Antenna Tower Disasters

It's always interesting to try and learn from others on the internet, although most of the time, you come away feeling less informed than when you began!

There's a very useful web site and seller of replacement parts in the UK for the Versatower-type masts, which can be found here.

Putting up a tower moves you from simple wire operator, where life rarely gets more complicated than replacing a broken support, to a much more complex sphere of activity.  Towers are expensive, heavy, require a lot of careful attention to avoid accidents and failures, and can't just be considered something that can be deployed and used no matter how severe the weather.

Load up your tower (and stub mast) with too much, and this is inevitably the result, especially in windy locations like the UK.

Understandably, when you obtain a second-hand tower, you want to start climbing it, sticking as many antennas as possible on it, and generally just staring up at the glory of it all.

But I'm not sure why some people report tower disasters are somehow unexpected and a great shock when you see that, as on the above web site, people not only sticking too many antennas on ultimately quite narrow gauge masts on top, but also flags, verticals and all sorts of other wind load-enhancing materials.  Try holding a half or full-sized flag in your hand during a gale, and you'll get a good idea of what it does to a tower.

So, if you find your ideal second hand, or even a new tower, then do try and visualise the forces acting on that thing.  It is, in essence, a very large, very heavy lever being pushed from above by the stronger winds up there.  It may be made of steel, but that can, under the right conditions, buckle like cardboard.  It can also kill you or seriously damage your property.

My advice?  Consider whether you want to spend what I think must be a minimum of £2000 even with a second hand tower, by the time you get a rotator and antenna up there, and whether the modest gain of perhaps an 'S' point or two is really, really worth it.  If it is, then make sure you site your tower very carefully, load it with the minimum of antennas, keep it well serviced and ensure all your insurance is in order.