Jim:
Let me add a few things for your consideration.
o Is it realistic to assume only one antenna? Many on this reflector,
myself included, have designed and installed tower systems with one
multiband HF Yagi, a second WARC Yagi, shorty forty, or rotatable dipole,
plus some sort of V/UHF packet vertical antenna.
o If the final tower model includes the above supplementary antennas,
you'll have increased costs for coax cabling. (Say $1/ft, including
connectors, unless hardline.)
o Mast. (Say $5-$10 per foot.)
o Antenna switch. (Say $100-$200 if available used.)
o Conduit system, steel boxes at either end of conduit run. (Say $200)
o Ground rods, ground wire, clamps or other fasteners. (Say $300)
o Trencher rental to open a hole in the dirt for the conduit and ground
wires. (Say $100-$200)
o Concrete can run you $50-$100 per cuyd and self-supporting towers
usually need more than do guyed towers.
o Crane rental to place tower and/or antennas. (Say $100-$300.)
Your estimates may have included these details, but I couldn't tell for
sure. And yes, the estimates you use should be towards the higher end of
your ranges, below.
73 de
Gene Smar AD3F
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lux" <jimlux@earthlink.net>
To: "TowerTalk" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 8:48 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] ballpark costs for a tower (installed)
> I'm writing a short article with some tradeoffs between various approaches
> to building a station. What's a good ballpark number to use for the cost
> of buying and installing a typical medium height tower (i.e. say, 50-75
ft,
> crankup, etc) with a multiband 3 element beam. A quick check of the
> catalog from HRO and various websites, for instance, shows numbers like:
>
> raw tower+mast+bracketry is going to set you back about $1500-3000 (don't
> forget you've got shipping, too)
> (+ another 1000 if you want a motor to raise and lower it)
> rotator at around $500-600
> antenna around $500-1000
> Cabling (rotator, controls, coax) $200
> Installation (digging the hole, buying the concrete, etc.) $500-2500
> (probably towards the high end, unless labor is really cheap)
>
> Totals $3200 - 7300
>
> I realize that one can greatly reduce many of these by clever shopping,
> scrounging, doing the work yourself (or having a bunch of friends come
over
> for a tower raising party), but, then, you're essentially trading time for
> money, so I wanted to figure what it would cost if you just paid to have
> the work done.
>
> I assumed a crankup, because I assumed that your local PRB-1 compliant
> community will probably impose a "crank up only when in use"
> requirement. A fixed tower w/guys would be substantially cheaper,
purchase
> wise, but might cost just as much by the time you figure in guys, anchors,
> additional installation time, etc.
>
> Likewise, regulatory compliance could set you back a substantial chunk of
> change, depending on where you live (Thousand Oaks, CA had a $1000 antenna
> permit fee at one time, and may still do, plus the cost of dealing with
the
> hearing)
>
>
> Comments?
>
> Jim, W6RMK
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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