I have a 25' tower secured at the bottom in concrete and bolted to the peak which is 16' above ground level. It also has a steel bracket. bolted to the house at the half way mark. At the top of the tower I have a 10' mast / 1 1/4" dia. 16 gage steel. and then my 19'-10" High Gain antenna with 3 - 9' radials.
So from ground level to the top of my antenna is approx. 52'-10". My question is I would like to add more mast without guy wires. How many 10' pieces of mast would be safe to add. I can't find any info
on this subject. Any info is much appreciated.
Back in your other thread on 23 Septemeber 2015 in
http://forums.radioreference.com/amateur-radio-equipment/320685-yaesu-ft101e.html, you mentioned that your Hy-Gain antenna was a CL2 (Model 473). That CB antenna's operation manual is found at
http://www.cbtricks.com/ant_manuals/hygain/model_473/graphics/hy-gain_473_clr-2.pdf. Amazingly enough, in the specifications, it neither says what the wind loading is nor does it specify power handling.
First on power handling. The limiting factor will be the base-loaded coil. CB radio is 5 watts for legal transmissions although I know equipment exists that can push an illegal 100 watts or more. Knowing that you have a Yaesu FT-101E,
IF you plan to use that rig on 11 meters illegally, that radio will probably fry the coil due to its high output power.
As for wind loading, the antenna specifications say it has a 75 mph (120.69 kmph) wind survival rating. With you being in the far north in Canada, I don't know what amount of ice loading you will experience which is a
HUGE factor in survivability in high winds. With the 10 foot mast extension, the wind loading goes up exponentially with ice loading so the wind survivability may drop to as low as 25 mph (40.23 kmph). So I would be extremely cautious of adding
ANY extensions; including the 10 foot pole that you now have. You don't want that thing piercing your roof if it comes down or somebody may get killed inside or outside your house.
You will need to call Telex/Hy-Gain if you want more information on wind survivability with icing conditions. Since they are a reputable company, they will probably tell you to
NOT use any kind of a mast above the tower top based on your location and projected maximum wind speeds. You'll have to see what they say. Also ask them what the maximum RF power handling is for that antenna. I suspect it will not be able to handle the Yaesu FT-101E's maximum power output...
As several of us said in the other thread of yours, we hope that you are
NOT going to transmit on the 11 Meter Band with your Yaesu FT-101E. If you do get your ham ticket, the ham antennas can handle much more input RF power than CB antennas. Also, you never did reply in the thread as to what was the outcome of your Yaesu FT-101E transmit testing once you got the tubes to glow. I helped you to test your rig and hoped that it would legally be operated on the ham bands once you became licensed.
Sorry for the long post but there were a lot of things to discuss. Antenna and towers are serious structures that need to be properly designed to make sure they don't fail in adverse weather. You also have the added complication that the CL2 Hy-Gain antenna was
NOT designed for the high power output of the Yaesu FT-101E. With that, I'll sit down and shut up and await your reply. I do hope that you will study for your ham license this winter because ham radio has sooooooo many advantages over CB radio.
73 from your American friend, Dave K4EET
