tower.

New North Adams tower on ground
New North Adams tower on the ground
North Adams new tower erected
North Adams new tower erected

In the interim, a new Shively 6810 four bay half wave spaced antenna was ordered. This antenna will be combined for two stations, WUPE-FM and WNNI using a Shively 2630-2-06 branched combiner. The 70 foot utility pole next to the building will be retained as a backup facility for both stations. The Shively Antenna went up in stages.

New WUPE-FM and WNNI Shively 6810 antenna
New WUPE-FM and WNNI Shively 6810 antenna
Tower climbers rigging tower for new antenna
Tower climbers rigging tower for new antenna

Prescott Tower from Rutland Vermont was on site to do the tower work. They were the primary contractor for installing the new tower and did a really nice job of it.

New North Adams tower ice bridges to various shelters
New North Adams tower ice bridges to various shelters
Hanging the top two bays of new antenna
Hanging the top two bays of the new antenna
Lift of bottom two bays and first tuning section
Lift of bottom two bays and first tuning section
Securing bottom section and bolting bays together
Securing the bottom section and bolting bays together

After that, there were twenty feet of rigid line, another tuning section, then the 1 5/8 inch heliax into the transmitter room. The antenna was tuned and the load looks very good. We are waiting for the electrician to finish wiring up the new racks and we will move both stations into their new home.

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3 thoughts on “North Adams Tower update II”

  1. The first picture made me shiver. Brrrrr. What little commercial tower work I did was always in warm weather. What the difference would be between a commercial tower and a 50′ Rohn for a TV antenna, other than height, I have no idea. I did help a friend stack the last 20′ of tower and mount a CB antenna in a snow storm once, so why would a commercial tower in cold weather bother me? Maybe my “blood has thinned”.

  2. Antennas installed in bad weather always work better:-)

    I hope they learned a lesson from the old tower. That new one looks pretty loaded up, also. But it looks much cleaner, not like the stuff was thrown on.

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