Question for the HAMs about a mast - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2014, 08:47:49 pm
content: Can you tell by looking anything about this mast? It's in the yard of a house a co-worker is thinking of buying.Her husband has a license but is vision impaired and can't see enough details to tell what it might be set up for.I was able to google the address and find info about the person who lived there. I won't post his callsign, but this was what I found on the about informationQuote

author: hammy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 09, 2014, 09:24:05 pm
content: The Beam is for 20, 17, 15, 10 (?) meters. But: The beam is broken, there is an vertical element, on the right site, missing.On top is a 2m antenna.There is an wire-antenna, a dipole (80m, 40m, 20m(?)) on half high. On the picture it is crossing behind the chimney.There is also a rotator.I don't know the brand of this beam.HTH

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2014, 09:27:51 pm
content: The tower is a Rohn 20 or 25, can't tell from looking. The 25 has 12" step spacing and the 20 has an 18" IIRC.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2014, 10:54:42 pm
content: Some further googling of the person who lived there has shown he passed away about a year or two ago. So likely the widow or family has not bothered to keep up repairs on the mast.I told her if this ends up being an estate sale perhaps the family would be interested in selling his equipment as well if they still have it.

author: Flump
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2014, 10:54:54 pm
content: there is a small vertical beam at the top of the tower, probly for vhf (2M)

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2014, 01:37:18 am
content: Thanks for the responses. She read all this to him and he understood all of it.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2014, 01:43:55 am
content: You can see where three guy wires meet up high but lower down I think that's a wire antenna going off to the right, not a guy wire, I see insulators. It's prolly a dipole.

author: Radio Tech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2014, 11:08:42 am
content: The beam antenna is a butterNut. Just which model I am not sure. Maybe a HF5B. If you can get a high quality picture of it might can tell better. These are decent 10-15-20 compact beam atennas and mostly can work 12 and 17 meters with them. I have one on top of my shop for testing folks radios I repair. The antenna you posted is missing parts. Should look like 2 "bowties" but an element and the wire is missing.

author: BalticLab
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2014, 06:21:25 pm
content: Quote from: Stonent on January 09, 2014, 10:54:42 pmSometimes, if you contact the family of a Silent Key, you get lucky and get things for free. For instance, if the new owners don't want a tower in their back-yard and just want it gone. I got most my equipment back when I was 14 - 15 from Silent Keys that I couldn't have otherwise afforded.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2014, 06:36:14 pm
content: Quote from: Radio Tech on January 11, 2014, 11:08:42 amThat's the best picture we could find on google maps, she haven't been to the house yet, but were going off of pictures posted on a real estate site.