Mobile pneumatic antenna tower? Also M561 Gama Goat and NV periscope.

From: Mark J. Blair, NF6X (nf6x@nf6x.net)
Date: Mon Nov 28 2005 - 19:09:54 PST


I've been keeping my eyes open for a military-surplus pneumatic
telescopic antenna tower/mast for a few years. I've seen one on the back
of a CUCV (if I recall correctly) at the Glendale swap meet before, but
I don't know who belongs to it.

There's a 35 foot AB-1292/AG on eBay right now, but I'm not sure if I
want to bid on it because it's on the opposite coast from me, and the
price is a bit higher than I feel like paying right now (particularly
when considering the cost of shipping). It's the only one I've seen for
sale since I started looking for one.

Do any of y'all have a comparable tower for sale or trade, located close
to southern California? I'd be looking for something in the 30-50 foot
range, in good working condition, that is self-supporting without guy
wires when mounted properly. I think that either a locking tower or one
which needs continuous pressure to stay up would work for me. I'd
generally use it to support a wire antenna, so rotatability isn't
necessary. Lowering by gravity should be fine; powered retraction
shouldn't been necessary for my application.

I'd almost exclusively use it at a fixed location at home (possibly
mounted to my new commo shelter if the tower wouldn't tip it over), but
I still like the portability of a pneumatic tower vs. a conventional
crank-up.

For those who are curious, here's the commo shelter that I just bought
which I plan to use as my primary radio room:

    http://www.nf6x.net/greenradio/s-448/s-448.html

If I had a suitable pneumatic tower, I might either mount it on the side
of the shelter or through the shelter's roof. I'd most likely only raise
it when operating and not raise it during windy conditions, and I'd keep
my 5-ton wrecker handy in case I underestimated the tipping force that
the tower would apply to the shelter. :-)

If somebody has one and might consider a trade, please take a look at my
trade list to see what I'm trying to get rid of and the other radio and
truck stuff that I'm looking for:

    http://www.nf6x.net/trade.html

I'm also selling a working second-generation night vision periscope on
eBay right now with a very low opening bid and no reserve. I would
consider canceling the listing to use it as trade fodder IF no bids have
been received; once the first bid is placed, I'll ride out the auction
to the end.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7200555920

I would also consider trading my 1970 M561 Gama Goat for a post-WW-II US
military Jeep or MUTT in comparable condition (i.e., running,
starts/drives/stops, only needing PMCS and minor repairs to be fully
road-worthy, mostly complete, not terribly thrashed, and not necessarily
very pretty!). I may also consider a cash offer.

    http://www.nf6x.net/greentruck/truck5/pics.html

I'm in Riverside, California (not too far from Los Angeles).

So, do any of y'all wanna trade toys? :-)

-- 
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x@nf6x.net>
Web page: http://www.nf6x.net/
GnuPG public key available from my web page.


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