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Re: [TowerTalk] Mast Material

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Mast Material
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:53:27 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Rather than an alternative, I found it to be much better than pipe. Lighter, stronger, and resistant to side load bending.

I used 16' of the stuff for a gin pole. Used it for years with no problems Of course the pull rope went straight down to a snatch block near the base of the tower. This did two things. IT allowed those pulling on the rope to stay a safe distance from the tower and guaranteed a vertical pull on the gin pole. This should be standard practice when using any gin pole.

73

Roger,(K8RI)


On 3/13/2016 Sunday 9:27 PM, Steve Maki wrote:
On 3/13/2016 9:01 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:

A good alternative to schedule 40 pipe is the tubing used nowadays for
fence top rails, known as SS40. It's lighter (thinner wall) but stronger
and actually less expensive than galvanized sch. 40 pipe if purchased
from the right place.

We routinely use it on cell sites for antenna masts in place of sch. 40.

Here are the specs:

http://www.hooverfence.com/catalog/chart.htm

-Steve K8LX

Note that the outer diameter of fence tubing will always
be the same as the outer diameter of some standard water
pipe size.  E.G. Both "1 7/8 inch" fence tubing
and "1 1/2 inch" water pipe (any schedule) actually
have an outer diameter of 1.900 inch.  Either can be
shimmed with standard 2" OD aluminum irrigation pipe with
0.050 inch wall to fit standard 2.000" mast clamps
or bearings.

I don't know why they make fence tubing and pipes the
same size.  One theory is that you if you want to build
a fence on steroids, water pipe can be substituted for
fence tubing very easily.  (Attention:  Donald Trump :-)
Or maybe they make both of them on the same equipment.
(Obviously, I have spent way too much time loitering
in hardware stores.)

Hehe.

But I'm not sure why substituting schedule 40 for SS40 in fence applications or any other (except plumbing perhaps) would be an *upgrade*. A quick search didn't yield specs for sch. 40 that would lend itself to an applicable comparison, but the fence people claim that SS40 is *stronger* than sch. 40.

In the fence business there are numerous tee couplers, etc. already sized for stand sch 40 OD's, which probably drove the size constraints for SS40.

-Steve K8LX

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--

73

Roger (K8RI)


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