[TowerTalk] Highway light poles

Pat Barthelow aa6eg at hotmail.com
Fri Apr 18 10:55:03 EDT 2008


A Google Search of Stadium Lighting brings some interesting results re tall lighting poles
as found in stadiums.  At Monterey Peninsula College, their Football field  had  massive  100 
footers that I once looked into as antenna supports. (If we could get permission, to put antennas up, we would have used the press box as a temp contest ops shack)  Each was 100 ft tall, supported 18  huge 
lamps and had huge concrete foundations, running 19 ft deep.  I think new, such poles would be 
cost prohibitive, but there were listings on google for used stadium lighting  (but that I think is mostly the lamps) that might yield sources of used tall poles. 

I've noticed news items recently of a lot of old
stadiums being demolished, in favor of new designs.  Also of school closings.  Maybe there
are sources of used large sturdy poles there.  Though at that level, EVERYTHING about the pole seems
to be non trivial, and expensive, transport, foundation design and construction, dismantling, erection, etc
Somewhere in those google listings were some cost analysis of lighting and other stadium expenses, and 
it will astonish you. Yearly water budgets just for grass of $300K(!)  Lighting Electricity budgets, you dont even want to know about.
 
All the best,
Pat Barthelow    (916) 315-9271
aa6eg at hotmail.com
http://www.jamesburgdish.org


> From: n4zkf at n4zkf.com
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:19:52 -0400
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Highway light poles
> 
> 
> I believe your talking about Monopoles that hold the cell antennas. A whole
> different animal
> than the light pole. You are correct when you say a massive mat and pier or
> caisson whichever
> it uses.
> 
> The company I work for has a little over 1000 Monopoles, SSV, and guyed
> towers in Florida
> alone. Monopoles are a pain in the butt. They don't have the structural
> capability of the
> other two. You run out of room fast on the inside running coax ect.
> 
> Dave
> n4zkf
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Roger (K8RI)
> Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 12:53 AM
> To: Tower Talk
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Highway light poles
> 
> Jim Lux wrote:
> > Scott W3TX wrote:
> >   
> >> The significant limiting issue for the light poles is the windload 
> >> and weight they are engineered to carry with regard to the 
> >> appropriate engineering analysis ie. EIA-TIA-222-F (or G, depending upon
> locality).
> >>     
> >
> > If you're talking about the poles with a cluster of 8 big luminaires 
> > up top, I suspect they've got plenty of load margin for antennas.
> >
> > They're typically mounted to a fairly deep pier or caisson (30 ft deep 
> > 5 feet in diameter, for one I saw)
> >
> >   
> There's a lumber yard in town that has something similar supporting a passel
> of cell phone antennas.  Like above the pier or caisson is massive and DEEP.
> They don't even wiggle in 70 MPH gusts.  The one I'm thinking of was limited
> to either 160 or 180 feet due to proximity to the airport, but gives good
> coverage city wide.  Of course if you fly you find these things are like
> fleas on a dog. In this flatland towers vary normally between 250 to near
> 500 feet. Except for the city it's low population density (relatively) and
> the towers are spread out quite a ways so they tend toward the taller ones.
> 
> Most are conventional guyed or large self supporting structures.
> 
> 73
> 
> Roger (K8RI)
> > The base is secured with a dozen or so 2" bolts, so it can take a 
> > pretty hefty bending load. The base is probably 16-20" in diameter 
> > (without the flange).
> >
> >
> > They've started installing new freeway signs near where I live, and 
> > they're of comparable size, not necessarily height, but certainly in 
> > loads.  The post supports a fairly large sign that's cantelievered 
> > over the road.  The sign is a steel truss, 10ft high, 30 feet wide, 
> > and maybe
> > 5 feet thick, with a big flat plane of a sign on it.  I'd imagine 
> > they're designed to take a 0.6g seismic load as well.
> >
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> >   
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