[TowerTalk] Masting source

[Gedas]

If you happen to live in a rural area or out in the country you tend to 
get to know all the metal fabricators, welders, trucking firms, etc in 
your area. I am very luck to have met a welder who is more then happy to 
sell me Aluminum tubing at his cost. It takes a week or two to arrive 
and he just tacks on my puny order with his normal steel and Aluminum he 
orders for his normal business that arrives on a huge flat bed semi.

Several years back I ordered two 21' (or 22' I cannot remember) 1/4" 
thick 6061-T6 Aluminum tubing for $120/ea. I strapped them down to my 
roof, turned on my 4-way flashers and drove several miles down a country 
road amongst the corn fields. Drilled holes in each end of the tubes and 
roped the snot out of them to my vehicle. They never moved 1/4".

Once I got them home I drove in a 10' length of 1-1/4" thin-wall EMT 
into the "bottom" section of each 21' length which then goes down into 
my tower tops and into my TT rotors. The EMT helps stiffen up the 
Aluminum esp at the very top of the tower where the mast would want to bend.

Once I am done I end up with 15' of mast outside of the tower, ~6' to 7' 
inside the tower. One tower is used for VHF antennas the other for 
supporting a couple pulleys for holding up wire antennas etc. Here is a 
snap shot of the masts getting home.

https://w8bya.com/Gallery/HAM_RADIO/MISC/images/IMG_9355a.jpg

Gedas, W8BYA

Gallery at http://w8bya.com
Light travels faster than sound....
This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

On 12/28/2019 11:26 AM, Rob Matherly wrote:
> Hi All -
>
> Could someone point me to a source for antenna mast? It needs to be strong
> enough for my A4S and 10-element 2m beam. I was thinking 10' in height, is
> that too much? I've not had an actual bell rotor atop a tower before.
> Everything prior has been TV rotors on masts.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Rob Matherly, W0JRM
> Centerville, Iowa - EN30nr
> SKCC 29, FISTS 19246
>
> "Aude, vide, tace, si vis vivere in pace."
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