"You can make these blocks on site so you can build a tower in a remote location."
I find it hard to believe that one can truck in the materials, equipment, and labor to build a concrete tower, weighing many tons, as opposed to sending in pre made 10 or 20 foot tower sections. This would be hard enough in an urban area. How would you do it in a remote area, or on the top of a mountain?
I have put up 200 foot towers in less then one day, trucked in on a pickup truck , using just 4 people.
He had all sorts of ideas to bring technology to less-developed parts of the world, including a concrete tower which could be fabricated in remote parts of the world using locally- available materials, thus avoiding the problems of shipping steel in the absence of a good transportation network.
In fact, at last year's PAB Engineering Conference in Hershey, he and his father (who served as business manager of the company) displayed a prototype modular structure called "Bovl Blocks", made of interlocking concrete blocks that could be cast on site, then stacked to the desired height. He thought this product would be particularly useful in the African interior, where cellular networks are just beginning to be built out.
Maybe it wouldn't work, but he had the vision to invent it and to promote it at a broadcasters convention. It just may be that he was trying to sell this as a quick way to put up cellular towers in remote sections of Iraq.
If you read these threads, I was on the cutting edge of the conspiracy theories here at FR. I have had some second thoughts since I've done some serious research into this kid. He was universally praised as being hardworking and bright. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. And at this time, there isn't a lot of evidence that he was anything other than legitimate and naieve.
How tall would these concrete towers have been? For cheap cell towers, MAYBE. Beyond 60-70 feet? No way. You'd need a helluva crane to haul the blocks beyond that. Not logical. Steel is the way you do this, because each element is taken up the existing tower as you build it.
I watched a 50 foot cell tower made of concrete being put up near a well site, I was working on, only took a small crane and 6 men. The pad and the anchor bolts were laid a couple of days before, the tower was unloaded, some work done to it and raised, everyone then went to lunch.
I don't see how blocks would be better or faster.
They are doing the same with taller towers for overpass lights herebouts.
How common is it to work on towers at night?
Nick e-mailed that he was working on the tower near the prison at night.