Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:49:41 -0500
From: neader@centuryinter.net (Scott Neader)
My original question regarding Trylon Titan towers, sent to the TowerTalk
mailing list in August 1996:
I am still hoping (praying) to put up a self-supporting tower yet this
year. As background, I have a small corner city lot. I don't think I have
room for guys, plus the XYL frowns on them.
My goal is to be half-way competitive in domestic contests like NAQP, so I
don't have to pack-up my station and go guest-op somewhere. I'd like to
put up a killer tribander and possibly a 402-CD or the tribander would have
40m. I might consider side-mounting a small tribander for the second
radio. I'd probably do an inverted vee for 80 and/or load the tower. Not
sure for 160... either load the tower or an inverted L. I'd like to be up
around 60 to 70 feet. (remember, no guys and no roof bracket).
KE2VB mentioned that a lot of guys on the east coast have put up Titan Self
Supporting Towers, made by Trylon Mfg. of Ontario. I called Trylon
(519-669-5421) and got Jon Martin's voice mail. I asked for info to be
faxed, and he did. WOW!! Cool stuff!! Check these Max. Wind Thrust
Values:
TITAN MAXIMUM WIND THRUST VALUES
MODEL MAX HEIGHT 70MPH 85MPH
----- ---------- --------------- ---------------
T200 96ft 200lbs/15 sq ft n/a
T300 88ft 300lbs/22 sq ft 110lbs/ 6 sq ft
T400 80ft 460lbs/34 sq ft 240lbs/12 sq ft
T500 72ft 600lbs/45 sq ft 450lbs/22 sq ft
T600 64ft 800lbs/60 sq ft 700lbs/35 sq ft
T700 56ft 1000lbs/80 sq ft 900lbs/45 sq ft
T800 48ft 1300lbs/99 sq ft 1130lbs/58 sq ft
It goes together like an erector set... so it ships in pieces, which should
make shipping cheaper plus easier to unload. The info says I'll have to
use 6 to 7 yards of concrete, depending on how big the bottom section is.
Any experience with Trylon?? Any other suggestions?? Any critiques of my
goal and plans? I'll summarize and repost if the information warrants it.
73 - Scott KA9FOX
The replies to my questions, as well as other messages that have hit the
various reflectors since then follow. So far, I like what I am hearing!
If you are interested in Trylon, you can contact them at:
Trylon Manufacturing
John Martin, Sales <jonm@trylon.com>
P.O. Box 186
21 Howard Avenue
Elmira, Ontario N3B-2Z6 CANADA
Phone: 519-669-5421
FAX: 519-669-8912
Web Page: http://www.trylon.com/
Or one of their dealers, such as:
MacFarlane Industries
Harold MacFarlane
macfltd@mail.kosone.com
(613) 353-2800
73 - Scott KA9FOX
neader@centuryinter.net
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There are many Trylon towers in this area for ham and commercial
use...mostly commercial for RCMP and Fisheries Dept etc . They are very
very strong and built for the high wind conditions and ice loading found in
most parts of Canada. In my view of a self-supporting non telescopic
tower you can't go wrong with one of them. Winds in Nfld during the winter
sustain frequently at 100kmph and many times gust to 110 - 120 kmph.
During spring we often get heavy icing condx along with the wind. I lost a
Telerex yagi 3yrs ago in one of those blows.
73 Frank VO1HP
St John's NFLD (Check the atlas for my location)
---------
It just so happens that I'm putting up a trylon tower right now!
It's the T400-72. This baby is put together! I'm putting 2 force-12
antennas up on it (10-40), and will hopefully end up with an array on
80 and a vee on 160. I dug a big hole and used 12 yard concrete. Mine
is rated @ 34 sq. ft.. NO GUYS! Just so happens a good friend of mine,
who has been a ham for a long while, seen this and decided to get one
for himself. He got the t500-72.....43 sq.ft.! Nice tower,man. I really
don't think that I'll lose too much sleep this winter during those big
storms that come up the east coast with this tower. Everything is bolted
together, too, so no chance of welds breaking. It's also steel, not
aluminum! While I was shopping for towers to get to around the 70'
height, I came across this. Crank-ups and other self-supported towers
that I looked at couldn't compare either in wind load or price!
