Keith has put together a pretty good list, and for a Cadillac system at 70
feet, probably the definitive resource.
But there remains plenty of hamming fun to be had at less than this, and
that doesn't mean resorting to wires in trees (K9YC - I do not mean to
denigrate the idea of wires in trees).
Plenty of excellent installations have been created where towers were
acquired for free, or mysteriously left in the yard through the night and
re-assembled and installed.
NOW HERE'S THE BUT: Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it doesn't have to
be done properly. The ham who received towers for free didn't just slap them
up and hope for the best. They were meticulously inspected, bolts were
replaced, new bolts from known suppliers of quality materials were acquired,
new guy wires and new tensioners bought, the proper amount of concrete was
purchased and poured and the manufacturer's recommendations followed (if
applicable, if not he applied his engineering degree to the problem), proper
assembly techniques were followed, the correct safety harnesses used.
There is a universe of difference between being resourceful and being
careless or negligent.
I would hate for this discussion to turn away those willing to trade their
time and labour for the savings against buying everything new.
You can be thrifty, but what you don't pay for with cash you do pay for with
the added effort of making sure it's a sound installation.
73, kelly
ve4xt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Dutson" <kdutson@sbcglobal.net>
To: <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 4:59 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] cheap hams
> One should be able to find a good used tower (with guys and other
> hardware),
> rotator and tri-bander for about 50 cents on the dollar compared to new
> price. Let's say it is 70 feet of Rohn 45G with Force 12 C-3 rotated with
> Yaesu G-800DXA.
>
> Parts list:
> 1. Tower sections (7*209) $1463
> 2. Tower bearing plate $189
> 3. Tower TB3 $149
> 4. Tower short base section $119
> 5. Tower guy assembly (2*149) $298
> 6. Tower EHS (3/16x500ft) $119
> 7. Tower guy grips (12*5) $60
> 8. Tower thimbles (12*.75) $9
> 9. Tower turnbuckles (6*16) $96
> 10. Tower equalizer plate (3*32) $96
> 11. Tower concrete guy anchor rod (3*39) $117
> 12. Tower rotor plate $115
> 13. Tower mast (carbon steel 10' .18") $179
> 14. Rotor $409
> 15. Rotor control cable (100' 6-18) $49
> 16. Concrete (10 yds*100) $1000
> 17. Hole digging (backhoe rental) $275
> 18. re-bar as needed est $10
>
> That's about it. What did I leave out? Coax and other stuff will be
> needed
> for any antenna. Oh, and one might want to invest in a good ground system
> to help avert lightning damage.
>
> I think the above may be less than the cost to have a kid drive back and
> forth to college for 4 years counting only gas, insurance and speeding
> tickets. <grin>
>
> 73, Keith NM5G
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of K8RI on TowerTalk
> Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 4:11 PM
> To: TOWERTALK@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] cheap hams
>
>
>
>
>> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:42:40 -0500, Keith Dutson wrote:
>>
>>>Two words come to mind:
>>>Resourceful
>>>Thrifty
>>
>> Yes. And not all hams have spare cash laying around. For many, it is a
>> stretch to own one decent radio. The cost of a beam on a properly
>> engineered tower could put a child through a year at some colleges!
>
> That's either a very expensive college or cheap tower installation. A
> good
> size tower that requires engineering at the local level (in some areas)
> could send a kid all the way through some four year colleges.
>
> Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member) N833R - World's oldest
> Debonair CD-2 www.rogerhalstead.com (Use return address from home page)
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Jim Brown K9YC
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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