[TowerTalk] Building a tower

[K7LXC@aol.com]

In a message dated 99-03-04 21:12:57 EST, you write:

>  I have some questions about building a tower, and am not sure where to 
> obtain the answers.  
>      I want to build a 80 -  100' tower out of 1 5/8" toprail with the 3
legs 
> spaced 16" apart.  It will be a "modular" tower, instead of a crank-up.  My 
> main question is this:  will it support an HF beam with a windload of 11.6 
> sqft.?  It will also be guyed at 30 - 60 - 90 ft. for the 100' , and 25 - 50
-
>  70 ft. for the 80' version.

Hi, Brian --

      Like they say in engineering circles - it depends. Unless you're
intimately familiar with tower construction, are capable of engineering
everything properly and are a real clever metalworker/fabricator, my advice is
to NOT do it yourself. I'm not even sure what 'toprail' is.

     Douglas County is only a 70 MPH windspeed zone - the lowest rating they
give - so big winds aren't a problem. 

    I would suggest getting a copy of the Rohn catalog. It's a wealth of
tower-related information and you could make some inferences from their
drawings. You can order one from Champion Radio Products -
www.championradio.com - or 888-833-3104.

     You might want to send for my free guide - "The Ten Most Common Tower
Building Mistakes". SASE to Tower Tech, Box 572, Woodinville, WA, 98072.

Cheers,  Steve    K7LXC
Champion Radio Products

--
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