Trylon doesn't outright sell the towers anymore (I don't know that this is
actually true - KA9FOX) , but they do have dealers.
Call Harold MacFarlane of MacFarlane Industries @ 613-353-2800. I met
him at the Rochester hamfest 2 years ago,seen the Trylon and was hooked
on it. He is also a ham. He'll have all needed to get you going..........
tower,legs,plates,bearings,etc.,etc.. Good luck. Here, mine goes up
Saturday. Concrete is now cured enough, tower is laying together on its
side, antennas are together....yesssssssssssssssssss. I'm excited.
73 Jeff, N3MLV
---------
I recently bought a used Rohn SSV series tower and in the process,
became acquainted with the fact that Rohn has some attractive amateur
packages of these self-supporting towers, which are normally used in
commercial service. These are tapered, three-sided models.
You ought to give Rohn a call and ask them to send their catalog which
describes the whole series and also about the special ham packages.
Rolfe, W3VH
---------
The guy who recommended the Rohn SSV towers obviously didn't check out
the prices!
(call withheld)
---------
Trylon is very good and is the tower of choice for a lot of
people up here. I know of no problems with them and the ones
erected in Calgary easily survive the rigours of a Canadian
winter! NB: Glad to see you are supporting free trade by buying
Canadian!!
Tim VE6SH
---------
K0RC and I, put up an 80 footer last Fall for KF0QR. The tower would
appear to be pretty good "bang for the buck" compared to some others. The
drawbacks are that the mounting plates for rotors are garbage. Plan to
cut up some .250 aluminum plate to make your own rotor and thrust bearing
plates. You will also need to cobble up some method of mounting a
"normal" gin pole to the stamped steel legs. Not much of a problem after
you get past the first few sections.
Unfortunately KF0QR's tower lasted only a few months. Not sure if you
heard about our ice storm last January. VERY unusual for this area in
January! The tower was loaded with antennas to begin with. Dennis had a
24 foot CM mast (8 feet down in the tower) with a Force 12 620/340 (13.4
sq ft) just above the thrust bearing, Force 12 EF-230 (3.22 sq ft 2 el
30M) up about 7 feet, Force 12 80M rotatable dipole (2.5 sq ft) near the
top of the mast, and a 2M/440 vertical at the top. The tower managed the
load very nicely in some very nasty winds. Our January ice storm was a
killer though. The tower and antennas were coated in at least 1" thick
radial ice. Following the ice we had terrible winds which caused the
620/340 and the EF-230 to rotate in the boom to mast clamps so that both
antennas were nearly vertical. The element tips on the 620/340 had
contacted the 80M dipole and were "tweaked". Dennis called the insurance
carrier and scheduled a visit by the adjuster. By the time the adjuster
arrived (over two weeks later) we had another bad wind storm come through
and folded the tower over just below the rotor mounting plate. UGLY!
I have no idea what kind of wind load the tower must have seen with both
antennas rotated in a near vertical position, but the fact that it survived
as long as it did is surprising. Dennis has just received his new tower
so now comes the fun of taking down the old & up with the new (prior to
the snow flying). In spite of the failure I still feel that they are a
very good bargain.
73 & GUD DX de KN0Z Gary
---------
You might try Heights Mfg in Michigan, as they have a complete
line of free standing self supporting towers, and a feature called a
screwover base if you want. They are a second generation company that
specializes in only towers especially for amateurs and commercial uses.
Their number is 1-850-455-1210 and 1-313-692-6711 and ask for Drake Dimitry
the owner, he is very accomadating and will be glad to help you.
