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| Reviews Summary for Force-12 LPT-1242 Low Profile Tower |
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Reviews: 9
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Average rating: 4.9/5
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MSRP: $1,195 plus $150 for crate plus s
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Description: Force-12 produces three towers in the LPT series. These are telescoping aluminum towers made from structural grade square aluminum tubing. The LPT-1242 is the largest of the three, extending to 42 ft.
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More info: http://www.force12inc.com/
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write your own review of the Force-12 LPT-1242 Low Profile Tower.
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WN7L
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 14, 2008 07:44
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Can't beat it for HOA acceptance
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This tower (LPT-1242) is definitely the low profile tower of choice. I live in a newer development with minimal restrictions on ham antenna installations. However, there are limitations on stowing the mechanical crank-up when not being used (when is that?). The tower-antenna should be cranked down and nondescript from the street. Well the LPT-1242 is an excellent candidate. When it is nested it fits perfectly in the valley between my garage and house and you have to crane your neck to see it from the street. I had mine powder-coated (desert sand) and the close neighbors have been very complementary of it's appearance. The tower is a brute and very nicely constructed. I opted for the cable managements "eyes" which I feel are a must. Also I mounted mine on a tilt-over base built by Force 12. I think one could use it on the Statue of Liberty! The tower is built to last longer than this ham. I have mine bracketed to the garage and secured to an approximate 1000 pound reinforced concrete support. Can't imagine it will do any moving in the weather. It supports a Cushcraft MA5B Mini-beam and an Arrow "J" pole on top of the mast. I am convinced the tower doesn't know it's holding up this antenna so I feel it could do much more. I have chosen a Yaesu G-450A as the rotor and so far so good. This is a fine antenna support where performance and appearance are important.
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K7UA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 25, 2008 14:02
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Fine piece of equipment
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my LPT1242 up for about two years with a SteppIR 2 El Yagi on top. I poured a concrete base as recommended and fashioned a house bracket. I also elected for the green powder coat finish. The whole thing tucks neatly just above my rain gutter on the back of the house. I was expecting some neighbor trouble with an antenna. That is why I carefully chose this setup. No problems. I can put a ladder up to my house eaves and stand on the roof to work on the antenna. Very slick. I put it up all by myself including walking it vertical. It would have been better to have had two people for that step. I just upgraded my antenna to the SteppIR 3 El Yagi. That is about max for the tower's wind load. I am very pleased with the LPT. I highly recommend it for anyone in a situation similar to mine.
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KD7YNN
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 1, 2006 16:21
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Well made product
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I did some serious tower research, requested a lot of quotes, looked at several units, before electing to purchase the LPT-1242. Mine has an additional 6 foot stub mast or stinger attached to the top, for an overall height of 48 feet.
I elected to drive to Paso Robles and pick my tower out, check out the factory, even though it was 1200 mile round trip. Since the unit I ordered had already been started, it was ready in less than one week.
I'm recently retired from 26 years in the marine aluminum fabrication industry, so I knew what I wanted to see in the components, including stainless hardware, 6000 series ectrusions, and qualitry welding, and the Force 12 unit had them all.
Unit weighs about 140 pounds. I poured a 1,000 pound cement base, adjacent to a storage building, with lots of rebar, and special masonry bolts, with the locations templated to match the base. I was able to raise the unit upright single-handedly, although I'd recommend a helper, as a safety measure. Mine is attached the building at about the 10' level, plus it is guyed at the 14' level.
Once installed, it powers up in about 1 minute using a power drill, and believe me, it draws a crowd in the process.
To date, I've installed a Comet CHA-250B vertical, (23'), plus 2M, 6M and 440 MHZ antennas at the 40' mark, plus I have a longwire attached to it, via pulley. Will have a beam up there shortly.
I live on the Oregon Coast, and have programmed my wind gauge to sound an alarm at 30 MPH, so I can go outside, and see what (if anything) is happening to the tower.
PROS:
Exceptional quality construction and welding, in a relatively lightweight, but extremely strong design.
The square tubular design nests nicely, and all sections telescope at the same time, for a more rigid unit.
Neighbors are not unhappy with the look of the unit, and like it better than the previous towers and telescoping masts I was using.
CONS:
I wish I had requested that the winch be located at a specific height from the ground, so as to be in a more comfortable position. Since raising or lowering is accomplished in about 1 minute, this is no big deal, and it is my oversight.
Suggestions:
Order the unit with the coax standoffs, or you'll want to fabricate your own.
While I did not request much in the way of technical help, prior to purchase, my e-mailed questions were answered promptly. Michelle and Susie were very helpful, as were the "crew".
