[TowerTalk] Re: Help with design of Tilt over fixture

[zl1aih at ihug.co.nz]

Hi Jeff,
I have a Tri-Ex H-354, from an SK estate.   With 
the tower was a permanent gin-pole, 20' of 3" 
galv pipe and a socket welded to a 3" x 3" angle 
which I included in the concrete bolt pattern for 
the triangular base plate.   The gin-pole has a 
pulley in a bracket at the top, to carry a wire 
rope from the nested tower to either a winch ((or 
in my case a tractor, although this is overkill - I 
can pull the nested tower upright by hand with 
double purchase blocks - I just use the tractor 
because it's easy and it's a movable anchor 
point.)   Much of this info is in the Tri-Ex Tower 
operational instruction sheet - I can mail it to 
you if needed
The gin-pole is guyed to the tower's screw 
anchors.
When nested and lowered, the tower is 
supported by a wooden "H" made of 4" x 4" 
members, which allows the Force 12 C4 10 
meter director to just clear the ground, and 
provides safe support for an extension ladder to 
enable access to the feed points.
If you are stuck with this type of tower, then the 
permanent gin-pole makes maintenance easy.

With hindsight, considering the height 
restrictions (60' max, without suffering the 
attention of the district council eco-nazis) I 
should have gone for a 50' self-supporting tilt-
over which would have cost me about 2/3rds the 
dollars spent on a 30-year old 354.   
My XYL tells me she would have been happy 
with 3 or 4 tilt-overs - much better than lattice 
towers and multiple guy wires and anchors.
Now she tells me.
73,
Ken ZL1AIH