John, KC4TBH
---------
I have installed the Trylon tower at KF0QR's QTH. This is the 80
foot model. Nice tower for the money. It reminds me of a VERY heavy
duty Rohn/Spaulding design (HDBX series). Not the most comfortable
tower to climb and work on, but hey, which ones are? (The cross braces
become more steep as you climb to the smaller sections and there are no
"straight across" braces.) If you decide to purchase this tower, you
might inquire about straight across steps. I noticed extra holes which
might be used for this application, as an option.
Unfortunately, Dennis overloaded this tower. He has a 24' moly
mast, 16' out the tower and 8' inside. The antennas stacked from the
bottom to the top are: Force 12 340/620, Force 12 230, Force 12 180, and
a Diamond 144/440 17' dual bander. It buckled about 16 feet from the top
in the ice/wind storm last January. Of course the overall height to the
top of the Diamond antenna was about 113 feet. It appears the tower was
torqued and then folded. There was an incredible amount of boom and
elements up there, so I am not surprised.
It's my opinion that he severely overloaded his tower by not taking into
account the leverage principle of the mast and he stacked his antennas too
high.
BTW, you mentioned the possibility of a crank up tower. Some of
the fellows around here were caught off guard during the ice storm. By
the time they decided to go outside and crank their towers down, they
were jammed from the coating of ice. Several "bit the dust" because they
could not retract them. I'm not a big fan of crank ups, but as I age,
they are beginning to look more and more attractive!
In contrast, I have a 90' Universal self supporting aluminum tower
that survived with a 24' aluminum mast (6061-T6 0.250" wall, 12' in, 12'
out), a Mosley PRO-67B (11 sq ft), and a Diamond 17' dual bander stacked on
top. My height to the tip is 119 feet, but the Mosley is only a foot above
the top of the tower. Other than a couple 440 MHz yagis and 80m & 160m
inverted vee's, there is nothing else up there to catch the wind.
I have $5000 invested in my tower, and he has $2500 (tower, thrust
bearings, plates, base, concrete). As you can see, there is a significant
cost savings using the Trylon.
I also helped install a 88' Heights tower this past spring. This is
another aluminum self supporting design. It was recently redesigned to meet
the new ice/wind loading specifications and is a beautiful piece of hardware.
If I didn't already own two 90' Universal towers, I would switch brands and
go with the Heights product for several reasons.
First, they offer a 35" base section (Universal starts with 30" base).
These bottom sections take tremendous stress during the wind storms. It
looks like Heights uses bigger tubing on these sections as well.
Second, the Heights straight sections are joined with couplers, similar
to the commercial towers (instead of nestling each leg, ala Rohn 25). This
helps when it comes time to take it down and move to a new QTH. Nestled
aluminum can seize. This happened to me in Roseville. I couldn't get the
top section off my tower. I had to hire a crane to pick the whole thing
off the base and lay it down in the yard. Cost: $150. Time: one hour from
driving up to driving away. Delay: 4 weeks trying to find a crane to do the
job. Paul Larson, KE0OL, and I had spent 4 hours working on that top
section with lubricants and jacks to no avail.
The aluminum towers are easy to climb because they use Z-bracing on each
side. You have a level step all the way to the top. Giant steps near the
bottom and baby steps near the top, but at least they are level.
Rust never sleeps. Aluminum never rusts. I am using tower sections
that are over 20 years old and they look like new. I also learned to use
anti seize compound on the nestled legs. Oh yeah, plan on using 6 yards of
concrete to keep the tower upright! So that's my $2.02 worth.
Just in case you need these addresses:
Heights Tower Systems, Inc.
1529 Gulf Beach Hwy.
Pensacola, FL 32507
(850) 455-1210
Rohn World Headquarters
6718 West Plank Road
Peoria, IL 61656, USA
(309) 697-4400
Trylon Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
PO Box 186
Elmira, Ontario, N3B 2Z6, Canada
(519) 669-5421
Universal Manufacturing Company
43900 Groesbeck Highway
Mt. Clemens, MI 40843, USA
(313) 463-2560
73 de Bob - K0RC
---------
I have an old catalog (1993) from Trylon with a US telephone number.
