[TowerTalk] AN Tower

[W7ZZ]

I looked at Trylon and AN Wireless (now AN Structures) at Dayton when I was
deciding what to purchase 7 years ago. No offense to K7LXC, but there was no
comparison.  Yes, as I am discovering, the rebar/concrete
contractor/concrete cost is very high for the AN towers if you follow their
specs (I will have two), but I am erecting mine in a seasonal high wind area
(and I mean 60-70 mph sustained winds and gusts well above that in November,
typically) and next to a VERY expensive custom home, and I will sleep
soundly at night that the AN tower will never, ever endanger my home.  I am
not bad mouthing the Trylon.  Were I putting less of a load at the top and
were it in a fall zone that did not include my house, it would be very
acceptable and much less expensive.  AN is a VERY expensive way to go (see
my earlier post regarding freight cost, cost of renting a truck to get It to
your site, hiring help to offload it at your site, cost of excavation, cost
of concrete contractor, cost of concrete, cost of crane service to erect . .
. . ).  In the past, I have owned a Rohn HDBX48. The Trylon was more like
that and the AN was more like a Sherman tank, or maybe a Panzer ---- I'm not
much into tanks, but you get the idea.  Not only do you have to consider the
tower breaking or falling over at the base, but you need to consider its
ability to sustain rotational/torsion forces.  If you could just see the two
towers side by side, which one is superior would be obvious, but yes, cost
is a huge factor.  The purchase cost of the AN tower is, in my opinion,
about 50% of the cost to get it actually in the air and then it is an
impossible tower to climb due to its diagonal struts, without the fall
arrest optiong (expensive but safety conscious).

 

W7ZZ