[TowerTalk] Nonconductive towers

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/21/03 9:13:36 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
Dave.Christensen at sesincusa.com writes:

> Dave, What is the limiting factor on antennas on a wood pole and why can't
>  you stack antennas on them except VHF. Is it a geometry thing or does it
>  have to do with RF gain and interference. Obviously I'm not a novice. I'm
>  trying to learn about tower applications. If you don't want to spend the
>  time trying to explain, maybe you could suggest a web site, magazine or 
book
>  I should check out.

    I think the biggest problem is the lack of suitable antenna/mast/rotator 
mounting hardware. After all, wooden utility poles are loaded like crazy with 
lots of crossarms, wires, transformers, etc. so some ham stuff wouldn't be a 
stretch.

    If you were so inclined, you could design a suitable fixture for the 
array yourself and then get it built by a local fabricator or welding shop. I'd 
probably opt for something that's one-piece to eliminate any potential alignment 
problems.

    A simple way to accomplish this whole thing is to use some 25 or 45G 
hardware. Lots of configuration options and all you have to do is figure out how 
to attach it to the pole; one way would be to just drop the tower sections over 
the top of the pole. Gary, NI6T, has such an arrangement in a big tree at his 
place. 

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for commercial and amateur