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[TowerTalk] Tower Conundrum

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Tower Conundrum
From: "TOMMY HALIBURTON" <ROCKETJ10@MSN.COM>
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:35:50 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
A lot of hams go with stationary towers. My YL hates the guying method and is 
afraid of the wind. Another avenue you might try is a retractable tower. I 
purchased a 54-foot beast with a motordrive (I am getting too old to use the 
arm-strong method) and this will be my second install with it. While it takes a 
lot of friends (and a lot of concrete) to erect, it will withstand a great deal 
of wind and can be brought down to 23-feet when necessary. Of course a crane or 
raising fixture are other considerations. Towers of this nature come in 37, 54, 
72, 89, and 106 foot heights and are either box or flagpole shaped. Even so, 
they can be limited as to maximum height by using electrical  limit switches or 
mechanical stops. Just be sure to consider the "heavy duty" models for maximum 
windload.

I am pouring concrete (7.1 yards), in the backyard, next week. While my tower 
specs call for 3.5 yards, I like overbuilding as I never have to worry about 
things falling down. The antennas will be a 2-L 40 meter yagi, a 4L 
20/17/15/12/10 meter yagi, and a sloper for 160/80. The rotator will be an 
OR-2800. Since I am now in Colorado, with horrendous lightening strikes in the 
spring and summer, I am also doing a lot of bookwork on grounding techniques. I 
had to rule out the MONSTIR by Fluidmotion because of I could not stand to see 
$4K go down the drain due to possible strikes.
Whatever you do, good luck!

"DX is"

Tommy - K6YE
_______________________________________________

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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