On Nov 17, 2004
Bob,
The 31.5′ dome we bought from you a couple of months ago was delivered to the US Army in Korea along with the specialized satellite trailer we manufactured for them. This was the first of several units to be completed over the next 24 months for this application.
Some problems on dimensions have arisen, and I am forwarding the E-mail form our Client’s field engineer to you. Not sure what might be possible, but please let me know your thoughts on this after you get a chance to go through the questions below.
I’m also attaching some photos (in an Adobe document) to go along with his E-mail.
Thanks,
Jim Abbott
*************** E-mailed Questions *****************
Hey gang,
Good news and bad news. We had some successes…
We got the tent up and it turned out not to be so difficult. We had three guys doing the crown, and we spent about an hour doing that (the first few sets of squares…. Then the next morning we set out with 6 guys and it only took us 2 hours to finish it. Then we moved it with 8 guys. We simply stowed the antenna, lowered the feed, and lifted the dome over the antenna.
So, now we realize that it wasn’t calculated out so good as to the space required. While it does fit, when we steer CW or CCW, the antenna extends over the trailer and with the low elevation, it actually starts to rub on the dome ceiling. We don’t get too far before it gets dicey in either direction. One thing that is a problem is on the antenna…at the top of the joint where the antenna folds out there is a hinge that sticks up several inches. This then grabs or presses on the material. On Photo#0031 I marked up to show.
The other photos also show some of our temporary solutions. We went out and bought some additional PVC and started creating extensions to add a few feet of lift to the front portion. This may or may not work…we are worried about stability.
Could you contact, or send me the contact info of the manufacturer that you worked with?
We would like to know, is it possible to extend the heighth of the tent by 2-3 feet all the way around? This should give us the clearance we need.
If this is not possible, then #2 solution is to go with our extensions. Then we would like to get 20 spare panels that we could use as a skirt along the bottom…of course we would need some way to attach the stuff to the existing panels?
So these are my thoughts, any ideas?
We are just about done for this round. I think I worked out a few calibration problems I had. I am going to take a week of vacation, then travel back out here on the 5th of December for a week. We will be showing everything off to some of the Big-Wigs of our programs.
Talk to ya later,
Terry
To see photo yurt-dome-testimonials
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Jim
The strongest way to add a 2 feet to the bottom of the dome is to first:
Tie pairs of pole connectors to 20 new HD clips.
Unclip the 20 plug clips with the single pole plugs at the base of your dome.
Add and shingle a skirt of material to the bottom that is wide enough for the height you need + 1.5′ using the 20 clips with connectors you have just assembled.
Clip the plug clips along the base of the added material allowing 11″ for a skirt 2′ directly below the connector clips.
Cut and insert 20 new full length poles to create the ring around what was the base but soon will be 2′ above the ground.
Cut and insert 20 new short poles to your added extension. Choose a length so that the tension on the covering is the same as the tension on the main part of the dome. These short poles are difficult to install because you can not bend them. It will be easier to install them if you first remove the vertical pole above it; insert the short pole then reinsert the long pole; or use a pulley system to tension the base clip cords with extra long cords after adding the poles to clips .
Stake out.
This will maintain the integrity of the structure and only weaken it slightly.
Let me know if this works for you. Send me a photo of the finished dome with the added height.
Can I add a few of the photos you sent me to my site. If so could you resend them as individual jpeg attachments.
Thanks
Bob
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On Nov 18, 2004
Bob,
Thanks for the quick and detailed response.
Could you provide these extra materials?
Yes.
I’m sure they can find and cut the PVC, but could you provide the other stuff and the extra material needed?
Yes.
If so, what sort of time frame
We can ship these materials as soon as you want.
and cost?
HD 10 (with cord) $30 ship $5; You need 20 so $70. The price on the Fabric is $8/yd + shipping (it come 6′ wide) so it depends on the height you want to rise the dome. Best not to rise it any more then needed as extra height increases the wind loading. The connectors you can cut from 1.5″ PVC.
Also, could we do this up front for the remaining systems? (That is, deliver it a little bigger as this modified one would be?)
Yes, if you give us the specs.
Feel free to use pics — attached as JPGs.
Thanks
Jim Abbott