Two Up, Two to Go

Life moves on in the land of construction. But this "construction" is unique. It is so unique it brought the old construction hands to a standstill to watch this one.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the antennas for the new tower had arrived. Monday the weather looked good to start mounting these metal beasts that provide all of the joys and tears a TV couch potato can stand.

The original plan was to put up the big top mounted antenna first thing before the wind came up. On the ground the wind was not there. On top of the tower was blowing a gale. That sometimes happens. So the tower guys decided to hoist up the little baby standby antenna (all 20 feet and 475 pounds of it) and then see what the winds aloft looked like.

Backup Channel 8 Antenna goes up

By the time the standby was in place and the ice shield installed it was lunch time so the crew came down and off to lunch we go (on MY bosses tab!) and a mini celebration that for the first time the station has a backup antenna, even though we have no way to get the transmitter power to it yet.

We return from lunch and the wind is blowing pretty good on the ground but the two flags at the top of the tower, one a USA flag and the other a Canadian flag in honor of our Canadian built tower and tower crew, were almost limp. Now the photog that we had "acquired" from News has left, my boss has also gone back to the station to do "real work" and the tower crew is in preparations to lift the 13,000 pound main antenna to the top. A quick call to my British colleague "Hale Bop" who runs the photogs in the News Department yields a laundry list of reasons why no one is available. OK, no sweat. The old "Frankenstein" camera Marty in the shop has put together from bits and pieces of old Betacams after we went Blu-Ray DVD cameras is at the old building along with an old spare tripod from sports and I will just "shoot" it myself.

A quick dusty trip in the "in-gun-ear mobile" (we haven't had any real rain at the site since before July so even walking over the site creates dust storms) to retrieve the Frankenstein camera. HHMM, let's see. Camera? Check. Tripod? Check. Batteries? Check. Written instructions for the operation of the Frankenstein camera? Check. Video tape? Well that might be a problem. Mike, my bosses assistant shot some video the other day when the antennas arrived and I know he used two tapes and there are only three here. First tape, full. Second tape, one quarter used. Third tape. VIRGIN! OK! I am set. Now where to set up?

Coming over I looked at the sun angle and the clearest shot to the lifting side. That would be from the old transmitter building 600 feet away. So off to the corner of the security fence to set up. Well it isn't the best since most of the antenna (which is lying down horizontal until the pick) is obscured by site overgrowth. Well I can see the middle section and one end and when the antenna is lifted just a little, it will clear the overgrowth. This is good, "they" will just have to live with it.

So I get everything set up just in time to see the top of the antenna begin its final ride up the tower. I quickly set the picture zoomed in so you can see people and some antenna. I hit the record button on ole' "Frank" and then quickly grab some still shots.

Main Channel 8 Antenna on the way!

For the next 20 minutes or so I keep tilting the camera up and zooming in and out (SLOWLY) and taking some more stills. Answering two phone calls on the cell and then the antenna is at the top. I stop recording while the tower crew sets up for the swing around the gin pole and then to set the antenna. I see the antenna starting to swing and I hit "Frank's" record button and catch the antenna swinging around the pole and on top of the tower. It is 2:20pm. Mission accomplished! (where is the White House PR Machine when you need them?)

Main Channel 8 Antenna on top

For the next 2 and half hours the tower crew completes securing the antenna with the 20 some odd HUGE bolts that hold the antenna down to the top of the tower and connecting the electric lines that run the lights on top of the antenna so planes won't fly into the stupid thing (like some Ultralight almost did about 4pm watching the tower guys finish bolting down the antenna! IDIOT!)

Well two more antennas to install. I am not sure but I think the tower crew wants to continue installing the transmission line to those antennas before they install anymore and if that happens it will be two weeks before the other two are installed since the tower crew is on break next week. But that is OK since the transmitters are not scheduled to arrive until the middle of December anyway thanks to FEMA hijacking some of our electrical equipment that goes in the the building that we STILL are waiting for the replacements to arrive!

The fight continues.