[TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 132, Issue 60

Larry Stowell lclarks at nc.rr.com
Mon Dec 23 10:40:44 EST 2013


To All
I built my own tilt plate back when Al was designing his, and it been in use 
since 2004.
Very simple and in expensive(about $100 in 2004) Pictures of it are on the 
Yahoo group
"Crankup Tiltover Tower" group. The hinge is the same as Aluma uses on their 
"ground post" mount.
The aluminum plates I found at a metal salvage yard(a few extra holes) Its 
seen some fair winds and not moved.
Three different antennas have been used C31XR, 4el Steppir with 40mtrs, and 
now a Tennadyne T-8.

Its in the photo section under my call

73 Larry K1ZW

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 19:05:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Bryan Swadener <bswadener at yahoo.com>
To: "towertalk at contesting.com" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Boom-to-Mast Tilt fixture
Message-ID:
<1387767957.36621.YahooMailNeo at web160403.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Alan,
?
I'm able to tilt my US Tower TX-472 tower over with my Force12 C-4XL on it, 
in one of two ways
w/o a tilt fixture...
?
The yagi boom is 30' long.? With the use of a 12' step ladder, I'm /just/ 
able to reach the u-bolts
on the boom-mast clamp, loosen them, and turn & tilt the yagi as needed. See 
photos at
http://www.tinyurl.com/wa7prc-tower.
?
The yagi boom is in five equal-length sections.? With the tower tilted over, 
I'm able to access
the hardware to remove/install sections of boom + element(s) as needed and 
continue to
lower the tower using this method, I highly recommend finding some way of 
preventing the
mast from rotating. My rotator has a brake, or I can use a section of angle 
stock drilled
to accept u-bolts that temporarily connect the mast?to one rail of the 
tower. I used the
latter when I needed to work on the HDR300 rotator w/ my feet on the ground.
?
The above is what you do when you don't have a tilt-plate. Maybe it's not so 
purty but,
they work for me.
?
vy 73,
Bryan WA7PRC
________________________________
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 12:32:14 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: Alan Swinger
Subject: [TowerTalk] Boom-to-Mast Tilt fixture

In the recent past I saw ADs for a tilt Boom-to-Mast fixture in CQ and QST 
which allowed a
beam to tilt so that elements were vertical an thus made it easy with a 
tilt-over tower to get
all on the ground for work. Does anybody have the contact info for the 
company that made
these since the AD is no longer in the mags.
Thanks and 73,
Alan K9MBQ


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 04:58:16 -0000
From: "J.Gordon Beattie, Jr., W2TTT" <w2ttt at att.net>
To: "'J.Gordon Beattie, Jr., W2TTT'" <w2ttt at att.net>,
<towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Looking for a BEST OFFER: For Sale: Heavy Duty
Mobile Tower
Message-ID: <68B6F25738D440E58CD9EC9BCC7A4F15 at W2TTTLT2>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi Folks!

This tower could be used in a fixed or mobile environment.  What I like
about it, is that you can use a short A-frame ladder to put whatever you
want on top (e. g. rotator and tall mast and then just use a 1/2 inch
ratchet to raise it up in about 2 minutes to full height.  The ability to
put an antenna between 30-45 ft in the air, depending on antenna load
without having to tip it up is a liberating capability.  I mounted it on the
back of my old van which I no longer have, and I would just go up on the
platform built into the rack to drop in the rotator and mast.  In fact, I
would preinstall the rotator with its cabling into the van and then just
drop in the mast, antennas and feed lines into the top of the rotator.  I
would then ratchet it up from the safety and ease of the ground.



The rack as it exists today, is only the rear 20% needed to support the
tower and fits very well on a van.  It allows access to the top and also
provides for in-transit storage of gear.  The key element is the 2 inch
hitch fixture that supports the bottom of the tower.



Finally, this tower is REALLY STURDY and can support a whole bunch of
antenna load.  The limiting element will be the rotator.  It was built for
the U. S. Army by a German company (unknown) and does not require
maintenance of seals for hydraulics or pneumatics or the use of a compressor
to operate.  This is unlike the surplus broadcast towers you see.  Its
internal cable-driven design is reliable and a pleasure to use.  I have
never seen another one on the market and I have searched through many
military vehicle and radio web sites, lists and experts.  My guess is that
it was built to support a dish on an armored or heavy wheeled vehicle.



Please let me know of your interest.  I will accept cash or PayPal to
W2TTT at ATT.NET.






I am selling my unique 28 ft heavy duty, military tubular tower.

