Santas Helper Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Sunday, October 23rd@ 2:00pm (SW Oklahoma City) I'm announcing this to the public for anyone wanting to come help or just visit. Mega Arch (Daniel) will be there to help as he did last year. Raising a 33' tower is a feat in it's self, but attaching Morty (the skeleton) will be the start to my little Halloween season. For newbies or veterans, we can make it a greet and visit, show and share or what ever. If you want to bring something to show/share or just talk about, I encourage it. Not many chances to see something this size going up, at least around here. So if you're interested, please PM me and I'll provide the address. Hope to meet new folks and look forward to seeing veterans again. Tom 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggySS Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Curiosity now has the best of me. What does it look like when its all done? Any pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 (edited) Absolutely. Ralph (a member here) helping here from last year. I'll provide a few night pics when it's up. Edited October 21, 2016 by Santas Helper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Tom, I would love to come over, but you're a little out of driving distance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 As you stated above, I'll be there. Any others in driving distance - I'll second Tom's invite. Would love to meet you / see you again. Morty is always fun to hang around with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Hmmmm... 20hrs 52mins to get there. If I leave now... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 1 hour ago, JeffF said: Hmmmm... 20hrs 52mins to get there. If I leave now... See ya soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Pretty heavy, especially with Morty hanging on the tower. Anyone else going to help today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sctiger Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Hope y'all have fun! Sounds like a good time! Maybe one day I'll get to see what a real show looks like! Then again...maybe I don't need to! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Mega Arch said: Pretty heavy, especially with Morty hanging on the tower. Anyone else going to help today? After the stringent vetting process, you was the only one that fooled the system. LOL We'll try a few helium balloons to assist with the lifting. See ya soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I'm curious about a couple of things but will wait for pictures and maybe it will answer my questions. I put up 2 towers and with the attachments on the top they are also 30+ feet.....3 sections of TV antenna tower minus a little buried in concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 7 minutes ago, Archer said: I'm curious about a couple of things but will wait for pictures and maybe it will answer my questions. I put up 2 towers and with the attachments on the top they are also 30+ feet.....3 sections of TV antenna tower minus a little buried in concrete. Question is probably about how I can lift it for Tom. Well, he's all LED - so they don't weigh as much as your incans do. ??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 11 minutes ago, Santas Helper said: After the stringent vetting process, you was the only one that fooled the system. LOL We'll try a few helium balloons to assist with the lifting. See ya soon. Yeah. Just finished cleaning all the bathrooms so fixing to head over. Newbies - that's the best advice. Clean the bathrooms and she'll let you go over budget on your Christmas hobby. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mega Arch said: Question is probably about how I can lift it for Tom. Well, he's all LED - so they don't weigh as much as your incans do. ??? Sad thing is you are probably making what I have to say more painful for you to hear. From the time I start to lift the tower with 10,000 incan lights on it, 110 ft of 1" pvc conduit and 52 strobe lights, 500ft of SPT 1 wire and it becomes 100% vertical .....less than 1 minute...no machines or rope...... Edited October 23, 2016 by Archer Changed 50ft to 500ft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Archer said: Sad thing is you are probably making what I have to say more painful for you to hear. From the time I start to lift the tower with 10,000 incan lights on it, 110 ft of 1" pvc conduit and 52 strobe lights, 500ft of SPT 1 wire and it becomes 100% vertical .....less than 1 minute...no machines or rope...... So what fun is that? LOL I prefer the more work and longer time to plan for others to come over and help and for a nice visit before, during and after. If you can do it in a minute, that's great for you (and no, it's not painful, it's kinda funny) but my setup is way too big, complex and heavy so more time with friends and family makes it a pleasure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) Well the tower and Morty are up. Daniel (Mega Arch) and my brother Dan came over to help. Thank you both!!! Daniel and I had a great visit as always. Daniel is the guy wearing the hat. Wait... The guy wearing the shorts. Wait... The guy were a short sleeve shirt. Wait... The guy wearing glasses. Wait... The guy on the left. We attach Morty. So we start to raise the tower. But then... a minor adjust of the tower from a snug of the winch and bam, the tower hits the ground. Poor Morty crushed from all the weight. He seriously took one for the team. BUT, not even a flesh wound (LOL), he survived the impact of the weight. The tower of Morty is up!!! Once in place, Daniel swiftly grabs the tools and secures the bolts at the base after guy wires were attached. Standing tall and proud is Morty. Edited October 23, 2016 by Santas Helper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 (edited) So a couple night shots. The tower is sequenced to Halloween music for Halloween. Edited October 24, 2016 by Santas Helper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggySS Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Ok that is kinda awesome. Glad I asked! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I understand the heavy part but what makes it complicated? I assume the tower comes down after Halloween and Morty gets replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) Thought you would never ask. Conducted prior coordination with my brother and his jeep with the winch and send an invite for friends to come over. Crucial Materials Needed Prior to Process - Beer Day one. Manuver the tower closer to the house. Take a beer break. Check and clean or replace Cat5 connectors for the LED floods and recover the connectors. Take a beer break. Set up the computer, transmitter and USB485 connector and FM radio. Take a beer break. Run power to the test area and plug everything in. Take a beer break. Get the controllers from the shop and situate for the LED floods and light pole. Take a beer break and a pee break. Connect the controllers to the lights and USB connector. Take a beer break. Break out Morty and situate him for short video clip. Take a beer break. Test the lights using a couple sequences. Take a beer break. Test the lights again after it gets dark. Take a beer break. Take a pee break. Go to bed after a long complex day. Next day. (please take note of the beer breaks as the process is different) Caution - Do not attempt this at home without family and/or friends. The results will not be the same. Wait for family and friends to arrive. Clean out guy wire anchor points in ground. Family and friends arrive. Have a short visit and catch up on times with family and friends. Move tower into place. Attach base swivel plate bolts. Set top of tower on ladder. Situate Dan's jeep. Unravel stowed guy cables. Attach Morty. Pull winch cable to tower lift assist cable. Two people grab the two remaining guy wires to keep tower straight. Activate winch to pull tower up. Attach both east guy wires to anchor points in ground. Once tower is up, attach the two loose guy wires. Detach winch cable and retract in winch. Tighten turn buckles to level tower. Have a beer and visit with family and friends. Have another beer and visit some more with family and friends. Have one more beer and visit with friends because family had to leave. Friends leave and time for another beer. Reconnect lights/controllers to computer. Take a beer break and pee break. Run test of the lights on the tower with a couple sequences. Take another beer break. Run another test of the lights because it's dark now. Take another beer break. Run another test of the lights because the last time was cool. Take another beer break. Go to bed as I just had two complex days of setting up my complex mega tree tower. So if you notice. We haven't even touched hanging the light strands or strobes. That's for another complex day when I buy more beer. Some people underestimate just how much "stuff" happens during this process. Try doing all that in under a minute. (As complex as my mega tree tower process is, I'm sure I forgot something) Edited October 25, 2016 by Santas Helper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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