[TowerTalk] Asking for rotator recommendations

[Todd and Sandy Sprinkmann]

  I am looking for rotator recommendations for a tower and long beams that will be going up in the next few months.  I ask for your patience, as I am a newer ham who wants to start out doing things the right way.  Also, I am not any kind of do-it-yourselfer.  Fortunately, I have the right guy to help me.

  The tower is 100' of Rohn SSV.  The beams will be longish ones for 50, 144, 222 and 432.  I think I'm going to use C3i as my supplier.  That could be a whole other topic, (to go with M2 or C3i beams) but I believe that TT is devoted to HF issues.  I am planning on a 7 el for 50, a 19 el for 144, a 22 el for 222 and a 33 el for 432.  The stated wind loads for those 4 antennas add up to 13.75 sq ft.

  The commercial antenna guy who will be doing my job is talking about using a 3" mast pipe.  Didn't know that size was available, but since it sounds very, very stout, I am all in favor of it.  So I would assume that about 15-17' of that pipe will be sticking out the top of the Rohn SSV and the VHF/UHF beams will be OK in that amount of stacking space.  The tower guy (32 years experience and a ham) assures me it'll all work out.  (I tend to ask lots of questions, hi)

   So with those parameters, I ask, how heavy duty a rotor should I use?  The tower guy says that a Tailtwister will be plenty.  I wonder if it will.   The antennas are going to be 100-115' up on a windy, exposed area with a 360 degree view of the horizon.  I've looked at the Champion website and apparently, I'm in a 90mph zone.  

   I want this antenna installation *overbuilt*.  Reliability is very key for me.

   I entered "rotators" into the TT search engine.  It only spit back about 700 entries.  I have scanned the day-by-day archives for the past several months.  I didn't see any thorough rotator comparisons in that time.  So I am asking all of you to load me up with good info.  If you had to turn 13-15 sq. ft. of VHF/UHF beams on top of a 100' tower, what would you do it with?

  Thanks and 73,
  Todd Sprinkmann   KC9BQA  EN63/ Wisconsin side