[TWIAR] Ten-Tec club station tower topples

[Greg Williams]

Ten-Tec club station tower topples: Ten-Tec Product Manager Scott Robbins,
W4PA, reports the company's 70-foot crank-up tower at Ten-Tec headquarters
in Sevierville, Tennessee, toppled in late November, leaving a mess of
twisted metal. The tower was cranked down at the time it went down. A
6-meter beam at the very top of the structure survived, but the tower, a
multiband beam and several wire antennas attached to the structure were a
total loss. Fortunately, no one was around at the time to be in harm's way.
"This happened on Friday, November 28, while we were closed for
Thanksgiving," Robbins said. "The base of the tower collapsed from metal
fatigue and broke free from the concrete-filled metal post that was holding
the crank-up in place." Robbins says the top of the tower and the TH7DX beam
hit the front of the building on the way down--fortunately missing any
windows. Robbins says the tower and TH7DX had been in place since Ten-Tec
opened for business in 1968.

Greg Williams
k4hsm@lock-net.com

Tis often better to be silent and thought a fool rather than to speak and
remove all doubt.
No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant-free message
We do concede, a significant number of electrons may have been
inconvenienced.