[TowerTalk] AN tower

[K7LXC--- via TowerTalk]

Howdy, TowerTalkians --
 
    I've installed dozens of towers at amateur and  commercial sites over 
the years and I have found the AN towers to be battleship  stout (which in 
many cases is not necessary for a ham installation) but  expensive to buy and 
install. 
 
    One of my major complaints is that the base design  is WAY overbuilt 
compared to all the other towers I've installed. The last one  specified 
approximately 3 times the amount of concrete than for similar towers  from other 
manufacturers. To me it's a pure waste of time and money for the  unneeded 
additional concrete. 
 
    Also the rebar cage is overly complicated in its  design. I've built 
many rebar cages but I had to hire a concrete contractor to  be able to build 
it per their spec. Even the concrete contractor was scratching  his head 
over the design. 
 
    To me, this is another instance of an engineer  working in an air 
conditioned office who designs it but never has to be out in  the field to 
install one. (They're not the only manufacturer to do this.)
 
    For a similar tower height and capacity, anyone  installing a Trylon 
Titan tower would save up to $3000+ by buying it rather than  the AN. Just 
offering a money saving option. 
 
    Yes, I sell Trylon towers but that's because I've  found them to be the 
best value in a self-supporting tower around and lots of  people are 
interested in that. 
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for amateurs
Cell: 206-890-4188