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K6USN
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 16, 2006 21:11
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Still going strong!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Third year with this tower. Cranks up and down with a smooth reduction gear, and performs flawlessly in heat, cold, wind and rain. Radios come and go, as do antennas. This tower is a keeper.
The low profile tower (powder coated green) keeps my ham radio activities alive and well in a deed restricted California neighborhood. I nest it on the roof when not using the radio, and crank it up for operation. It holds a Mosley tribander with
minimum guying. (two guys to the eaves of the house and four bolts into a 3 inch concrete patio deck).
Expensive, but worth every dollar if you are looking for quality, appearance and ease of operation.
Liked it when I brought it home, and love it even more now.
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W7PTT
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 6, 2006 10:39
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Excellent Tower
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I am very pleased with my Force 12 LPT-142 tower. The best thing about it is that it does not look like a typical ham radio tower. I am sure if I had put up a lattice type tower, I would have gotten complaints.
Cranking the tower up and down is easy with a cordlesss drill motor. I have a Traffie 5 Band Hexbeam Antenna Mounted on it.
73
Bill
W7PTT
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K3YF
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 26, 2005 17:08
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Easy up and down
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I live on a cliff overlooking the Oregon coast. The salt air and the winter storms take a toll. I lost an AB-577 mast in a 70 mph storm. The AB-577 was easy to take down if you only did it a few times a year otherwise it was an ordeal and the joints were corroding together.
I looked at all the options and the LPT-1242 seemed the best and priced right. I had them add a 10' section so technically it is a LPT-1252.
To raise this by hand crank would not be fun. They have it rigged to also go up and down with a hand drill, although I needed one with 7+ amps. If you go too fast you can smoke the winch. Even so, going slowly it only takes a few minutes. You do need to keep oiling it.
I installed it on a concrete slab and cemented the bolts in so technically it is still portable to my county planning office and if you keep it to its 14' nesting height nobody gets upset.
Nothing is corroding so far and it would of been by now. There is rust on the barrel of the winch which is disappointing but none on the cabeling so far.
The big negative is what everybody knows about Force-12: They do not keep their delivery promises and I had to keep calling. Tom initially said 2-3 weeks. It was three months. It may have still been sitting there crated and ready to go if I had not lucked on to talking with the warehouse manager who was suppposed to be somewhere else at the time, but she took pity and found the mast sitting in a corner gathering dust and it was delivered shortly after that. She actually sounded exasperated and upset that this was happening. I hope they keep her. It is for her I still give the LPT-1242(52)a 5 and not a 3 or 4 because of their customer support. It is a great tower.
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KF6IKC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 12, 2004 17:29
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Great for small yards,portable,etc.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Well after moving to a house in the "burbs" I was confronted with the issue of trying to get a station on the air. I have a very large back yard with big oak trees but not very good access. I could not get a boom lift or crane in there. After doing a search for towers on the net,I came across the LPT-1242. It seemed like it could work for my needs. After 4-5 calls to Force 12 I placed my order. It only took 3-4 weeks to receive the tower. It is very light weight.....the truck driver and myself moved it from the truck to my back yard. I opted for the rigid guy kit with my tower. I have a stucco house and did not want to drill into it. I was able to move,install,and raise the tower by myself. But it would be alot easyer for two guys to do it. It took about 7 days for me to dig the footing,pour the cement,and install the tower on the 7th day. I bought a 16' orchard latter that allows me to get to the top of the tower and rotor. I am using a Yaesu "800" rotor. The ant. is a mono band 26' boom 5 ele. 10m ant. Again I was able the walk the ant. up the latter and install it myself. Likewise it is very easy to work on the ant.,set SWR's,etc. with the ladder and the tower nested. I made some hangers on the bottom of the rotor plate and use them for my 75,40,and 20m. inverted V's. I am very pleased with the tower. It raises and lowers very easily with a cordless drill. With it down It is behind my house and trees so it is hard to see. This is a great tower for hard to get to places,portable use,or someone who just does not want to go through to much to get their ant. in the air. Force 12 makes a lot of options for there LPT towers. Check them out befor you decide to buy a tower.
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K6USN
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 29, 2003 16:29
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LPT Tower is answer to my stealth beam' needs
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I live in a 'deed restricted' neighborhood (sadly, such CC&R's are standard contract boilerplate in nearly all new housing developments in California).
I got by with a Cushcraft vertical for years but wanted more. (I even got myself elected Pres of the Homeowner's Assn, as a sneaky way of of adding a codicil to the CC&R's) I had to kiss a lot of babies, but it was worth it.
