[Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower

Wed Jul 13 18:14:34 EDT 2016

I would be interested in the website / picture from anyone on this thread. 

I was given an older Wilson version of the MA40, and am working on the install now.  Any advice or input would be appreciated. 

Niel
WA7SSA

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 13, 2016, at 05:01, Mike K2MK <k2mk at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Terry,
> 
> I'm moving and I've just sold my MA40 with the MARB40 tilt over/rotator
> base. It's a fine tower for small loads. Be careful, it's only rated at
> 3sqft load when the tower is cranked down to the 21 foot level. I had a 2
> element SteppIR yagi on it and I would crank it down if winds over 20 or 30
> mph were forecasted.
> 
> Cranking it up and down is very easy on the arm. It cranks easily but
> requires 100 cranks. Tilting it over and cranking it down and back up
> requires much greater effort until the mast is at the 45 degree angle. I
> would have liked to have a power driven winch for that operation.
> 
> The foundation for this mast is substantial with lots of rebar. I'm selling
> my house and just had the top 12" of concrete removed so that I could
> replace it with grass. It took a crew longer to remove the 12" then it did
> for the crew to dig and pour the foundation in the first place. I'm thankful
> I didn't have to any of the work.
> 
> This mast can actually be handled by one person if you have moderate
> equipment to help. I had a wheeled lawn cart for rolling it around and a
> Harbor Freight 1 ton shop crane for taking it off of the flat bed delivery
> truck and helping to engage and dis-engage the mast into the MRB40 unit.
> With two people it's a very simple job. All of my experiences were good and
> given the opportunity I would not hesitate to purchase another one.
> 
> I have a personal website with lots of photos. Contact me directly if you
> want the link.
> k2mk at comcast dot net
> 
> 73,
> Mike K2MK
> 
> 
> Terry Brown wrote
>> Hello all,
>> 
>> I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100.  I have been a ham since
>> 1982, and love my Elecraft gear.  I have a question for the group.  I am
>> moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR  after 30 years.  Currently I
>> have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof.  On
>> the
>> tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas.  The beam
>> and tower  date from the time I became a ham.
>> 
>> I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
>> Oregon.  The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower setup.
>> My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem.   The view to the east is
>> amazing as the ground slopes away.  To the west, the terrain has a slight
>> rise.  I am 68 yrs. old.   I don't want to have to climb a tower again. 
>> My
>> home will be two stories with the garage level under it.  The peak of my
>> roof will be about 34 ft. above grade.  My new tower location will be
>> about
>> 32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof.  The roofline will run N-S
>> with
>> the tower on the west side of the house.  
>> 
>> I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
>> smaller  tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW.  I have seen the
>> US
>> Towers MA-40,  a 20-41ft. crankup as one type.  It comes with a tilt over
>> base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
>> This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not being
>> visible from the street east of the house.  It's max height is 41 ft.
>> which
>> would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when transmitting
>> to
>> the East.  I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to
>> physically
>> crank it up by hand as I get older.  With this background I have two
>> questions:
>> 
>> 1.    Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
>> the roofline (41 ft. tower)  be an effective radiator and receive antenna
>> on
>> 20-15-10 meter bands to the East?  Being on the West Coast, this will be
>> the
>> direction of most of my mainland US contacts.   To the N-W-S, the antenna
>> will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem. 
>> 
>> 2.    I am not committed to any particular crankup tower.  The US Tower is
>> just the one I have seen on the internet.  I would be interested in any
>> lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft.   I think a tubular
>> constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of
>> installation.
>> A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.
>> 
>> I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
>> neighbor friendly.  I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
>> watts.  It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it.  I also
>> want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain.  I have
>> been spoiled with that setup over the years.
>> 
>> Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
>> length that I use for all the other bands.  It is up about 30 ft.
>> suspended
>> from the trees in my current QTH.  I feed it with 450 ohm ladder into a
>> 4:1
>> balun to coax.  At my new QTH, we will plant two contained planters with
>> 20
>> or 30 ft. bamboo on the SW and NW corners of my property where I can put a
>> vertical pipe for two supports, then use the peak of my roof on the N and
>> S
>> side at 34 Ft. for my NE and SE contact points for my other two corners
>> for
>> my horizontal loop.  I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from the
>> NE
>> corner.   I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
>> horizontally polarized.  My current one works great so I want the same
>> thing
>> for my new QTH.  
>> 
>> I look forward to getting some great input from this group.  I have been
>> amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.
>> 
>> Thanks in advance to you all.
>> 73's,
>> Terry Brown, N7TB
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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