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Tower of Power I: Constructing the tower

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A metal tower (38′ 4″) with a spiral staircase will hold 6000 watts of solar panels up near the treetops. This video shows the first steps of creating the tower, first pouring a deep concrete footing and a slab. Then the spiral staircase and frame are reinforced and aligned on the ground. The tower is lifted off the ground using a derrick with a hand winch. Then the jeep (’56 Willys M38 A-1) winch does the heavy lifting at the end of the video with a cable system called a Spanish Burton (3:1 reduction), while Bob snubs the motion of the tower with a rope wrapped around the base of a large Russian Olive tree, and the tower tips the last bit under the force of gravity.