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write your own review of the Heights.
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WA9ENA
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 13, 2004 14:45
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Brings the skyhooks to you in grand style
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Heights makes many models of towers. My new one is the FOK-72-31-80, which means it is 72 feet high and is rated to carry 31 sq. ft. of load at 80 mph wind speed. It is FULLY self-supporting, and the "FOK" suffix means that this tower has the Fold Over Kit on it. The FOK, along with the 4 ft. base section, brings total tower height to 77 feet. Due to tower size, the FOK is motor-driven by a 1/2 horse gear motor with 80:1 reduction. The unit is rated to handle the tower while carrying 300 lbs. of load at the top.
First, why this tower? Simple, really: I am a VHF/UHF fan and investigated the GME Hazer system as an alternative at much less cost. (Due to arthritis in my ankles, climbing is out.) The Hazer's spacing with respect to the tower would have caused me to re-design my main 2m beams used for weak signal (horizontal polarity) in order to avoid crashing elements into the tower. Also, the fact that the coax must travel up and down with the Hazer makes it not well suited to use of hard line coax. So, by installing all cables inside the tower and securing them, this tower brings all antennas and related hardware down to me whenever I so want. The average distance above ground when I have the tower laid over is 4 to 5 feet, which is just right for most of my antennas.
The tower itself is a brute - 35 inches across at the base, tapering in steps to 14 inches at the top. I ordered the full FOK, motor system, rebar cage for the concrete base, and grounding kit. Heights provided drawings that enabled me to get quotes from the concrete contractor and provide proper installation of the very large base bolts. Their inclusion of a template set for setting the bolts within the rebar cage speeds the installation and assures proper alingment. The hole for the base was dug to about 8.5 feet, keeping the sides straight, and we used just under 8 yards of 3000 psi concrete to fill the hole. Look at the wind load numbers on the Heights web site and you'll see why you need some real beef in the base.
The info packet from Heights lists tools you will need to assemble the tower. Be SURE you have the drift pin. The holes are drilled with high precision, and you will need that pin to "pull" sections into alignment so you can insert the stainless steel bolts. Be sure to lube the mating surfaces with an anti-sieze compound. Yes, assembly is done with the tower horizontal.
The fit on this thing is amazing. The entire tower pivots over on two 1" dia. Grade 8 steel bolts, with an acme rod being driven by the motor controlling the drop or lift. A third bolt locks the tower when it is fully upright, and everything glides into alignment perfectly each time I have raised it.
My summary thus far: I have a "tree" of VHF/UHF antennas that are mounted to a 20 foot high strength, thick wall alloy mast. Five feet of the mast are inside the tower and attach to the Yaesu G1000-DXA rotator. The other 15 feet protrude above the Rohn TB-3 thrust bearing that is up on the bearing plate. I estimate my present set of antennas at a total of only about 10 sq. ft., so I have a lot of expansion capability. I estimate the weight of the rotor, top coax, mast, and antennas to be around 60 to 80 pounds, so there is room there, as well. I like to experiment, and I also know that I'll be mounting more antennas next Spring on side arms near the top.
This is an aluminum alloy tower. It will swing and sway in the wind. It just got hit with sustained 50 to 60 mph winds yesterday (12-12) at our Iowa QTH. It wiggled a lot, but it's all there! The welded Z-braces make for a very strong structure.
A word about grounding: Heights supplied 3 very hefty 10 foot by 5/8" dia. rods, one per tower leg, plus 3 pre-cut grounding lead jumpers and a set of stainless steel grounding clips on the tower base. This is the correct way to go. Given the all-aluminum tower, the SS clips nicely interface the ground leads to the tower structure. Despite their size, I was able to pound in the large rods manually, using a post pounder tool.
So, what didn't I like. Just two things: if you look at my previous review of Heights, you'll see that delivery for those parts was very slow. Drake Dimitri and his crew got most of this tower ready to ship in about 4 weeks, but then he ran into a materials problem for some of the alloy rod used for the Z-braces. That took awhile. So, delivery was a bit slower than planned, but Drake did keep me informed of the problem. The other issue has to do with lubrication. The info packet was quite clear about lubricating the acme rod that carries all of the stress when lowering or raising, and Heights supplied the recommended lubricant. What they didn't provide was clear details about lubrication of other parts. I exchanged some e-mail with Mr. Dimitri about that and he agreed with my comments.
This tower does all that I expected, and does it well. It is pricey, but you get value for the price and that's what it's all about. This type of tower is not for everyone, but I do highly recommend it for those who can not climb and who work the upper bands, where you will use hardline. You would also save on cost if you do not need the motor drive, but the 72 foot tower requires it. I needed the height so that some nearby hills could be cleared for true "line-of-sight" communications.
