Hello Folks,
I often wondered why wooden poles are not more frequently considered for ham
antenna supports. We have them in abundance, left over from the military at
N6IJ.
A navy manual for analysis, treatment, and inspection of power poles
shows them to be far stronger than I would have ever guessed. Many
(unguyed) 65 footers can take in excess of 1900 lbs (Lemme... double check
the book on that) horizontal load at the top of a pole set in the ground
with a 1.5 safety factor, assuming the particular earth that the pole is set
in, can take the forces involved. (This is a load to actual failure
(breaking) of the pole)
I guessed logically, it must be a price issue, but recently found a
definitive website of what seems to be the big daddy of pole makers. They
have lots of useful info, and an interactive session to develop a quote for
a pole, delivered to your specification.
Their site: http://www.ldm.com
I, just for jollies, asked for a very heavy duty (read...thick, H1 Class,
67" circumference, 6'from base) pressure preservative treated, 120' pole,
delivered to Monterey, to see what we were looking at, price wise.
McFarland quoted about $7K delivered. (Delivered, means on the flatbed, or
on the ground, horizontal at the radio site) The McFarland site says that
stick, would weigh abt 9,800 lbs. I guess, it might be another $500 to
$1000 to set vertical, and put on pole steps.. Approx $3500 of that was
transporation from Oregon. (Wow..think of the logistics of transporting a
120 footer.) My guess would be that, while not cheap, how does that
compare with design and construction of a very heavy duty 120 foot guyed
tower?
Another thing to consider...People who are finicky about appearances, have
often been conditioned for years... to see and accept wood poles as O.K.;
much more so than galvanized steel, latticework towers...might be easier to
win them over with wood....
73, DX, de Pat AA6EG/N6IJ meamonte@hotmail.com
On the web: http://www.polkinghorn.org/n6ij, or
http://communities.msn.com/n6ij
599 DX Drive Marina CA 93933
"For a successful technology, reality must
take precedence over public relations,
for nature cannot be fooled."
--Richard Feynman, In his Appendix to Space Shuttle Investigation
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