Old Radio Towers Archive

Last updated 2020-12-04


Various used towers are installed at amateur radio stations throughout South Africa. Often, when it is necessary to work on such towers, the documentation necessary to work safely on these towers is not available.

I therefore decided in 2020 to start compiling a repository of tower plans from various sources. The available information is listed below, by manufacturer.

In some cases, these sketches have been salvaged from old paper copies. The quality is therefore not always the greatest.

If you have other plans not included in this repository, or if you have better copies of these plans, please let me know. I am specifically interested in towers that are common in South Africa. You can find my email address on QRZ.com.

Warning! You use these specifications for any purpose entirely at your own risk!

I do not intend to infringe copyright. As far as I know, none of these products are in mainstream production.

HyGain

The HyGain brand has gone through several iterations. It started with Cornel-Dubilier Electronics rotators around the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of Telex in the 1980s and 1990s. It is now (as of 2020) in the MFJ stable. A few HyTower telescopic towers were imported into the country.

  • HyGain HG52 plans
  • HyGain HG54 plans
  • HyGain HG70 plans
  • HyGain HG70 plans

    Liftmaster

    Liftmaster never actively pursued the amateur market. A few of their tall towers landed in amateur hands as they were decommissioned from rural cellphone sites.

  • Foundation specifications for the 40 m freestanding tower
  • Assembly drawings for the 40 m freestanding tower

    Webb

    Webb Industries has gone from being a separate company to being part of the Leblanc group. As of 2020, it is a Jasco company. Their 450N (450 mm face) tower sections have been widely used in amateur installations.

  • Guyed 450N towers, from 12 to 36 m tall
  • Guyed 450N towers, from 12 to 36 m tall (hopefully better quality)
  • Guyed 450N towers, from 39 to 45 m tall
  • Webb catalogue, issue 2 (ca. 2010?)

    ZS/Comnitech/FASS

    The original ZS product line went through several incarnations, with the brand changing from ZS to Comnitech to FASS before eventually disappearing in the 2010s. Their towers have found their way into many amateur installations.

    Four ranges of tower sections were available. All came in 6 m lengths, and optionally in 3 m lengths:
  • Cosmic: 295 mm face, 38 mm legs, 8,8 kg/m
  • Galaxy: 487 mm face, 38 mm legs, 14,4 kg/m
  • Astral: 770 mm face, 38 mm legs, 17,2 kg/m
  • Lunar: 1050 mm face, 48 mm legs, 32,6 kg/m
  • Cosmic 12 to 18 m guyed
  • Galaxy 12 to 18 m unguyed, 18 m guyed
  • Galaxy 45 m guyed
  • Lunar 33 m guyed
  • Lunar 36 m base and guy schedule (hand-drawn)

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