I just got the Rohn Self Supporting Towers for Amateur radio booklet from Al
Repssumer at 309-697-4400 or ask for it on their new web page. Called the
RTP series and are part of the SSV group.
Either will handle what you want at 60 to 70 feet. Next step is ease of
assembly and price for the config you want. Expect to pay more than 45
prices, but less than the 45 guyed! And with those antennas on top you
will have a bang up 160 or 80 vertical. Good luck.
Dave K4JRB
---------
Since you're dreaming about towers (I do that a lot sometimes too) let me
tell you what my "dream setup, within reason" would be. A 72 ft Trylon with
a 15 ft moly mast supporting two Force 12 antennas, a MAG 620/340 at 73' and
a 4BA at 82'. That gives you seperate 3 element monobanders on 10/12/15/17,
6 elements on 20 and 3 elements on 40. Load the tower on both 80 and 160
and run "stealth" beverages of #26 black coated wire through the
neighborhood! Stick an R7 on top for the second rig.
Of course that $3300 worth of antennas, so more realistically, my buddy
Dick, KA2AJT, had a 72 ft Trylon with a KT34XA at 75' and a 40-2CD at 82'.
That's probably doable and more realistically priced.
A hint. Rent a boom truck at $100 an hour to erect the tower/antennas.
Best $150 you'll ever spend. The tower goes up real easy (Trylon can
provide details of the gin pole you need to fabricate, its very simple)
without the boom truck but mounting the antennas can be a pain when you're
trying to mount two on top of any tower. Without the boom truck you build
the tower around the mast, then haul that very heavy mast up through the
rotor plate and thrust bearing, stabilize the mast, mount the top antenna,
raise the mast carefully using a "come along" until you can get the rotor
mounted, plumb the mast in the rotor and thrust bearing and then haul up and
mount the bottom antenna. It's a long afternoon on the tower and make sure
you have a trusted, strong, experienced friend up there with you. With a
boom truck you bolt together the entire tower, mast, rotor, thrust bearing
horizontally on the ground. The boom truck lifts the whole thing up and
places it on the bottom section already plumb and in the concrete. Six
bolts and your're done. Make sure you have a "lining up tool" for the bolt
holes. Now, you go up in a bucket with the top (light) antenna laid across
your lap and bolt it on. Then you transfer to the tower and safety in at
the top. The boom truck brings the heavy antenna up to you on the tower and
holds it while you bolt it on. Simple.
Isn't ham radio fun!
73 - Larry KE2VB
---------
Regarding these Titan towers, do you have any information as to how
one might use with such standard ham accessories as thrust bearings and
rotator shelves with this sort of tower? I'd looked at the Rohn SSV towers
which do have shelves and bearings available, but they required so much
concrete underneath them that it didn't seem reasonable or cost effective.
These Titan towers sound great, and plenty sturdy, but I wonder how hard it
will be to mount a T2X and a TB3 into the top of one. Any ideas?
Pete, AD4TU
---------
Have personally been involved with the assembly and installation of two of
these Beasties (Trylon towers) one a 56 ft Model in 1982 and the other a
48 ft model in 1995. The break down feature is a good shipping bonus ..
assembly is relatively easy just a couple of ratchets and an extra pair of
hands and you could assemble an eight foot section in about 20 minutes or
so with all the bolts fully torqued. You have already heard from VO1HP
Frank who has extolled the virtues of the tower vis-a vis ability to
withstand wind and ice loading . It is a very sturdy tower well engineered
and should be able to withstand anything YOUR weather might throw at it.
Eastern Newfoundland from an engineering/geographical perspective is
classified as being in one of the
most severe areas in North America for wind and ice combinations. BTW the
1982 model was erected at our club repeater site which is atop a barren hill
approximately 30 miles SW St. John's 800 ft ASL. It is still rigid and
standing after 14 years exposure to winds which have been clocked as high
as 165 km/h during that period. Local meteorologist provided me some info
last year relative to client problem had at time.... FYI the wind around
here hits the 135 kmh mark at least once a month for about 11 of the 12
months each year. 64 ft Trylon owned by VO1CV had been standing for 10
years with no problems to tower, however he replaced/rebuilt 6 tailtwisters
and rebuilt his 204 ba many times during that period.
