Hi Sandy - and anyone else interested in Trylon Titan tower information:
(I'm responding to a private request from Sandy so I won't have to do this
more than once in case anyone else can benefit from this information).
When I first posted an announcement about my interest in Trylon, I received
several responses posing good questions about the safety and load
capabilities of their Titan Tower line. I forwarded these comments to the
sales representative at Trylon and received the following reply this morning:
------------------ begin reply from Jon Martin of Trylon
Trylon does supply rotor/bearing plates. We do not supply the actual
bearings, or rotors.
The Titan towers do not have a torque value associated with them. We
also do not have the technical information available to calculate the
torque value.
The technical specifications that you have are the only ones available.
I have fowarded your e-mail to one of our dealers you has years of
experience with our Titan towers as well as amateur radio use. The
company name is MacFarlane Electronics (macfltd@mail.kosone.com). Please
refer to him for any future questions, or if ordering a tower.
--------------------- end reply from Jon Martin of Trylon
I was NOT pleased with the above reply! I called this morning and
'demanded' to speak with someone that would address my concerns. A Ron
Fuller spent almost an hour with me explaining that the Titan line is a very
small offshoot of the companies marketing niche and the engineering
evaluation software developed for the product did not include torsional
force calculations. They will, however, on a case-by-case basis, evaluate
the installation each customer plans (including future expansion
considerations) and give you advice on what you need to satisfy whatever
wind survivability you desire.
For example:
I told him that although I initially plan to have only one ten sq foot
antenna at 66 feet I eventually want 100mph survivability for a 64 foot
tower with a mast extension of ten feet and 10sq ft antennas mounted two
feet and ten feet above the tower top. He said the survivability would be
90mph if I chose a T600 64ft tower. All things considered, I'm satisfied
with the way Mr. Fuller handled this and I understand where the Titan line
fits into the companies business. It is essentially a ham-budget offshoot
and a very small part of their efforts. Ron estimated that they have sold
about 20,000 Titans since 1977 when they began the line.
Ron also explained that there is very little need for concern about putting
a large boom antenna on the tower as long as its mass is centered and its
wind surface is fairly symmetrical. In almost all cases, wind action on
opposite sides of the center cancel out. The only meaningful torsional
considerations are dampening oscillations that are nearly always well within
tolerance when you 'design' it for wind survivability sufficiently beyond
the maximum winds in your area.
I'm sure that none of the above would satisfy someone who is going to get an
insurance policy that requires engineering specifications that include
torsional data. I guess that those who want Rohn-like formal documentation
should go to Rohn <g>. I'm satisfied that I can order a Titan with plenty
of wind survivability safety margin and be comfortable with the installation.
Now - about Trylon contact information:
You can view the Trylon Web Site at http://www.trylon.com/
When their home page comes up, click on the top left Icon ("Titan Towers").
When the Titan page comes up you will be in their "guyed tower" section. If
you're interested in "free-standing" towers, click on the underlined text
"Titan Free-Standing" that appears just below the page logo.
All the contact info is on the page, but just in case you don't have Web
Access, I'll repeat it here:
The email address for the company sales rep is:
Jon Martin <jonm@trylon.com>
Trylon mfg co LTD.
P.O Box 186, 21 Howard Avenue
Elmira, ON Canada N3B 2Z6
tel (519) 669-5421
fax (519) 669-8912
Web Page:
http://www.trylon.com/
If you get serious about buying, or you want to talk to someone more
familiar with our use of their towers, you need to talk to Harold MacFarlane
- one of their distributors. He has been very helpful.
(613) 353-2800
MacFarlane Industries (Distributor)
Harold MacFarlane
!!! KNOWS HIS TOWERS !!!
You should call/write for their catalog - it's difficult to try to pick out
what you might want to know and reproduce it here.
Essentially, their towers are 8 foot sections of varying strength depending
on the tower configuration in which they will be used. You can build the
tower on the ground and then have a boom truck come by and raise and set it
on the footing in one easy operation. The other alternative is to use their
gin pole and erect it section by section straight up - at least two people
required for this method.
You will find free standing models that give you much more strength and
height than the Tri-Ex and US Tower offerings for 1/4 or 1/5 the cost.
I imagine you can save even more by going to a guyed model - I didn't
inquire about prices on those.
These people have been in the commercial tower business long enough to gain
a solid reputation for quality merchandise. I don't know how long ago they
added the amateur radio line, but the specs sure look great.
I believe that you can extend the height of their towers later (like Rohn)
just by adding sections at the top (provided you are not already at the
height limit for the particular model line).
This find has made the difference between my having a tower soon after I
move to our new QTH and saving for years to get a crank up. I'll be
spending about $1000 + $500 shipping rather than the $3600 to $6600 for a
LM470E or a HDX572. The savings pays for my antenna and rotator!
QRU here, - let me know if I missed anything important. Be sure and let me
know how it comes out.
73,
Frank - W0ECS
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