[TowerTalk] First Tower (mostly, what rotor to buy, other things)

[Larry Loen]

As of Friday or so, the county has promised to give me my building
permit for my tower.

This is my first tower and I'm trying to figure out what to do.  I'm
in Arizona, the Sonoran Desert, which is "exposure C" for those who
know that that means.  I think it means "windier than average; no
trees to slow the wind down."  The nearest mountains are, by careful
site selection, miles away.

The tower is a US Tower HDX 572 MDPL.

I'm ordering all the parts that matter; the coax standoffs, the thrust
bearing, the base, the tilt-over, everything.

I've already ordered the base and bolts (coming UPS) and will finalize
ordering the tower, proper, circa Friday.  The concrete should be
poured sometime early next week using the design from US Towers itself
for my site.

One of the many puzzles remaining is to decide on the rotor.

I've read "Up the Tower" and it is extremely helpful.  But, it leaves
me a bit puzzled about what rotor to buy.

My original and "obvious" choice was the M2 rotor.  By the time I get
done with shipping it will clock in around 2 grand I figure.

However, the Yaesu G-2800DXA also looks like a contender.  I can
probably get it 600 dollars less but beyond the usual "let's save
money" it looks like neither are perfect choices from a maintenance
perspective.  So, I'm wondering if the M2's problems are worth the
fuss and I'm better off with the Yaesu's problems :) .

The official rating of my tower is 11 square feet at 90 MPH at the
full 72 feet.  I have a KT36XA in hand (9.75 sq ft) and am considering
deploying a WARC 2/2 above it about 8 feet (that would add about 3.4
square feet plus the mast sticking up).  That would exceed the 90 MPH
rating (thoughts on that? I would consider deploying the top of the
tower at 64 feet, say, and let the mast carry the upper antenna higher
with the main beam at a "mere" 64 feet to try and hold the rating or
nearly so).

Presuming, momentarily that I do this or something equivalent, which
of the two rotors makes the most sense?

Also, given this, what mast should I consider?  Right now, I've
specified (but not ordered) a 10 foot mast.  I figure the rotor won't
be too far into the crankup.  Is that incorrect?  Do I need a 15 foot
mast?

Anything else that you'd wished you'd thought of before pouring the
concrete?  I'm already planning on routing the AC and the coax to the
tower separately.



Larry Wo0Z
Maricopa, AZ