The 48 footer I installed last year is at our club station at the local
Canadian Red Cross HQ it has a pro-37 7 element 80 lb yagi on top, that is
minus one part of the reflector , one winter only yet hi! Tower ok though in
about 2.5 cubic meters concrete. However, Scott we only really think it's
windy if when you hang a 6 foot length of one inch chain on the clothes
line and the thing stands off parallel to the ground. Hope this has been of
some help to you .
73 es gl from Newfoundland
Gus Samuelson, VO1MP
---------
N9NS has one of these and likes it real well. He is not on the internet, but
I suspect he will be up to W9DXCC. Looking forward to seeing you there!
73, K8Joe"Palooka"
---------
(regarding the wind load chart in your message) I noticed that when you
divide the "lbs" by the "sq ft" you get about 13 at 70 mph and about 20 at
85 mph using the data in the above chart. An old EIA wind chart that I
have in an old Rohn catalog says 70 mph is 19.6 lb/sq ft and 85 mph is
28.9 lb/sq ft. The implication is that maybe the "sq ft" rating is a
little too high for the "lbs" number. But maybe my data is just too old
and the EIA chart has not been found to be accurate.
Stan w7ni@teleport.com
---------
(in regards to the above question from W7NI) I would think that the chart
from each manufacturer would be different due to design specs. There is some
correlation between weight (down moment) and square feet, but normally a
tower mfg designs to a certain dead weight limit then looks at side moments
or max sq ft. The Rohn BX series can handle 10 sq feet but a max of a 10
foot boom.
Weight is strictly a discrete measurement. Sq ft is calulated from wind
resistance on the elements and boom. This will vary from one manufacturer
to another unless they use the exact same design.
Rohn told me that the EIA spec is a respected guideline. Trylon is just
more conservative.
Dave K4JRB
----------
(in regards to the above question from W7NI) I have the same comment as
Stan, W7NI. I always thought 70 MPH corresponded to a sideways force of
20 pounds per square foot of antenna, for antennas with cylindrical elements.
I don't understand K4JRB's comments. At first, he starts talking
about dead weight, which is not the issue. Then, when he addresses
wind resistance, he concludes that Trylon is more conservative,
which I don't understand.
For example, if the T300 is rated for a sideways force of 300
pounds, at 70 mph I would divide that by 20, for an allowable
15 square feet of antennas, compared to Trylon's claimed 22 sq.
ft.
This would be a good issue to clarify with Trylon before taking
the plunge. Let us know how it turns out. 73
Dave, K6LL
----------
I'm using a Trylon A200 - 64 ft. Its got a KT34XA on top and a
402-CD 9 feet above that. Solid as a rock. Although I don't climb
much myself, its rungs can give you "tower rung foot" if you
don't use good quality footware. ( Save the gym shoes and get a
good pair of boots) Its been up 10 years and has weathered very
well. Anything that can take a Winnipeg winter with the blizzards
and wind that go with it and come up smiling has my vote.
BTW, as an american, you'd be nuts NOT to take advantage of the
exchange rate of the CDN vs. US dollar. I'm sure the prices must
be favorable on your end. Solid product, good value in my opinion.
73, Rob VE4GV
---------
I helped a friend put up 72 feet of it last summer. Unfortunatly 2 weeks
later I helped him take it down. The neighbors started raising hell, and
he was a city employee..
anyway, all i can say is that i was impressed with it. If I was going to
put up some free standing tower i would sure consider it.
73, Mike Stokes, KK9V
----------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 12:08:55 -0700
From: ftbrady@cosmoslink.net (Frank T. Brady)
Here's a copy of what I asked Jon Martin of Trylon:
Jon, I have some important question (for your engineering/specifications people). I was bragging about my decision to go with your product on the
"tower-talk" internet reflector and I received several comments (so far)
that concern me. Here are some of the comments:
>Just noticed that they rate the tower for the load to be no higher than
>2 feet above the top and a max vertical force not to exceed 300 lbs.
