[TowerTalk] Looking for some tower advice

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>>I'm relocating to a new QTH soon and will be putting up a couple of
new towers.  My first priority is to get a modest tower up alongside
the house to carry VHF/UHF and Microwave antennas...6M through 23CM.
The second...and, possibly, third...tower(s) can come a bit later.

>>  I will be purchasing new towers, so have some choices to make
regarding styles, material (aluminum or steel) and options.  Here are
some of the criteria I have in mind for the first tower.

>>I'm looking for something about 50' in height, 15-20 square foot
antenna capacity, freestanding (don't want guy wires cluttering up
the yard), tiltover design of some sort for easy antenna work.  Not
necessary to be telescoping unit, but could be.

>>  I've been looking at a couple of possibilities: a 55' US Tower
tubular (MA-550MDP) with freestanding, rotatable base or a 48'
Heights aluminum tower (Model 48-23-90) with "foldover" base.  While
the US Tower unit wouldn't carry 15-20 sq ft of antenna extended, it
could do so retracted.  Heights offers a 48-footer rated at 23 sq ft
in 90 MPH wind.

>>  I will probably need at least 12' of mast above the top ot the tower
on which to stack the antennas.  With the rotatable tubular, that
doesn't look like a problem; not sure with the Heights tower. >>

Hi, Jim -

I guess my first question is why you would spend all that time and money to install a tower (the MA) when it isn't rated for anything like you want to put up? They are light-duty towers. The last one I installed in King County was rated for a 25 pound antenna load. 

Are you going to get a building permit? You won't get the crank-ups you mentioned permitted if you're still in western WA where you'll have to use 80 MPH or more depending on the local wind conditions. 

IMO most people who buy crank-ups (or tiltovers) so that they can work on them are spending money that they don't need to. There's no reason why a properly installed system should need any work for years. Plus you've increased the mechanical complexity significantly along with the price with one.

I'm not a big fan of aluminum towers. There are NO commercial aluminum towers - it's not the material of choice in the commercial tower industry. And why would you buy a tower that the manufacturer doesn't want you to climb?!? (I understand that one of the aluminum tower manufacturers states that.)

I'm a Trylon Titan dealer and it's the best tower for your parameters. And it's a fraction of the cost of a crank-up. A T800-48 will handle 58 square feet @ 85 MPH for only $1945.00! More info at www.championradio.com. 

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
Champion Radio Products
Cell: 206-890-4188