This cable-driven tower can be raised and lowered by hand using a 1/2 inch
ratchet handle in about two minutes. The base of the tower is supported by
a custom offset base bracket that is inserted into a two inch trailer hitch
receiver and a
heavy duty custom cargo roof rack to support the top.

Just add a rotator and a suitable mast, and you can get up to 45 or more
feet with your antennas!

This is a great tower for EMCOM, Field Day, Hilltopping and more!

It will go on any vehicle but the roof rack piece is based on a van body
with gutters..
Also included is a custom base that slides into a 2 inch receiver.

I will send you photos upon request.



To take a look, please text or call me at 201 314 6964 or email me.
I am asking $2,900 or best offer.

Thanks & 73,
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT at ARRL dot NET
201.314.6964





------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 09:03:28 -0200
From: "Jorge Diez - CX6VM" <cx6vm.jorge at gmail.com>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] K8UR 8 directions switch box
Message-ID: <52b818a6.6890ec0a.36c3.78fc at mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello



Just to know if someone try the K8UR controller. Seems interesting but want
to know how do you use it.



http://www.k8ur.com/



thanks!

Jorge

CX6VM/CW5W



------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 06:29:22 -0600
From: Stan Stockton <wa5rtg at gmail.com>
To: Jorge Diez - CX6VM <cx6vm.jorge at gmail.com>
Cc: "<towertalk at contesting.com>" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] K8UR 8 directions switch box
Message-ID: <CAF165D8-78B1-4CEB-A77A-DC0BDDFD6A4E at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Can't tell much from the very entertaining video but it's worth $500.00 if 
it makes your kids respect you and "possibly"  keeps your wife from cheating 
on you regardless of whether it helps you work DX :-). Made me laugh out 
loud.

73...Stan, K5GO



Sent from my iPad

On Dec 23, 2013, at 5:03 AM, "Jorge Diez - CX6VM" <cx6vm.jorge at gmail.com> 
wrote:

> Hello
>
>
>
> Just to know if someone try the K8UR controller. Seems interesting but 
> want
> to know how do you use it.
>
>
>
> http://www.k8ur.com/
>
>
>
> thanks!
>
> Jorge
>
> CX6VM/CW5W
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk


------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 08:53:12 -0500
From: Pete Smith N4ZR <n4zr at contesting.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] K8UR 8 directions switch box
Message-ID: <52B84048.5080003 at contesting.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

It's a little hard to tell from the info provided, but if it is to
switch a K8UR array then I think it is ridiculous overkill.  Modeling
and actual experience show very little improvement from a 4-element
dipole array over a 3-element one.

73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at
http://reversebeacon.net,
blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com.
For spots, please go to your favorite
ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node.

On 12/23/2013 6:03 AM, Jorge Diez - CX6VM wrote:
> Hello
>
>
>
> Just to know if someone try the K8UR controller. Seems interesting but 
> want
> to know how do you use it.
>
>
>
> http://www.k8ur.com/
>
>
>
> thanks!
>
> Jorge
>
> CX6VM/CW5W
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>



------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 07:14:39 -0800
From: Jim Lux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] K8UR 8 directions switch box
Message-ID: <52B8535F.2080509 at earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

On 12/23/13 5:53 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> It's a little hard to tell from the info provided, but if it is to
> switch a K8UR array then I think it is ridiculous overkill.  Modeling
> and actual experience show very little improvement from a 4-element
> dipole array over a 3-element one.
>


True for gain.

One potential advantage is that with 4 elements, you have more possible
directions to put a null, with a simple switching network.  Both 3 and 4
element arrays will have a really broad main lobe, so there's no real
advantage to pointing in 3,4,6,8 directions from a forward gain
standpoint.   But from a "put the null on the interfering station"
standpoint, having more choices might work better.

These days, though, I think that the direction to head would be to have
1 transmitting element that is optimized for efficiency and max ERP.
And then an array of at least 3 smaller receive elements that you run
into an SDR to do the null forming.  The number of elements should be at
least one more than the number of nulls you want.

Minimum "stuff" out in the outdoors where it can break.
And, inherently wide band (the receive antennas can be non-resonant)

Maybe a simple transmit array, but for small numbers of elements close
to the ground, you're unlikely to get more than 4 or 5 dB, and I'm not
sure that there's not somewhere else to spend your time/money/complexity
to get a bigger radiated signal in the desired direction.  (like going
to H pol instead of V pol).  A lot would depend on the site, too.



------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

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------------------------------

End of TowerTalk Digest, Vol 132, Issue 60
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