[TowerTalk] Aluma Tower Sections wanted

[J.Gordon Beattie, Jr., W2TTT]

Harry,
I have a 40 ft Heavy Duty model Alumna tower and when I found out what it
cost new, I have taken VERY GOOD CARE of it.  Replacement is not an option.

Has your friend considered building an elevated base and mounting the tower
up higher?  While I didn't do that, I did something similar in that I put
two sixteen foot 8x8s 4.5 feet in the ground with a pivot bar and plate
about 11 feet in the air.  I augmented two of the tower legs with aluminum
angle which stiffened the legs and also gave me a pair of points to bolt the
pivot plate.
So now I have a tilt-over crank-up tower that I can handle by myself.

I am in the process of updating the bearing plate to handle a 2 inch mast
which will be longer than the stock mast, but about the same weight.  I need
the extra height for basically the same reason your friend has.  Our house
is the same height as it was before we remodeled, but I need another antenna
support that will clear the neighbors' homes.  

The antennas I have in mind are modest, at most there will be a four element
Directive Systems 50 MHz yagi, a Directive Systems 144 MHz yagi, a homebrew
version of a F9FT 222 MHz yagi antenna and maybe a K2RIW 432 MHz  yagi
antenna.  The other purpose of this tower is to have a place to test
antennas before committing them to the main tower a 45 ft ROHN 25 or my 3.5
inch rotatable mast.  I've written about these before, so I won't bore the
group describing them until I actually rework what is on them.  

I will say that getting six VHF yagis off the ROHN 25 tower's mast while
leaving the 11 element KLM 50 MHz yagi on the mast was a MAJOR PAIN even
though I generally picked warmer days to push down the mast through the two
U-bolts from the yagi and the thrust bearing on the top of the tower.
 
Hopefully, your friend will be able to acquire or fabricate what he needs to
extend his tower.
73,
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
201.314.6964


-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Harry Brown
Sent: Sunday, 19 February, 2006 20:07
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Aluma Tower Sections wanted

A  friend of mine has a 40 ft Aluma tower using their type C  sections 
which are bracketed to his house.

He recently added an additional story to his house and needs one or two 10 
ft Type C sections to clear the peak of his roof.

Any leads to additional sections would be appreciated. He has already 
contacted Aluma  and the price makes one to think they are made of gold 
instead of Aluminum.

73, Harry, W3IIT