>which must be centrally located and balanced over the cross-section.
>
>I would guess these are NOT designed for long boom antennas. All the
>pix I see in the ads are microwave type and vhf/uhf type antennas.
>
>Looking at the Trylon towers page I see no reference to the amount of
>torque these towers can handle. I know that some of Rohn's self
>supporting towers will only accommodate a 10 foot boom. Does Trylon
>supply rotor/bearing plates? Is there a place that lists better specs
>for these towers?
>
>Please don't sacrifice safety for price. If it sounds too good to be
>true it probably is.
Naturally, It is VERY important to me that the tower specifications consider
the installation of LONG boom (30 to 50 feet) amateur radio antennas in
their torque, dead-weight, and wind-load calculations.
Please get back to me as soon as possible (and let me know where more
detailed specifications can be referenced or obtained).
Here is the reply from Jon Martin of Trylon:
>Trylon does supply rotor/bearing plates. We do not supply the actual
>bearings, or rotors.
>The Titan towers do not have a torque value associated with them. We
>also do not have the technical information available to calculate the
>torque value.
>
>The technical specifications that you have are the only ones available.
>
>I have fowarded your e-mail to one of our dealers you has years of
>experience with our Titan towers as well as amateur radio use. The
>company name is MacFarlane Electronics (macfltd@mail.kosone.com). Please
>refer to him for any future questions, or if ordering a tower.
---- end reply from Jon Martin of Trylon ----
I was NOT pleased with the above reply! I called this morning and
'demanded' to speak with someone that would address my concerns. A Ron
Fuller spent almost an hour with me explaining that the Titan line is a very
small offshoot of the company's marketing niche and the engineering
evaluation software developed for the product did not include torsional
force calculations. They will, however, on a case-by-case basis, evaluate
the installation each customer plans (including future expansion
considerations) and give you advice on what you need to satisfy whatever
wind survivability you desire.
For example:
I told him that although I initially plan to have only one ten sq foot
antenna at 66 feet I eventually want 100mph survivability for a 64 foot
tower with a mast extension of ten feet and 10sq ft antennas mounted two
feet and ten feet above the tower top. He said the survivability would be
90mph if I chose a T600 64ft tower. All things considered, I'm satisfied
with the way Mr. Fuller handled this and I understand where the Titan line
fits into the companies business. It is essentially a ham-budget offshoot
and a very small part of their efforts. Ron estimated that they have sold
about 20,000 Titans since 1977 when they began the line.
Ron also explained that there is very little need for concern about putting
a large boom antenna on the tower as long as its mass is centered and its
wind surface is fairly symmetrical. In almost all cases, wind action on
opposite sides of the center cancel out. The only meaningful torsional
considerations are dampening oscillations that are nearly always well within
tolerance when you 'design' it for wind survivability sufficiently beyond
the maximum winds in your area.
I'm sure that none of the above would satisfy someone who is going to get an
insurance policy that requires engineering specifications that include
torsional data. I guess that those who want Rohn-like formal documentation
should go to Rohn <g>. I'm satisfied that I can order a Titan with plenty
of wind survivability safety margin and be comfortable with the installation.
If you get serious about buying, or you want to talk to someone more
familiar with our use of their towers, you need to talk to Harold MacFarlane
- one of their distributors. He has been very helpful.
(613) 353-2800
MacFarlane Industries (Distributor)
Harold MacFarlane <macfltd@mail.kosone.com>
!!! KNOWS HIS TOWERS !!!
You should call/write for their catalog - it's difficult to try to pick out
what you might want to know and reproduce it here.
Essentially, their towers are 8 foot sections of varying strength depending
on the tower configuration in which they will be used. You can build the
tower on the ground and then have a boom truck come by and raise and set it
on the footing in one easy operation. The other alternative is to use their
gin pole and erect it section by section straight up - at least two people
required for this method.
