I bought a self-supporting 56' Heights tower with its clamshell
tilt-over-kit unit 8 feet up from the base. I lower the tower with a 3/8"
power drill and never leave the ground for anything.

IMHO, nested towers that leave the boom 22' feet in the air and the antenna
elements 4-to-15 feet from your reach are overrated!
--
-larry
K8UT
"MTV" wrote in message
...
I'm starting to look for a 55' freestanding tower with house wall bracket.
Am undecided on a lattice type or tubular. Being an old geezer I am not
interested in the standard lattice type which requires climbing, but a
nestable type to be raised and lowered by a crank or motor. I figure if it
can be lowered I could work on it from the roof of my one story house.
Main antenna would be a Cushcraft A4S 4-element or equivalent - wind area
abt 4 sq ft. Not sure I could handle the huge X7 Big Thunder and its 7.9
sq ft., although that would be ideal.

Any first hand experience or recommendations?

Marv
W5MTV

Larry Gauthier (K8UT) wrote:
I bought a self-supporting 56' Heights tower with its clamshell
tilt-over-kit unit 8 feet up from the base. I lower the tower with a 3/8"
power drill and never leave the ground for anything.

IMHO, nested towers that leave the boom 22' feet in the air and the antenna
elements 4-to-15 feet from your reach are overrated!

I just looked over the Heights web page and am very impressed. I'm
surprised an aluminum tower could handle the stress from tilt-over
design. Looks like everything I'd need, and very well thought out and
engineered. Might get the HD (coastal) since we had 90 mph winds from H.
Ike, which crashed most antennas or towers in the area, though I am
sheltered up to about 25'. After looking over my own layout think a 48'
tower would be all I need, with antenna on a mast then being about 6'
above tallest oak tree with clear view of horizon - have flat terrain
not far from Houston, but lots of trees. Counted 40 on our 1.25 acre
lot. Had heck of a time stringing 120' wire antenna.

Marv

If my budget would stand it Heights would be my first choice! My crank
up mast was purchased in about 1980 for somewhere around $400.

John Ferrell W8CCW

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:01:48 -0500, "Larry Gauthier \(K8UT\)"
wrote:

I bought a self-supporting 56' Heights tower with its clamshell
tilt-over-kit unit 8 feet up from the base. I lower the tower with a 3/8"
power drill and never leave the ground for anything.

IMHO, nested towers that leave the boom 22' feet in the air and the antenna
elements 4-to-15 feet from your reach are overrated!