WBZ/Westinghouse/Springfield, MA

[Sid Schweiger]

>>WBZ's towers in Hull are 185.5 degrees tall. If my math is correct,
that comes out to 492' or almost exactly 500m. I have no idea of the
face dimension, but the towers appear to be triangular in cross
section and quite slender relative to their height. From the photo, it
appears that the towers are guyed at approximately 175' and 350' above
ground. That leaves ~140' at the top unguyed. Is that approximately
correct? And if so, isn't that a very great length of a slender
uniform cross-section tower to be left to support itself--especially
given the high wind loads one would expect in the unsheltered seaside
location? I was surprised to see only two sets of guys on such tall
and slender towers and even more surprised that the higher
guy-attachment points are so far from the top. Is there somebody
reading this with enough structural-engineering savvy to comment?<<

Scott Fybush's shot of the towers is much more detailed.  See it here:  http://pcswithease.com/WBZ/wbz_transmitter_site.html  Five guy levels, with what appears to be only the top 20 feet or so unguyed.

The FCC database says they're 188.5 degrees, not 185.5.


Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom New England
WAAF/WEEI/WEEI-FM/WKAF
WMKK/WRKO/WVEI/WVEI-FM
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Brighton MA  02135-2040
P: 617-779-5369
F: 617-779-5379
E: sid@wrko.com