What changed
Towers, masts and rotators — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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Height is the most valuable thing you can give an HF or VHF antenna, and the most dangerous thing you
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can install. Everything on this page assumes you would rather over-engineer than do it twice.
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## Choosing a support
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- **Trees and existing structures.** Free, and adequate for wire antennas. Use a rope and a pulley
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with a counterweight so the tree can move without breaking your antenna.
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- **Push-up and telescoping masts.** Fiberglass or aluminum, 20–40 feet, guyed at one or two levels.
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The right answer for portable operating and for light VHF antennas.
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- **Guyed lattice tower.** The most height per dollar, but it needs a base and three guy anchors in
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concrete, and land in three directions.
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- **Freestanding / self-supporting tower.** No guys, much heavier steel and a much larger foundation.
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Rated by wind load and antenna area — a figure to respect, not round up.
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- **Crank-up towers.** Convenient and expensive; never climb one that is not nested and never trust
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the cable alone.
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- **Roof and chimney mounts.** Fine for a small VHF antenna, not for a beam. A chimney is a
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structure for carrying smoke, not torque.
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## Permits, covenants and PRB-1
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Most towers need a building permit, a wind-load calculation and sometimes a setback variance. Get the
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permit: an unpermitted tower becomes the neighbor's argument.
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Deed restrictions are a separate matter from zoning. The FCC's limited preemption for amateur
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antennas (commonly called PRB-1) requires local *governments* to reasonably accommodate amateur
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communications rather than banning antennas outright; it has never applied to private covenants
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between a homeowner and an association. If a homeowners' association governs your lot, see
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[HOA and stealth antennas](/wiki/station/antennas/hoa-and-stealth).
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## Rotators and hardware
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- Rate the rotator by the antenna's **wind surface area and turning radius**, not just its weight,
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and derate for a stack.
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- Use a **thrust bearing** above the rotator so the rotator carries torque, not the load.
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- Use a **mast of the right material** — thick-wall chromoly, not thin water pipe.
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- Leave a **rotator loop** in the coax and control cable, secured above and below, and tape
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connectors against water.
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- Every bolt gets a lock nut or lock washer. Ice, wind and thermal cycling loosen everything else.
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## Climbing safety
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- **Never climb alone**, never climb without a full-body harness with two positioning lanyards, and
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never trust a tower you did not inspect from the ground first.
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- Assume any wire you did not install is **energized**, and keep the whole assembly — including its
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fall path in every direction — clear of utility lines.
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- Do not climb a tower carrying an antenna. Haul it up with a rope and a tag line.
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- Rusted legs, cracked welds, missing guy grips and a base that has heaved are stop-work findings.
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- If the job is beyond you, hire a professional tower crew or ask around your club; experienced
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climbers are a common club resource, and they will bring gear you do not have.
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## Grounding
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Bond the tower legs to ground rods at the base and bring the feedline through a single-point entry
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panel with surge protectors. A tower is the tallest metal object on the property, and it will be
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struck eventually — see [grounding, bonding and lightning](/wiki/station/grounding-and-lightning).