Hi Bill,
Don't have any help to suggest if the mast is too tight a fit, but re the
lubrication:
Until I took it down last weekend, I had 30' of R25 pointy top up, with a
little lightweight (24 lb, 14' boom) trap tribander on it using 5' of heavy
wall conduit as a mast. Using tin snips, I made a long (about 12-14") cone
or "skirt" out of thin galvanized sheet metal. The big end was about 1"
bigger than the pipe on the pointy top, the small end fit the mast with some
overlap. I lubed the heck out of the mast with waterproof wheel bearing
grease (the blue Valvoline "less messy" stuff) when I installed it in the
pointy pipe. I recommend wheel bearing or a similar "stiff" grease that will
not run on 110 degree days. After installing the mast/Ham IV, I slipped the
cone down over the top of the mast until the inside of it was just short of
touching the top of the pointy pipe, and taped the hell out of the top of it
with Scotch 88T, thereby securing the top of the cone to the mast. Water
simply ran down the cone and dripped off. I took it down last weekend after
about six years and pulled it all apart, and the lube was still there, zero
rust, looked like I'd done it last week. Never had binding, even in 10
degree and icy weather. Zerk fitting was not needed, as no lube ever needed
to be added. I suppose there are fancier solutions, but this method was easy
and cheap to do, and extremely effective over the six years I used it.
73, Jerry W5KP
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Coleman <aa4lr@arrl.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 8:22 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Pointy Top / Mast Binding - Tips?
>
>
> I'm in the process of putting up my tower (after a 6.5 year wait). Last
> night, I obtained a 2" Al mast and fitted it in my 25AG3 top section.
>
> I'm concerned that the fit is rather snug, and might cause binding under
> rotation.
>
> Does anyone have any tips on the use of an AG3 top section and a 2" mast?
> Is some sort of lubricant suggested for the inside of the top section?
> Are there any other ways to avoid binding within the top section?
>
>
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
> -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
>
> List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call
us
> for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up
to
> 96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A
HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com";>
> www.ChampionRadio.com</A>
>
> -----
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
> Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>
>
List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call us
for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up to
96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A
HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com";>
www.ChampionRadio.com</A>
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|