[TowerTalk] Aluminum Towers

[john at kk9a.com]

I had a 70' Universal Tower in IL and a 50' one in Aruba 
http://www.qrz.com/db/p40a .  In Aruba it held up very well to the elements 
compared to my Rohn 55g  tower which severe corrosion and required a lot of 
maintenance.  I replaced the factory zinc plated hardware with stainless 
steel and I never had any bolt problems or hole elongation.   I erected the 
Universal tower at P40A using  a gin pole as I did not have room to walk it 
up and installation was easy.  They do wiggle more than a steel tower and 
are not as strong so I would definitely purchase one of adequate size for 
your antenna.  Carefully look at their specifications and don't overload the 
tower.

John KK9A




To:Tower Talk List <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject:[TowerTalk] Aluminum Towers
From:Jerry Gardner <jerryw6uv at gmail.com>
Date:Thu, 9 Aug 2012 11:24:19 -0700
List-post:<towertalk at contesting.com">mailto:towertalk at contesting.com>

I plan to install a 50' tower and a tri-bander for 20/15/10 and was
originally considering a U.S. Towers 55' crank-up model. While researching
towers, I came across a company called Universal Towers that sells aluminum
free-standing towers.

Based on the specs, the Universal Towers HD-21-50 aluminum tower looks like
it might be a better fit for the following reasons:


   - * At $1989 it's $2K cheaper than the U.S. Tower crank-up
   - * It only weighs 190 pounds (spread over five 10' sections), versus
   >800 for the crank-up, making it a lot easier to get off the truck with
   fewer people
   - * The base doesn't require a rebar cage, making installation simpler
   - * It won't rust


The HD-21-50 is rated at 21 sq.ft. at 110 MPH, while the U.S. Tower
crank-up is rated at 30 sq.ft. at 50 MPH.

The installation instructions for the aluminum tower says to assemble the
tower on the ground, attach the antenna(s), and then walk it up. In my
case, I don't have 50' of horizontal space to do this. Is it feasible to
climb this type of tower and assemble it vertically section-by-section with
a gin pole? (Whatever I put up will be installed by a professional tower
installer.)

Any reason why I shouldn't consider this aluminum free-standing tower?

- 73, Jerry