[TowerTalk] freestanding tower (not crank-up)

[K7LXC@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/31/2005 11:50:52 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
jc-smith at comcast.net writes:

>  Thanks, Steve.  The Trylon has been recommended by quite a few on here.  

Hi, JC --

    Yep, lots of happy Trylon users out there.    

>  I would probably have to “stick build” it as I doubt that I can get a 
crane into my yard (even in front… street is 100+ yards away) and it doesn’t 
look like something you can erect with a gin pole.  What do you think of that?  

    Erecting it with a ginpole is pretty simple. The last one I did was a 
56-footer and it only took a couple of hours. 

    There really isn't a reasonable ginpole available for it - the factory 
doesn't even make one. What I did was to lash the Rohn 12-footer to the leg and 
double-blocked it to give a 2:1 mechanical advantage (some of the lower 
sections are HEAVY!). The only trick is to make sure the ginpole doesn't slide down; 
I used a carabiner held by a sling to a diagonal to keep it from slipping 
down.  

>  Will it save some bucks, ordering it broken down?  

     The factory prices are the same as assembled so no money savings there. 
It's not a common configuration and the factory gets all excited about the 
sections not assembled to their spec so I don't know if it's even available 
knocked down.  

>  Shipping should be cheaper too.  

    True but with the freight for an assembled one available for $444 that's 
almost as cheap as it gets for shipping. 

    BTW the tower is in stock and you could have it in a week. I've also 
installed a bunch of these so would be happy to pass along all the 
tricks-of-the-trade. 

>  Will an OR2800 fit in the top section?

    Yep, it just needs to be field drilled. If you're going to be using a 
tall mast, then you'll want to go with the lower rotator plate. The plates go at 
the top of each section and then 3 feet below so a big mast/rotator should be 
mounted at the top of the next section down. That'll give you 7 feet of mast 
in the tower (deducting 1 foot for the rotator) and the remainder above. You'll 
have a total of three plates: the top TB plate, an intermediate one 3 feet 
down (this'll capture the mast for any future rotator swaps since the mast will 
be pretty top-heavy at this point), and then the rotator plate. They run $49 
each. 

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