[TowerTalk] Rotating tower

[K7LXC@aol.com]

In a message dated 99-01-12 20:47:35 EST, w8ji.tom@MCIONE.com writes:

> Who makes slip rings for towers? I want to rotate a 55G tower.
>  
>  I know about RTS, and have a catalog. Are there any other vendors?

     There is apparently a new manufacturer - K0XG. I just noticed his first
ad in the NCJ for guy ring bearings but don't know any more about them.
Contact info is R. Hassell-Bennet, 1906 Valley Vista Drive, Bettendorf, IA,
52722, 319-355-7451 or K0XG@contesting.com. I don't know if he belongs to
TowerTalk or not, I'll check. Perhaps his versions will be cheaper than the
RTS ones available from Texas Towers.

      There is a nice photo in the NCJ ad of a tower with four guy rings and
eight or so yagis stacked on the tower. One thing I would point out is that it
looks like all of the yagis are attached to the same side of the tower. In
this configuration, the maximum amount of wind-induced torque is produced on
the tower, rotator, etc. As pointed out in an article by Dick Weber, K5IU,
(Mr. RTS), mounting antennas on both sides of the mast (or in this case -
tower) helps to cancel out wind torque. It's obviously more convenient to
attach antennas to a flat face of the tower but nonetheless mounting antennas
on both sides of a tower or mast will pay dividends in reducing stress on the
system. 

Cheers,   Steve   K7LXC

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