[DARARepeater] Tower design help

[Mark Erbaugh]

I’m looking for someone with more mechanical engineering smarts than I have.

A few years ago, I installed a 50’ Universal aluminum triangular tower. It is not retractable. It has a hinged base. When I’ve needed to work on the tower, I’ve gotten several friends over and we have been able to walk the tower down and back up.

What I’d like to do is come up with a fixture that would allow me to raise and lower the tower myself. I’m thinking something along the lines of a steel I-Beam concreted in the ground extending up 20 feet or so and a winch controlling a cable connected to the tower at that height. I have engineering drawings of the tower.

My questions are how sturdy does the I-Beam need to be, how much concrete, how deep does it have to be buried, how much tension will be on the winch and how best to attach the winch cable to the tower? Can I just attach the cable to one leg at one point, or should I use some sort of a cradle that goes around the whole tower.  I would prefer a permanent connection to the tower so I don’t have to climb the tower to attach the winch cable when I need to lower the tower.

73,
Mark, N8ME
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