Dear Joe:
I read your tower posting on TT and was astonished. I have just received two
towers from Tri-Ex or Will-Burt one being for my hobby and the other for the
Forestry School at the university.
My LM 470 which was received last week is nothing like the description that
you have described on TT. Perhaps to save time I will go down your numbered
list with my comments. And by the way, yesterday afternoon I did stop at the
forestry school and checked out the Tri-Ex/Will-Burt tower sitting in the
side parking lot waiting for installation.
1. Our LM 470 has a mast tube or as you referred to a sleeve underneath the
thrust bearing shelf. There is a nut welded to the mast tube where the bolt
can be tightened to stop the mast from sliding down when a rotator is
changed. I understand this also keeps the mast vertical when no rotator is
in place during change out.
2. In looking over my tower and comparing it to the second one, I find no
obstruction.
3. The motor is not on the bottom of the tower when it is first hooked to
the base. I don't know what you are referring to but it may have been that
way years ago.
4. The motor assembly is a brand new design from what I have on my old
tower. There are braces and the bushing cannot wear out. Pillar block
bearings are used so I don't know what you are referring to.
5. I was very concerned about the size of the cables and was assured by the
dealer and confirmed in the certified stress analysis that everything is a
1/4" cable. I've confirmed the 1/4" had been installed on both towers.
6. I disagree with you on cable rigging because this tower uses double wire
rope cables (1/4") on all three tower sides. There are also extra pulleys
for an improved mechanical advantage.
7. Yes, I also received the tower later than promised but understood that
all Tri-Ex towers were being made at the main manufacturing facility near
Cleveland, OH.
8. My thrust bearing made by Fafnir was certainly not cheap and does have a
locking collar.
9. Although I did not purchase the tilt fixture, the one at the forestry
school I'm sure came with it as indicated on the packing slip.
10. The rotator plate is a funny issue because I also thought they forgot
it. Upon closer examination, the rotator plate was wire wrapped inside the
tower to the base section.
So far we have been overjoyed with what we received and your explanation to
what you put on TT may be very well indeed different from today's model. I
myself did comparative shopping for I had no true allegiance to Tri-Ex but
after reading the literature and checking up on references, I elected to go
ahead with Tri-Ex. I also was offered some kind of a direct drive device
instead of the flywheel arrangement. We decided not to wait the extra two
weeks and took the present model.
If there is something else you feel I should look at that may be of
assistance to you or other readers of TT, please e-mail me.
Daniel (Dan) Kroop, K8ZPE
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