In an effort to quickly add a second tower and tribander to my single-op
two-radio contest station for the upcoming season, I recently completed
installation of a 48' AB-577/GRC military surplus portable mast with a Force
12 C3E and an Alliance HD-73 rotor. I chose this route because the XYL was
resisting a second tower, and the one spot where I can hide a tower behind
some trees may not be so hidden when the leaves come down this fall. In
other words, I needed a solution whereby the tower optionally could be kept
lowered and mostly out of sight except during contests -- or possibly
removed quickly in the event of a severe escalation of domestic discord over
my newfound love for contesting. Besides, I wasn't in the mood to deal with
big holes, cement trucks and a lot of expense this year. If the location
works out (i.e., if the one evergreen tree hides the tower and antenna
sufficiently and the XYL forgets it's there), then I might replace the
AB-577/GRC with a small permanent guyed tower later on.
I have to say that I am very impressed with the design and quality of the
AB-577/GRC. This unit is very rugged -- the base is all cast aluminum and
the mast tubing is 5" diameter cast aluminum. The mast raising mechanism is
very smooth and easy to operate. It uses three sets of stainless steel guy
wires and 3-foot screw-in anchors. I was able to install the tower and beam
all by myself in a few hours, which is pretty amazing. The documentation is
excellent. The only hard part was screwing in the guy anchors, which took
some real muscle and expermentation with different techniques. But since the
anchors are the key to keeping the whole thing up, it was worth the effort.
I'm quite comfortable with this as a semi-permanent tower, although I'll
have to see how it survives the tough NH winter to be sure. I think this is
an ideal tower for Field Day (optional sections can be added up to 75'), and
might be a good solution for someone with space restrictions. The price is
very reasonable for the quality (your tax dollars at work...)
More information on the AB-577/GRC can be obtained at the Ontario Surplus
web site:
http://home.att.net/~surplusben/prod01.htm
Please don't buy all of them -- I like this thing so much I've considered
buying one more and converting to monobanders!
Thanks to owners of AB-577/GRC masts who assured me that they can handle the
windload and gave me lots of good advice, especially Kurt, K7NV, who has one
up with a TH-7!
73, Dick WC1M
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
|