[TowerTalk] Rohn 45 Base

[Cqtestk4xs at aol.com]

Man, there sure is a lot of misinformation out there about the bases.   The 
answer is quite simple.  If you look in the Rohn book it specifies a  CB2 
base.....32 inches by 32 inches by 48 inches deep, regardless of the height  for 
Rohn 45 and anything under 200 feet for Rohn 55.
 
If you have a fat butt, the 32 inches is pretty tight to go four feet down  
so I make mine 36 inches wide.  I sell lots of tower and constantly hear  about 
how yards of concrete a guy put down a hole for Rohn 25, 45 or  55 for the 
base.  One guy was very proud of his base for Rohn 25, having  put in a hole 
something like 4 by 4 by 7 feet deep!  Unless you have a very  strange situation, 
putting a base bigger than the one specified by Rohn is a  total waste of 
time, effort and money for concrete.  Remember, the base on  a guyed tower 
provides a base, not a counterweight.  The guy wires stop it  from "tipping over", 
not the base.
 
By the way, I know almost every contester in Florida and know of no one who  
just "sticks Rohn 45 in the sand".
 
I have seen lots of tower failures, mostly through crappy guy wires and  
screw anchor failures.  If you must buy more concrete, put in concrete  anchors 
and not cheesy screw anchors.
 
Bill K4XS