[TowerTalk] BX Towers

[Kim Elmore]

I have an HDBX 48 with a KT34A and a 40-2CD plus a DW3. When I bought and installed it, generic BX manual states that the HDBX 48 was good for 18 sq ft of antennas, but with a max boom length is 10 ft regardless of the tower height of the sections used. Yet, 30 y of my experience in relatively harsh conditions (downslope winds in CO and severe storms in OK) indicates it’s clearly tough enough to handle these torsional loads. I have a weather station on it and it’s seen winds just shy of 90 MPH (I’m surprised the antennas themselves have survived) and plenty of winds in excess of 60 mph. 

I check it regularly for loose rivets, something the manual says is part of a general maintenance program, and have never found any. Am I simply lucky, or is it quite a bit stronger in torsion than the BX 64, which is what I suspect defines a max 10’ boom limit?

Kim Elmore N5OP

"People that make music together cannot be enemies, at least as long as the music lasts." -- Paul Hindemith