And I forgot 3 items:
Coax Standoff arms $89
Thrust Bearing $119
Mast $212
-------
$420
added to that $8,673 makes $9,193..... closer still to that 10K
guestimate...
Don B.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Bozarth" <drboz@pacbell.net>
To: "Jim Idelson" <k1ir@designet.com>; "TowerTalk Post"
<towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 7:57 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] ballpark costs for a tower (installed)
> Having just gone through the process of erecting a 55' crankup, I offer
the
> following.
>
> 1. Here in CA each county has different regulations for towers. In my
> area, the tower had to withstand 75mph wind and C exposure. Which in this
> case translated to no go for the US Towers TX-455.. I had to go to the
> HDX-555. TX-455 = $1,789 to HDX-555 =$2,679. Ouch! Shipping was $380.
>
> 2. I hired a concrete contractor to dig the hole, build the rebar
cage,
> and pour the concrete. This was a $2,800 bill. The digging alone was
$800.
> And the best $800 I ever spent... they hit hardpan at 3' down. This
footing
> is a 5' square, 7' deep. That translates to 7 1/4 yards of concrete.
>
> 3. Found a local ham with the US Towers erecting fixture... saved $489
> that the fixture would have cost. Two of us installed the rotor and mast
> and erected the tower. Easiest part of the project.
>
> 4. There are two antennas up there (Force 12 XR-5 [20 thru 10, incl.
> WARC] and an inverted V for 80/40), plus the rotor. Cabling (150' coax x
2,
> and 150' of 8 conductor rotor cable) ran about $200. The rotor was $550.
> The XR-5 was $1000 when I bought it. The V (Spi-Ro D-56) was $120.
>
> 5. Throw in 3 ground rods (5/8 x 8'), lightning protection for 2 coax
> and one rotor cable plus some miscelaneous copper bar and some Kopr-Shield
> (This stuff is expensive!) added another $200.
>
> 6. Tools: an often forgotten item... 2 - 1 1/8" open end/box
wrenches,
> an 1 11/16 socket, extension, and drive bar, and a BIG 2" crescent wrench
> ran up another $150.
>
> 7. I hired an expert to install the constructed antenna... at my age
> getting up on top of a tower just isn't in the cards anymore. He did
> excellent work.... for another $300.
>
> 8. The cost for the building permit was $294.
>
> So: $2,679 for the tower itself
> $380 shipping
> $2,800 the 'hole' and concrete
> $200 cabling
> $550 Rotor
> $1000 Yagi
> $120 Vee
> $200 Grounding
> $150 Tools
> $300 Antenna Installation
> $294 Building permit
> -----------
> $8,673
>
> At the beginning, I had assumed that I'd spend the better part of 10K on
> this project... didn't miss that by much. I figure it cost 9K... there
> seemed always to be one more bolt, nut, clevis, or a whatchamacallit that
> was needed at the last minute.
>
> Don Bozarth
> W6DRB
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Idelson" <k1ir@designet.com>
> To: "TowerTalk Post" <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 6:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] ballpark costs for a tower (installed)
>
>
> > IMHO, the assumption of a crankup puts you in a well-above-average cost
> > bracket. The low-end costs you suggest for the tower and installation
are
> > probably too low for a crankup. If you are trying to show the upper end
of
> the
> > cost for a tower of a given height, I think you've made an excellent
> choice.
> > You should probably also show the example of a lower cost guyed or light
> duty
> > free-standing tower and make the point that many bucks can be saved if
the
> ham
> > searches for good used hardware and does a lot of the work him/herself.
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > Jim K1IR
> >
> > >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
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Jim Idelson K1IR
> > email k1ir at designet.com
> > web http://www.designet.com/k1ir
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
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.
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
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