When the tower has been raised, you can check if it is vertical with a transit sighting scope. A rented transit can be seen on construction sites where the angles of roads or buildings are checked. It comprises an optical scope for sighting and a tripod stand which is placed in the middle of two towers away from the center pier; it is leveled by adjustable legs and checked with integrated spirit levels. The scope's vertical crosshair is aligned to one of the tower's legs near the ground. The scope moves up and down to confirm the parallel alignment of the tower leg to the crosshair.
Guy wires can be loosened or tightened by turning the turnbuckles. You can move the transit 90° to recheck its position; this can be performed several times for perfect alignment.
An alternative to a transit is the typical carpenter's level , which is used to align towers at the bottom. Look up the tower near the leg or pipe of the tower and verify using line of sight. You will notice any structural bends immediately; adjustments can be made by realigning the guy wires.
When the alignment is completed, make sure that there is no cable slack by tightening the guy wires. Test cable tension by striking the cable with an ordinary hammer. A guitar-like sound should vibrate with a "wave" running up and down the wire quickly. Remember to re-attach the turnbuckle security chain.
The final installation step is grounding the guy wires and tower using clay or other types of soil that retain moisture. One 8-foot (2.5 m) electrical grounding rod must be planted in the ground near the tower pier. Sandy soils require a minimum of two grounding rods (one at each tower leg) for lightning protection.
Guy wires with a common anchor are to be connected with at least 0-gage grounding wire as well as galvanized U-shaped bolts. The other end can connect to a separate 8-foot grounding rod or a guy anchor.
Both tower leg and guy wire groundings must use a minimum length of smooth wire that can bend easily to avoid lightning strikes. Lightning may miss the grounding rod with severely bent wires.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
There is always an alternative to the typical HAWT (horizontal axis wind turbine). The best alternative is Darrieus, the "egg-beater" turbine by Georges J.M. Darrieus, created in 1931.
Darrieus' theoretical design and various vertical axis models were found to be comparable to the horizontal axis models, yet some issues prevented these vertical turbines from fulfilling their potential.
The Darrieus turbine has a rotor design too near to the ground, which lowers the power generation potential, similar to mounting PV panels in the shade.
Other detrimental factors include too much centrifugal force onto the blades, the inability to self-start and a self-destruction feature due to resonant frequency that prevented these units from being commercially viable. Research and improvement of the design continues.
The vertical axis wind turbine by Tangarie Alternative Power or GALE™, (refer to www.tangarie.com) has three models with 1kW, 5kW