[TowerTalk] aluminum mast again

[KI7WX at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/2/2003 2:47:07 PM Pacific Standard Time, K4IA at aol.com 
writes:


> I used a 1 1/2 inch 6061 with 1/4 wall and it seemed very "whippy" to me.  
> It 
> is also not that light and is expensive.  24 feet cost me $250.  2" would be 
> 
> even more expensive by a big margin. 

Last week I purchased a 24 foot length of 6061-T6 2" OD x 0.250" wall tube 
for $10 a foot (shipped right to my door in a residential neighborhood) from TW 
Metals. If I had been close enough to one of their yards to do a will-call 
pick-up it would have been only $7 a foot ($168 for the 24 foot tube).

Be aware that buying tubing in single lenghts is the most expensive way to 
obtain this material. If you can originate a group buy with a couple other 
fellows you can reap significant savings.

For the OP - If it were my tower I would just spend the money on a 1026 DOM 
galvanized tube and consider it money well spent on a long term investment.

YMMV

Mark
KI7WX