[TowerTalk] ballpark costs for a tower (installed)

[Michael Tope]

I tend to agree with Bill, Jim. You might want to include a bracketed
Rohn 25 tower as a "low cost" or "entry level" option. I had a very
similar installation to Bill's when I lived in Florida (35' of Rohn 25G
with house bracket mount). I bought new tower sections, but otherwise
my cost structure was very similar to Bill's. IMHO a very good choice
if your looking for a limited budget option.

73 de Mike, W4EF.....................................

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Coleman" <aa4lr at arrl.net>
To: "Jim Lux" <jimlux at earthlink.net>
Cc: "TowerTalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 8:46 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] ballpark costs for a tower (installed)


>
> On Aug 23, 2004, at 8:48 PM, Jim Lux wrote:
>
> > What's a good ballpark number to use for the cost of buying and
> > installing a typical medium height tower (i.e. say, 50-75 ft, crankup,
> > etc) with a multiband 3 element beam.
>
> That depends. How good of a scrounger are you?
>
> > raw tower+mast+bracketry is going to set you back about $1500-3000
> > (don't forget you've got shipping, too)
> > (+ another 1000 if you want a motor to raise and lower it)
> > rotator at around $500-600
> > antenna around $500-1000
> > Cabling (rotator, controls, coax) $200
> > Installation (digging the hole, buying the concrete, etc.) $500-2500
> >  (probably towards the high end, unless labor is really cheap)
> >
> > Totals $3200 - 7300
>
> Yeesh! I installed my tower and antenna for less than $1000.
>
> Let's see, it broke down something like this:
>
> 4 sections plus top section & shelf = 5 x $30 (used) = $150.
> 2 HD25B brackets = $240. (new)
> Ham-M rotator = $50 (broken) + $10 parts = $60
> Hardware = $30. (new)
> Rebar & Concrete = $150 (new)
> Concrete mixer rental = $45
> Labor = $0 (me!)
> Mast = $0 (thank you K9AY!)
> Tribander = $400 (purchased years before)
> Cables / Coax = $110
> Connectors, wx-proof boxes = $25
> Permits = $45
>
> Result - A3S at 15m, on a 44 feet of tower with nearly 6 feet of mast.
>
> > I realize that one can greatly reduce many of these by clever
> > shopping, scrounging, doing the work yourself (or having a bunch of
> > friends come over for a tower raising party), but, then, you're
> > essentially trading time for money, so I wanted to figure what it
> > would cost if you just paid to have the work done.
>
> But, but, but, doing all the work was fun! (well, digging the hole
> wasn't so fun....)
>
> Heck, the re-build of the tribander probably cost me $1000, if I
> charged by the hour...
>
> > I assumed a crankup, because I assumed that your local PRB-1 compliant
> > community will probably impose a "crank up only when in use"
> > requirement.  A fixed tower w/guys would be substantially cheaper,
> > purchase wise, but might cost just as much by the time you figure in
> > guys, anchors, additional installation time, etc.
>
> Bracketed tower is a good compromise. All the advantages of guying
> without the expense and massive concrete footings of a crank-up.
>
> > Likewise, regulatory compliance could set you back a substantial chunk
> > of change, depending on where you live (Thousand Oaks, CA had a $1000
> > antenna permit fee at one time, and may still do, plus the cost of
> > dealing with the hearing)
>
> If you write an article saying that even a modest tower will cost $3-7
> large ones, there's a lot of would-be tower builders out there who may
> likely give up the hobby.
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
>              -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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>
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