ROHN Allowable vs. Effective table help?

[CB590]

Appears to be a 5' wide by 4' deep hole with concrete and rebar for the 45G..

Good to know..

I like the look of the Yaesu G450A rotor but most reviews recommend that ready made cabling.. the $290 price tag is good as well.

Thoughts on a economical rotor for 6 SF antenna??

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Appears to be a 5' wide by 4' deep hole with concrete and rebar for the 45G..

Good to know..

I like the look of the Yaesu G450A rotor but most reviews recommend that ready made cabling.. the $290 price tag is good as well.

Thoughts on a economical rotor for 6 SF antenna??

Define "economical". Is it something that is rated at just 6 or 7 sq.ft. that will probably need to be replaced after a few years or is it something rated at more like 10-15 sq ft that will outlast the antenna itself? Economical rarely ever is the real answer to what is really needed. The Yaesu G-450 should be good for what you want.

 

[Tallman]

Economical usually means "Just enough to do the job, for a awhile."
Supersize it go for a unit that will handle 10 to 15 square feet. Turning it is just 1 part of the problem. You need sufficient brake power to hold it in place during storms.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Just found this tilt plate for use at the top of a tilt over tower. I don't know how useful it would be on a gizmochi or quad. Seems to be well suited to the horizontal Yagi.
http://www.nn4zz.com/tiltplate.htm

 

[Blackcat630]

Just found this tilt plate for use at the top of a tilt over tower. I don't know how useful it would be on a gizmochi or quad. Seems to be well suited to the horizontal Yagi.
http://www.nn4zz.com/tiltplate.htm

After reading about that it does seem quite useful for maintaining a yagi. I guess it would sort of work for a gizmochy? Cool concept, rotates 90 degrees by gravity alone but it got me thinking... kinda useless for a quad since a quad has both vertical and horizontal elements of equal length 90 degrees apart.
The pic of the QST article says "prices start at $750" Damn that thing better rotate my yagi, cut my grass and make me a sandwich.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

After reading about that it does seem quite useful for maintaining a yagi. I guess it would sort of work for a gizmochy? Cool concept, rotates 90 degrees by gravity alone but it got me thinking... kinda useless for a quad since a quad has both vertical and horizontal elements of equal length 90 degrees apart.
The pic of the QST article says "prices start at $750" Damn that thing better rotate my yagi, cut my grass and make me a sandwich.

Yeah looks expensive and heavy. Wouldn't be hard to make one though.

 

[CB590]

Changing my thoughts on beam type.. thinking Sirio 27-3 or Maco 103.. and then maybe stack my A99 on top.

Still torn on 25G ($579 and $170 sh) or 45G ($865 and $170 sh). but leaning toward the AG3 type top section which has a 2" ID for mast..

Thoughts on the AG3 over the other optional tops?

Would I still need a bearing and plate or just mount the rotor on the AS25/45 plate?? Some say no, some yes..

I know some include a reducer bushing/bearing to 1.25" mast size on the AG2 type tops..

But thinking 2" mast may be better?

I think both the Sirio and Maco 3 element are sq ft ''lite' compared to the Gizmotchy Quad I originally pondered..

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Ideally a rotator should be mounted on a flat shelf a few feet below another shelf that has a bearing for the mast to extend up thru. This bearing takes the sideways bending moments away from the rotator and mounting the rotator on a flat plate versus using a mast adapter to mount it on top of a pipe greatly increases the rotators strength.

Yes go with a 2 inch mast.

 

[CB590]

Ideally a rotator should be mounted on a flat shelf a few feet below another shelf that has a bearing for the mast to extend up thru. This bearing takes the sideways bending moments away from the rotator and mounting the rotator on a flat plate versus using a mast adapter to mount it on top of a pipe greatly increases the rotators strength.

Yes go with a 2 inch mast.

Would you suggest the AG4 8' top instead then? It is made for the bearing and is only $60 option.. then put the rotor shelf inside the top a few feet down from that?

