[TowerTalk] Mystery Tower

[Jon Pearl - W4ABC]

Hi Rick,

I had one when I was a teenager back in the 70's.  It was originally 
outfitted with a 2 el. Gotham quad, then later a 2 el. Cubex Skymaster.  
Installation amounted to digging a hole and dropping the post, in then 
back  Upon moving it to my first home some years later, I managed to 
punch a hole in the Wonder Post.  I had to replace the nearly 
rusted-through post with a new section of galvanized pipe along with all 
the requisite flat and round stock used to form the post fins and hinge 
pieces.

Some years later with a hurricane meandering around in the Gulf of 
Mexico, the tower and 4 el. Cubex Skymaster Quad took a continuous 
overnight pounding by the wind from an easterly direction.  The next 
morning the tower and Wonder Post were pushed over a considerable 
distance from their original vertical position with all the soil around 
the post laying perfectly flat from the driving rains.  After the storm 
passed I folded over the tower and disconnected it from the Wonder Post 
and began to dig to straighten the mess, out.  Since the missile fins on 
the post were down several inches below the soil surface, I excavated an 
area out around it - approximately 3' X 3' and poured a batch of 
concrete in, just rubbing the top of the fins.  This worked to help 
stabilize the tower for a few more years until I eventually sold it for 
a UST.


73,


Jon Pearl - W4ABC
www.w4abc.com




On 7/16/2013 6:19 PM, Rick Karlquist wrote:
> Wilson wrote:
>> Thanks for the several replies.  I got pictures of installations and a
>> manual from BAMA!
>> 73,
>> Wilson
> What was the general reputation of these no concrete EZ Way
> tower bases?  Potential problems such as:
>
> Wonder ground post leans over?
> Wonder ground post sinks into the ground?
> Fins bend or break off?
> The whole thing turns to rust in short order?
>
> I'm looking for ways to put up towers on my land without
> concrete so that if I remove them I can disk up the land.
> Does it make sense to have a fab shop make a copy of a wonder
> ground post?  How was the wonder ground post installed?
> By pounding it into the ground, or by digging a hole for
> it and backfilling?
>
> It seems like a large enough set of fins would give the same
> resistance to overturning vs PSI rating of the soil compared
> to concrete, but it doesn't have the weight of the concrete.
> I've always wondered whether the massive weight of concrete
> isn't the real thing holding up the tower as opposed to the
> resistance of the soil.
>
> Rick N6RK
>