The end of the year that is…& maybe the end of the Goddamn robberies at my storage site. Got out to Gaston County today to discover break-in #26. This time, for the first time (other than the original house robbery back in 1996), they did damage–breaking down the door to storage shed #2. Called Gaston police & reported it, but the officer who showed up seemed mostly uninterested & pretty lackadaisical about the whole thing. Promised to check pawn shops for the three stolen chainsaw & various tools. But didn’t hold out much hope or promise, et cetera. Apparently, crime can pay, after all, despite all the commentary to the contrary.
Yesterday, KI4TZ & I managed to get W7WZ’s F-12 40M beam down off the tower for some needed repairs. Using a combination of corkscrewing followed by a half-ass tramming setup, it came down. Literally with no room to spare! Smaller antennas can be trammed down at this steep angle, but not the big ones. We had 80-ft of distance from the 100-ft tower, not nearly enough. Going back up, I think I’m going to use my standoff adapter (originally made for crankup tower work) with two sets of guys removed. Once above each guy station, will re-attach them. Hold the beam just above the top guy bracket, re-attach & then climb, then deal with getting it up & on to the mast using a comealong. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, back out to Gaston County tomorrow to install serious repairs to the door & frame. And figure out where/how to mount the cameras, hopefully ending these damn robberies…
stay tuned…
