[TowerTalk] Tower Base info sought

David Robbins K1TTT k1ttt at arrl.net
Sat Jul 30 06:53:24 EDT 2005


First, no one on here will give you definitive design specs for your tower.
The 'proper' answer is to build it as the manufacturer specifies assuming
your soil is normal and you are in a wind zone that the manufacturer's stock
drawings cover and don't overload the tower.  That being said, you haven't
said what brand of tower you have so no one could give you even their
general data.  So your first step is to find the manufacturers drawings.

However, looking at rohn bx bases (free standing tapered towers) for 30-40'
heights the bases look like 4.5' square on top and 4' deep... though this
sounds small to me from what I have seen on other crankups.  The
manufacturer specs will also undoubtedly call for the top of the foundation
to be above grade by a couple inches so the anchor bolts (you do have the
proper anchor bolts don't you??) are exposed.


David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
web: http://www.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://dxc.k1ttt.net
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of William Wood
> Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2005 03:32
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Tower Base info sought
> 
> Greetings Folks
>    I would like to find some suggestions as to how big my tower base
> should be.  I've not done any internet searches yet, and no
> documentations with the tower.  I have a 37 foot crank up tower, and
> plan on having on top at Comet 9 is that correct???   It's a high gain 2
> and 440 antenna omni directional, and a 5 band quad.  My soil is 80 to
> 90 percent clay with some regular soil  and sand.
>    Just to the east of the tower base will be about 4 foot higher than
> the base a fish pond that is taking me all summer to build, and just to
> the south of the base, almost right on top of it also, is a 4 x 4 x 4
> foot pad of cement block filled with stone and clay, and topped off with
> cement, for storing a box with tools to use on the fish pond, so there
> will be quite a bit of weight on those two sides of the base, which I
> plan on having at, or just below ground level...
>    I have started the digging, and first demensions, will be 3 x 3 x 3,
> with the bottom almost a foot wider than the top of the base...   Kinda
> like this  /___\  I plan to use plenty of cheap re-bar, because that is
> what I already have on hand, so any tidbits of information, or URLs
> would be most welcome.  Here's hoping I came to the right place for the
> information sought...
> 73
> Bill  KE9XQ
> _______________________________________________
> 
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
> any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
> 
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