This may not help, but here is an alternative idea. I had a friend years
back that had an extendable mast. It also tilted over, but he only needed
to do that when he needed to work on the antenna. He had a TA-33 JR, a 2
meter beam and a Ringo Ranger on top. When collapsed, his tower brought his
antennas down to the roof's edge level, which, in his case, meant that the
beams were below the roof top as viewed from the street. One could still see
the Ringo, though. It was three sections and extended up to 25 feet (IIRC).
He had installed an electric winch so when he wanted to operate, he would
flip a switch and up it would go. Flip it down and down it would go. He
wasn't in a restricted neighborhood, his wife imposed the restriction. Lol.
Your vertical would obviously stand above the roof top so I know it would
not work for you as planned. Just maybe it will give you something to think
about that will trigger your thinking as you work this out.
As for your verticals, (plural because you are looking at more than one to
decide from), are either of them made well enough to 'fold' up and down? I
had a hustler and Taylor over the years. They were pretty strong stood up
very well against weather etc, but I would be nervous about folding them
over and back often. I think the stress might be hard on them.
How much room do you have in the yard? I live on the side of a hill I call
'the cliff'. It is 200 feet from my back yard to my front. The back yard
is 30 feet or so higher than my front yard and across the street is the same
(the two lots form a valley). In my yard, the vertical did well east and
west but not north and south. However, in Florida and Charleston, I had
small, flat yards. The verticals worked wonderfully there. I remember one
man putting up a vertical in his neighborhood. He covered it in a large
piece of PVC, painted it camouflage put branches on it, hung lights on it
and the neighbors loved his "Christmas tree". Needless to say, he keeps his
tree up all year.
I have known people that put up flag poles in their front yards, but usually
there is something people can do in their own back yards that they can
disguise.
It's not a scientific answer, but I had no problems with my verticals that
were only 15-20 feet from my houses when I used them in Florida and
Charleston. In both cases, I was in a mobile home, but I didn't seem to
have a problem. I wasn't chasing DX or counties at the time, just having
QSOs. I might have seen a problem with their locations if I had been trying
for that rare county or country. I do remember that when reading reviews
about verticals when I got my first one, the consensus was that they were
much better on the ground than on the roof with radials. Mine were only
grounded with a 6 foot ground rod and no radials. (Yes, I know radials would
have improved it very much.)
I don't know anything about the two antennas you are looking at. Maybe they
are different. I am sorry I don't have a better answer, but maybe this will
stir some thoughts that might prove to be helpful.
Good luck in your decision.
Buck
N4PGW
Richard Thorne wrote:
> I live in a restricted neighborhood but I would like to put up a
> Cushcraft R8 or Hygain 640 10 through 40m vertical.
>
> I plan on installing it on a tilt over mast so it will be out of site
> when not in use, I think the neighbors could live with that.
>
> So I got to thinking it would be nice if I could hit a switch in the
> shack to tilt it over or tilt it up.
> I was thinking I could sandwich a 2" alumium mast between a pair of
> 4x4's with a bolt at the top for the hinge point.
>
> Has anyone seen such a device. I'm sure this will have to be home
> brewed using an air cylinder or maybe a rotor and some limit switches.
>
> Any ideas?
>
>
> Rich Thorne
> ARS: N5ZC
> AMA: N5ZC
> Amarillo, TX
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> 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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>
>
--
__________________________________________________________________________
Alan Zack
Amateur Radio Station K7ACZ
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Quality Engineer, The Boeing Company, Retired
Aviation Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
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and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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