Antenna question

[CaptDan]

Something that came up in a discussion tonight. Has anyone made an antenna tower out of concrete ?

The idea was to use either use some PVC pipe as a form, either 4 or 6 inch pipe, it would be glued together as PVC normally is, maybe 1 piece of 5/8 rebar in the center for some strength along with a solid ground connection. The PVC would stay in place, or use the cardboard forms that are removed once concrete cures.

A 60 to 70 foot tower would need less than a yard of concrete. There are frequently concrete pump trucks in the neighborhood with 100 foot booms.
Is there a reason the tower couldn't be concrete instead of steel?

We're located about 10 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
If this is completely crazy idea, feel free to let us know !

Please & Thank You

Enjoy your day !

 

[G7RUX]

It would most certainly need to be reinforced in some way, most likely with steel and would likely need to be wider than 4 or 6 sinches to give the necessary rigidity.

I wouldn't recommend it!

 

[FKimble]

If memory serves me correctly, a Rohm 25 tower 40 ft high unguided requires a concrete base 4ft by 4 ft by 4 ft! that almost 2 and a half yards of concrete.
And how would you climb it to do maintenance work? A cherry picker/bucket truck?

You'd need a wide base to support it. If it was off verticle by only a small amount, it would probably break in to from it's own weight.

Frank

 

[tweiss3]

There are utility poles made of spun concrete, which means it has a full rebar reinforcing grid, then they pour the concrete and spin the pole to make a hollow center. They are terribly expensive, even for a 30' pole, just the pole would exceed the cost of a Rohn 25 kit for 30' high. There is a lot more to reinforced concrete than just tossing it up in a form with a "that looks like enough reinforcement" attitude. It's not the vertical support that is going to cause a problem, its the lateral support, which is why the diameter of a premanufactured pole will be over 12" for a 30' pole and over 24" for a 70' pole. You also have to think of the soil strength and direct burial depth, which follows a rule of thumb, but requires a soils evaluation to determine if it is adequate.

I remember enough from my reinforced concrete class to remember I would personally hire a structural engineer if I attempted to construct one myself, but then again, it will be much less expensive (and look better) to buy a steel tower kit from one of the many US companies.

 

[AZPatriot53]

It would most likely also need guying, especially in the gulf due to soil content and wind forces. IMO, yes, it's a crazy idea. But, it never hurts to think outside the box!

 

[prcguy]

I think if you do this you will be very sad in the end and out some $$ for no good reason.

 

[vagrant]

I think Freddy Fender had a song about an effort like that.

 

[KB4MSZ]

If this is completely crazy idea, feel free to let us know !

You are hereby notified.