 

[CB590]

Would the new AS25GTB top bearing shelf work on top for the bearing shelf and a few feet down the regular DX rotor shelf? Be about $190 total.

Trying to save abit and the $330 for say the BAS25g combo plate is steep.. though obviously more rugged??

 

[BJ radionut]

http://www.normsfab.com/Updated order form.pdf
http://www.normsfab.com/index.html
Makes Rohn's equipment look like Chinese junk...though it's not!
I have Norm's special hinged plates and Guy plates w/ top bearing sections for 2 towers...Love his work!...Nice guy also.
He is the Fab Man...his better half is bookkeeper and takes care of on-line and Hamfest orders.

All the Best
Gary

Looking for rotor's New/ or rebuilt to above spec...Here's another TOP SELVE guy to deal with.
The Alliance HD73 is built like a tank and He is only place to find them!
He has just the right rotor for about every need plus I think he has custom cables and connectors for about every item he sells.
http://www.rotorservice.com/prod1 rotor sales.htm

 

[CB590]

http://www.normsfab.com/Updated order form.pdf
http://www.normsfab.com/index.html
Makes Rohn's equipment look like Chinese junk...though it's not!
I have Norm's special hinged plates and Guy plates w/ top bearing sections for 2 towers...Love his work!...Nice guy also.
He is the Fab Man...his better half is bookkeeper and takes care of on-line and Hamfest orders.

All the Best
Gary

Looking for rotor's New/ or rebuilt to above spec...Here's another TOP SELVE guy to deal with.
The Alliance HD73 is built like a tank and He is only place to find them!
He has just the right rotor for about every need plus I think he has custom cables and connectors for about every item he sells.
http://www.rotorservice.com/prod1 rotor sales.htm

So $100 for top bearing plate $60 and rotor plate for $40.. good deal IMO..

I heard of Norm on various forums..

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Would the new AS25GTB top bearing shelf work on top for the bearing shelf and a few feet down the regular DX rotor shelf? Be about $190 total.

Trying to save abit and the $330 for say the BAS25g combo plate is steep.. though obviously more rugged??

I had to look those top sections up as I am not that familiar with guyed towers. I don't even consider them for my own reasons and go with heavier free standing types. The AG3 is designed to actually act as a sleeve negating the need for a top bearing as long as the mast can rotate inside it freely. Some grease helps. Lots of guys use it instead of a top bearing. With a relatively light installation like you are looking at this is perfectly fine.

Now, having said that Gary is right above about what he said about Norms Fabrication. IMHO Rohn 25 is light duty and fine for small to medium CB installations when properly guyed but there are better options if you are thinking about going larger in the future. You can either pay now or pay later.

 

[CB590]

I had to look those top sections up as I am not that familiar with guyed towers. I don't even consider them for my own reasons and go with heavier free standing types. The AG3 is designed to actually act as a sleeve negating the need for a top bearing as long as the mast can rotate inside it freely. Some grease helps. Lots of guys use it instead of a top bearing. With a relatively light installation like you are looking at this is perfectly fine.

Now, having said that Gary is right above about what he said about Norms Fabrication. IMHO Rohn 25 is light duty and fine for small to medium CB installations when properly guyed but there are better options if you are thinking about going larger in the future. You can either pay now or pay later.

So maybe the Rohn 45G free standing at 30' with AG3 top is it then.. about $1040 total.. then just a rotor plate and rotor..

A little heavier duty but not under powered for a simple 3 element and A99..

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

There are far better options that 30 feet of Rohn 45 if you want a freestanding tower. Freestanding towers of ANY type NEED a large base to support them......typically several cubic yards of concrete. Using straight sections as a short freestanding tower will still require a large base but heavy 45G sections are being far underutilized in this configuration IMHO. A 40 foot Trylon or American Wireless tower would require the same base and it is actually designed to be installed without guys. This might be the time for others using unguyed Rohn sections to chip in here. There is a reason that freestanding towers are tapered from the bottom up........increased strength while using lighter weight sections.