[TowerTalk] Mast ratio in and out of the tower
Jon Casamajor
k6el at comcast.net
Mon Mar 23 20:06:51 PDT 2009
Scott,
Ive had mine up for over 20 years. The mast is Chrome Molly, 2x 20. I
have 4 of it in the tower below a large thrust bearing. The tower is a
Tristao HDX572 equivalent to the US Tower of the same model number. Ive had
20² on this tower for the whole time pretty much. I had a KT34-XA and the
402CD 40m Yagi, plus some other stuff with no issues. We do get some nasty
winds here, although not like the tornado country but occasionally 75 MPH.
Ive had no problems with either the Tail twister that rotates the house
here or the mast. My current stack is a bit larger and you can see it at QRZ
on the K6EL page. I am confident that this stack will be here long after I
am. Ive added 10 to the top of my mast and I think Im still within a good
safety margin at least for my area assuming my stack is parked properly
when the winds kick up. We dont get many violent downburst type
thunderstorm stuff
occasionally, but pretty rare. Four or five feet inside
the tower, with a good thrust bearing would be fine in all but the most
violent conditions.
Regards,
Jon-K6EL
k6el at comcast.net
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Antenna Mast - guidelines for ratio in tower / out of
tower
From: "Scott Dickson, W5WZ"
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:10:00 -0500
I've seen discussion on the importance of selecting the correct material for
a mast. I don't recall ever seeing a discussion on the ratio of mast in the
tower versus above the tower.
I have a 2" x 0.25" by 21 ft galvanized 1026 DOM mast. It will hold a Force
12 C-51XR, (weighs 250 lbs, wind load 18 sq ft, mast torque < 900 in-lbs)
installed 2 feet above the thrust bearing at the top of the Rohn 55G tower.
The rotor is M2 Orion 2800.
Currently, I do not have any other antenna that will be on the mast.
Perhaps I'll install a 6 meter beam above the C51 in the future.
It seems to me that the length of mast in the tower is as important as the
length of mast above the tower.
What rules / guidelines / best practices are used to determine where to
install the rotor?
--Scott, W5WZ
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