Enter the FORCE 12.
While drooling over the FORCE 12 antenna catalog one rainy weekend, I discovered that they make portable crank up towers as well. A quick trip to the website showed each model in detail.
A plan formed. I measured and plotted my new antenna farm. Criteria - something safe, well built, and stealthy. Above all, stealthy.
I elected the LPT 827 which extends to about 28'.
It comes in standard aluminum, but I opted for a
green powdercoating to match the oaktrees behind my home. Well worth the extra cost in my case.
I ordered by phone and waited while they built my tower and had it powder coated - about 7 weeks.
Since I live in California, I elected to drive to the FORCE 12 factory in Paso Robles and pick it up. At the same time I got a nice tour of the modern and efficient FORCE 12 factory and met the
President and staff.
The tower fit nicely in the back of a rental van, and weighed just a bit over 100 lbs. Cranked down, it is about 8'. It could pass for a tall tetherball post. Well, almost.
FORCE 12 includes some heavy duty aluminum brackets for a wall brace, but I elected to mount mine on a pre existing concrete patio slab and secure it to the house with some turnbuckles and
ss guy wire. Total time to install: about 2 hours.
(No more 10 ft holes and tons of cement and bending rebar.....)
Do I like it? I love it! Cranks down and nests
my Mosley TA 32M (also painted green) below my roofline and behind my chimmney, and its all but invisible.
The 40:1 gear ratio for the hand crank (you can retrofit it to crank with a power drill) takes me about 3 breathless minutes from nested to full height. When I am in a DX frenzy, I can do it even faster. I have a right arm like Popyeye's now.
I HIGHLY recommend this tower. It is ultra compact, light weight, very well made, and easy to
put up just about anywhere.
Goodbye rusty tower fittings and swinging from my swap meet bargain 'safety' harness! This is by far the way to go!
Allen
K6USN/VK4DSN
Chico, CA
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ND4AA
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 23, 2001 17:21
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An excellent tower for portable operations.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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The LPT-1242 consists of four telescoping 12-ft. square aluminum sections that extend from approximately 13 ft. to 42 ft. (2 ft. minimum overlap between sections). The tower is raised and lowered using an included worm-gear operated winch. Your cordless drill (minimum 0.5 in. chuck) can be used in place of the included hand-crank. A mounting bracket (removable) drilled for common rotor bolt patterns is supplied. The tower is not free-standing and must be either guyed (guys not included) or bracketed to an existing structure (bracketing hardware is included).
Unless you can pick up the tower at Force-12's CA location, there is a charge of $150 for a custom-made crate (plus shipping).
The LPT-1242 is an excellent choice for portable operations. It is a good choice for fixed installations where minimum visual impact is desired. My installation was the latter. Prospective owners should be aware of the LPT-1242's advantages and disadvantages.
ADVANTAGES.
1. The tower is light weight. Two men can carry it.
2. The tower telescopes to approximately 13 ft. (not including rotor, stub mast and antenna). When retracted, my antenna is below my roof line and invisible from the street.
3. Because of its solid-tubing construction, the tower looks neat and "not like a tower" to neighbors.
DISADVANTAGES
1. There is no positive pull-down. Only gravity helps when lowering the tower. This can be a problem on a windy day when the sections tend to bind and not slide freely.
2. When extended, the weight of the load and the upper three sections is on the cables at all times.
3. If a cable breaks, it is necessary to dismantle the tower to effect a replacement. There is no access to the internal mechanism without dismantling the tower. This is awkward for permanent installations.
4. Documentation is very skimpy. There is no parts list. The "manual" consists of three pages of diagrams. If you've never installed a tower before, you might have problems doing so with the meager info supplied.
The rotor mounts to the tower using the supplied mounting plate. Because no thrust bearing can be used on this type of installation, the antenna must be mounted as close as possible to the top of the rotor using a stub-mast (not supplied). Users should resist the impulse to get "just a few more feet" of height by using more than a stub mast. (Mine is just long enough to fit in the rotor bracket and provide enough space for the boom-to-mast bracket.)
When extended, the tower flexes and twists somewhat in the wind. This is unavoidable since some clearance between sections is required.
There is no provision for cable management. Rotor and signal cables simply dangle in the wind. I fabricated some simple cable management brackets that attach to the tops of the bottom three sections.
I feel that this tower series was designed primarily with portable operation in mind. As such, it is an excellent choice. For a permanent installation such as mine, the tower is a good choice providing the user knows its limitations. I needed a neighbor-friendly tower that was corrosion-resistant (I live near the sea). The LPT-1242 does the job.
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