Improving our irrigation system

     A couple months ago we discussed adding and raising our irrigation antennas. Here is the blog post detailing the work we put into improving our radio communication. However on number six at the Players Club the sixteen foot poles were not enough. We installed a more powerful antenna, but that didn't do the trick. We needed to go higher, and higher we went.
      Number six at the Players Club isn't the furthest away from the shop. The location of the satellite is what presents the most obstacles. The satellite is located next to the white tees on the edge of the woods line. This presents problems when receiving a signal from our central controller, located at the maintenance facility.
      Originally the antenna was mounted on a 22 foot galvanized steel pole. This provided okay signal strength until the FCC forced us to convert to narrow band radio. The reduced bandwidth coupled with the growth of the surrounding trees have created a extremely weakened signal. Fortunately, this season has been relatively wet and we haven't seen the symptoms from the inconsistent communication.
       Knowing the problem existed and knowing it wasn't going to rain every three days, we needed to correct the issue. We contacted Kanoy Communication in Ocean Isle Beach and they recommended a taller tower to mount our antenna. We decided that a 50 foot tower would suffice for our needs. This height would extend over 90% of the tree tops and eliminate the immediate obstacles surrounding the satellite box. Here are some pictures of us assembling the tower.

The first two pieces of the tower. The base was installed to a four foot depth.

Here you can see the old tower and the new tower. We have already surpassed the former height.

Adding the fourth section of the tower. We are currently at 26 feet. The fourth section will take us to 36 feet.

Heading up to install the fourth section. We are starting to creep above the treetops. One more to go.

The fifth and final section. We are now above the treetops at 46 feet.

The finished product. As stated, the new tower is 46 feet high as opposed to the former height of 22 foot.