[TowerTalk] summary: rotating tower hardware : EU

[Patrick Barkey]

Richard,

I would disagree with your conclusions about rotating towers.

First off, remember that rotating tower manufacturing is not a high volume
business.  It is more like a hobby, in fact.  You may have expectations
that companies selling things for money have responsive sales teams, but in
fact they are often one-man shows.  If the one man is on vacation or on a
job site, things will lapse.

Its the product you get that really matters, not whether or how high they
jump when you ping them.

I have two rotating towers.  One by K0XG and the second made by the
now-defunct Tower Craft company out of Zanesville, Ohio, that was owned by
WZ8P.

I do agree that shipping these things from US to EU is a big complication
that may make it easier to just do business with a company/individual on
your continent.  I think the use of English vs. metric hardware is also an
issue for you.

On your choice of non-metallic guys, I also disagree.  The big downside to
fiberglass rod is its deterioration under UV, which is serious.  I put up
towers with fiberglass rod in Indiana that had significant deterioration in
only 5 years.  The rod gets very rough to the touch and the diameter begins
to shrink.

I used 0.375 inch rod, white, which was manufactured by Polygon in
Indiana.  When I put my towers back up in Montana, I did not use rod again.

  - Pat
    N9RV