You will find free standing models that give you much more strength and
height than the Tri-Ex and US Tower offerings for 1/4 or 1/5 the cost.
I imagine you can save even more by going to a guyed model - I didn't
inquire about prices on those.
These people have been in the commercial tower business long enough to gain
a solid reputation for quality merchandise. I don't know how long ago they
added the amateur radio line, but the specs sure look great.
I believe that you can extend the height of their towers later (like Rohn)
just by adding sections at the top (provided you are not already at the
height limit for the particular model line).
This find has made the difference between my having a tower soon after I
move to our new QTH and saving for years to get a crank up. I'll be
spending about $1000 + $500 shipping rather than the $3600 to $6600 for a
LM470E or a HDX572. The savings pays for my antenna and rotator!
QRU here, - let me know if I missed anything important. Be sure and let me
know how it comes out.
Frank - W0ECS
-------------
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 07:53:25 -0700
From: ftbrady@cosmoslink.net (Frank T. Brady)
I did come up with more reasons to justify the rigid Trylon (vs. a crank-up):
1) If I make my initial selection from the middle range of one of their
strength catagories, I can 'easily' extend the height later by just adding
sections (sort of like the Rohn world).
2) I can now afford a strength catagory that leaves NO doubt about how much
spare carrying capacity it has.
3) No need for the cable oiling, inspection, and replacement rigmarole.
4) No need to make sure the tower is down before going somewhere.
5) No permanent wind-watch stress built into my routine.
Tom at Force 12 called yesterday and we were talking about installing
antennas on fixed towers - he recommends a temporary or permanent electric
winch position at the top of the tower (3 or 4 hundred bucks) to make the
job easier (and probably a whole lot safer, too). I already have the a good
safety belt, so I'll probably do the first installation with help from a
local pro.
Frank - W0ECS
---------
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 97 13:28:00 -0600
From: Steve Weisbrod <steve@gamecash.com>
A friend of mine Bill Ham (yes that is correct) K0KO has one of these
towers. They are really built. He has two large Force12's on it no sweat.
I would not worry about torque. I helped him put it up last year. I
worked ground crew , no climbing for me thats why I got the GM Hazer. But
if I was going to climb this is the tower I would get. It's a brute and I
think you'll like it.
73 Steve W8GAZ
---------
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 15:11:51 -0700
From: Doug Joyce <djoyce@ibm.net>
In response to the various comments re the Trylon towers let me
contribute the following:
I've been installing and working on Trylon Titan (ex ABC series) free
standing towers since the early 80's on a part time basis and have had a
dealership for most of that time. As part of Trylon's service to their
dealers they have made available a tower analysis program "tritest" (a
DOS program) that allows you to enter point loads at various heights and
define the weight, wind speed, wind surface area, (round/square) etc and
the program will calculate the safety factor for the towere under those
load conditions. (I spoke to Jon Martin this morning & he confirmed that
the program was still available. I suggested that they consider putting
it up on their web site.
As discussed on their web site, the Titan series is a 96 foor tapered
free standing tower (8 foot sections). You pick from this 96 ft the
length and strength desired. The tower models are rated by the size of
the top section eg. a T200 (the lightest, max height 96 ft) has a 9"
face width at the top up to the T800 (the heaviest, max height 48 ft)
has a 27" face width at the top. The bottom face width is a function of
total height. The towers are rated at 70, 85 & 100 mph. The
installation drawings provide info re the necessary base size, rebar
etc.
re long beam, large antennas - a friend of mine has a contest station
near Niagara with five Titan towers (72 to 88 ft) with various monoband
beams - 5 el on 15, 40 ft boom; 4 el on 17 similar boom; 4 el on 30, 36
ft boom and we haven't noticed any problems due to torque load. (the
10m and 15m towers also have a second antenna fixed on Europe at approx
45-50 ft.
Hope this helps Doug Joyce, VE3MV djoyce@ibm.net