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K8DH
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 24, 2004 12:15
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Great Tower, Outstanding Factory Support
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had a Heights 48' tower I've been very happy with since 1978. When I moved, I took it with me. Recently I decided to put it up at my new QTH in Virginia and equip it with a screw operated hinge base.
I also decided to increase the tower's height by 16' with two new lower sections. Mr. Drake Dimitry of Heights Tower Systems expressed some reservations, but I was not loading the tower to its former 11 sq. ft. rating, so I proceeded with the 22" screw operated hinge base and the 4' stand.
The 4' stand is built like a tank. I think I could support my car on it. Being aluminum, I can also carry it around by myself.
After digging a somewhat larger hole than required, and filling it with 9 1/2 tons of concrete around the anchor rods, I proceeded to
attach the now 68' stand, tower, rotor, and 4 el 5 band Cubex quad, rated at 7.0 sq. ft. There was also a 2m Ringo Ranger, 440 Ringo Ranger, and a center support for a dipole, still not approaching the 11 sq. ft. former rating of my 48' tower.
I ran into a problem raising this assembly from the horizontal. The screw operated hinge base mechanism, as well as the 1st section of the tower, bent. I called Drake and explained what happened. After sending pictures and exchanging a few e-mails, he agreed that Heights Tower Systems would fix this under warranty, in spite of the experimental nature of the 22" tower.
Early in December 2003, I drove the bent hinge and lower tower section down to the Heights Tower Systems factory in Pensacola, Fl, intending to drop it off, and pick it up on a subsequent vacation to the area just after Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised to have the hinge and tower section repaired on the spot and ready the following day. I drove it back and have since put it up, with 2 of the tower's 8' sections removed to yield a 52' tower (6 8' sections plus the 4' stand).
I intend to put the 2 tower sections back in later this year, after I build a counterbalance system to take the stress off the screw operated hinge base. These SOHBs are pretty strong, but if you are approaching 140 ft. lbs. of torque on the screw for a 22" hinge, then reconsider your configuration, because this mechanism will bend. And yes, 140 ft. lbs. to raise the tower is an "Eat your Wheaties" situation, and will take you about 30 - 45 minutes of cranking.
In short, I can highly recommend Heights Towers for their strong towers, durability (my original 48' tower sections are over 25 yrs old now), and outstanding factory support.
Dave Head
K8DH
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WA9ENA
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 12, 2002 13:29
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Great support on old products, but slow going.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have a older (exact age unknown) Heights tower purchased at an SK sale. The tubing used for the legs of all sections is smaller in diameter than present production. I needed hinge base, thrust bearing plate, and rotator mounting shelf in order to make this tower useful. Heights supplied all of the correct parts, with reducing sleeves where needed, at no extra cost over the standard product. I also ordered a pre-formed re-bar cage for the tower size required. While a bit pricey, it saved me a lot of trouble when setting the hinge over base.
The down sides are: 1) slow delivery. I ordered in Sept.01, got product in Jan.02. 2) Shipping weight was clearly excessively listed on Bill of Lading, resulting in higher trucking costs. I had several people on hand to help unload what was stated to be well over 300 pounds of materials, but which really did not exceed 200 pounds. 3) While everything was sturdy and well-constructed, the thrust bearing plate and rotator plate were very rough cut on the edges and one bearing bolt hole was not in correct alignment. Filing corrected these issues.
Tech support was excellent and I will order from them again. However, the long delivery delay was unexpected, as I had been quoted 6 weeks when I ordered.
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K1JN
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2000 23:19
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I'm a believer...
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Time owned: unknown months
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I put up a used 72' Heights aluminum freestanding tower 18 months ago and have had no problems with it. It has the fold over hinge at the 16' level and is operated from ground level. I have lowered and raised the tower twice by myself. This tower is a great option if you don't want or can't have guys. You can see pictures of my tower project at www.99main.com/~k1jn/tower.htm
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W3VUH
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2000 15:31
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Very nice tilt-over tower, easy to operate.
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Time owned: unknown months
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I purchased a used Heights fixed 48-foot, 15 sq ft. rated, self-supporting tower from a local ham. I then ordered the 4-ft. tilt-over stand from Heights with the screw operated tilt-over feature. Installation of the base and tower was routine. The tower tilts to the horizontal position(or below), and will remain, unsupported in any position between the vertical and the horizontal, which allows working on the antenna in any position you like. A 1/2 inch drive ratchet wrench is all that is needed to raise and lower the tower. An electrically operated drive is also available. I'm very pleased with this tower.
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