The addition of a new metal roof to my home has prompted my interest in a
small rooftop tower. I am considering the Glen Martin Engineering 4.5-
and 8-foot aluminum towers. However, in doing some research on the
company, I have read many reviews (particularly on eHam.net) where people
brought up shoddy workmanship such as misdrilled holes, double-punched
slots, burrs, incorrect documentation, missing parts, etc. Many
complaints were about shipping too. However there also were several
people well-satisfied with their products.

Because of this, I decided to check with the Better Business Bureau of
Boonville, MO, where the company is located. They have a B+ rating, and
the judging criteria of the BBB tends to give the company an overly
positive rating in my opinion. Interestingly, SalaryList.com gives the
fall 2006 salaries of design engineers at Glen Martin to be $41K and that
of a project manager to be $32K. The average salary for the county at
that time was $26.4K. I consider these to be rather low. I have not
seen any ads by the company in QST recently either, and the League has
stringent standards for any company advertising in a League publication.

None of this gives me a "warm fuzzy feeling" about the company and its
products, but I am willing to keep an open mind. I would therefore
appreciate any readers of these newsgroups posting their experiences with
the company and its products.

My application, by the way, is to support a 43-foot vertical and small
Yagi's for 6- and 2-meter SSB.

--
73, Dr. Barry L. Ornitz WA4VZQ

Barry wrote:
The addition of a new metal roof to my home has prompted my interest in a
small rooftop tower. I am considering the Glen Martin Engineering 4.5-
and 8-foot aluminum towers. However, in doing some research on the
company, I have read many reviews (particularly on eHam.net) where people
brought up shoddy workmanship such as misdrilled holes, double-punched
slots, burrs, incorrect documentation, missing parts, etc. Many
complaints were about shipping too. However there also were several
people well-satisfied with their products.

Because of this, I decided to check with the Better Business Bureau of
Boonville, MO, where the company is located. They have a B+ rating, and
the judging criteria of the BBB tends to give the company an overly
positive rating in my opinion. Interestingly, SalaryList.com gives the
fall 2006 salaries of design engineers at Glen Martin to be $41K and that
of a project manager to be $32K. The average salary for the county at
that time was $26.4K. I consider these to be rather low. I have not
seen any ads by the company in QST recently either, and the League has
stringent standards for any company advertising in a League publication.

None of this gives me a "warm fuzzy feeling" about the company and its
products, but I am willing to keep an open mind. I would therefore
appreciate any readers of these newsgroups posting their experiences with
the company and its products.

My application, by the way, is to support a 43-foot vertical and small
Yagi's for 6- and 2-meter SSB.


http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmhard.htm

On Fri, 5 Nov 2010 23:31:58 -0400, "Barry" wrote:

The addition of a new metal roof to my home has prompted my interest in a
small rooftop tower. I am considering the Glen Martin Engineering 4.5-
and 8-foot aluminum towers. However, in doing some research on the
company, I have read many reviews (particularly on eHam.net) where people
brought up shoddy workmanship such as misdrilled holes, double-punched
slots, burrs, incorrect documentation, missing parts, etc. Many
complaints were about shipping too. However there also were several
people well-satisfied with their products.

Because of this, I decided to check with the Better Business Bureau of
Boonville, MO, where the company is located. They have a B+ rating, and
the judging criteria of the BBB tends to give the company an overly
positive rating in my opinion. Interestingly, SalaryList.com gives the
fall 2006 salaries of design engineers at Glen Martin to be $41K and that
of a project manager to be $32K. The average salary for the county at
that time was $26.4K. I consider these to be rather low. I have not
seen any ads by the company in QST recently either, and the League has
stringent standards for any company advertising in a League publication.

None of this gives me a "warm fuzzy feeling" about the company and its
products, but I am willing to keep an open mind. I would therefore
appreciate any readers of these newsgroups posting their experiences with
the company and its products.

My application, by the way, is to support a 43-foot vertical and small
Yagi's for 6- and 2-meter SSB.

I have not even seen any of their products but they have been around
for a while.

When you undertake a project like this it is important that you
consider your expectations. If you are unwilling to solve a few
problems as you go it would be best if you contracted with some one
else to get the job done.

Installing an off site fabrication seldom happens without a few
problems. If the manufacturer is willing to work with you it helps. If
not, you must be prepared to solve the problems on your own.

They have some products that are not available anywhere else. You may
be unable to realize your objectives without their products!

BTW, public figures are seldom reliable. There are a lot of business's
that are not run with simply a profit motive.


John Ferrell W8CCW

"dave" wrote in message
. ..

http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmhard.htm


This site is primarily chimney mounts and a few galvanized steel tripods.
The house does not have a chimney (after all, I live in SC), and a tower
with four legs is preferable to a tripod when roof-mounting an antenna at
the apex.

Barry WA4VZQ

"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...

I have not even seen any of their products but they have been around
for a while.

Yes, and their manufacturing problems have had ample time to be fixed by
now. The reported complaints seem to be evenly distributed over time
from the early days of the company to September of this year.

When you undertake a project like this it is important that you
consider your expectations. If you are unwilling to solve a few
problems as you go it would be best if you contracted with some one
else to get the job done.

These rooftop towers are trivial in design and construction. Rohn and
other tower companies seem to have no major complaints. Why should I
have to solve their manufacturing defects?

Installing an off site fabrication seldom happens without a few
problems. If the manufacturer is willing to work with you it helps. If
not, you must be prepared to solve the problems on your own.

In Glen Martin's favor, most reports say the company has been good in
supplying replacement parts. Better quality control would save their
company money over having to ship replacements.

They have some products that are not available anywhere else. You may
be unable to realize your objectives without their products!

Their rooftop towers are so simple to build, a local fabricator could
easily build one. Getting the 308 stainless hardware locally in small
quantities is a problem, but welded construction would eliminate the need
for most of this.

BTW, public figures are seldom reliable. There are a lot of business's
that are not run with simply a profit motive.

John Ferrell W8CCW

Glen Martin Engineering is a woman-owned company, and while I have known
many fine woman engineers and managers, this is typically done in small
businesses for the tax advantage (minority ownership). I seriously doubt
that they are not run for a profit!

73, Barry WA4VZQ

On Fri, 5 Nov 2010 23:31:58 -0400, "Barry" wrote:

The addition of a new metal roof to my home has prompted my interest in a
small rooftop tower.

...............

My application, by the way, is to support a 43-foot vertical and small
Yagi's for 6- and 2-meter SSB.

I have one Glen Martin product, a ground rod driver that is
beautifully made and very effective.

Otherwise on your roof mounts, it would seem the trickiest part would
be drilling blindly through your roof to attach the rather substantial
Glen Martin towers to attic beams. Plus whatever leaks the process
might create.

Bob
k5qwg

I guess I should chime in

I have the Glenn Martin 9ft Roof tower and Im extremely pleased with
it. Its very solid and I can stand on it and shake it and it doesn't
move (and I'm
a very heavy guy).

The assembly went well with only a few minor tweaks for holes. Not a
BIG ISSUE. I swear half the people that complain would rather have
tower
fairies show up and assemble them. If you dont want to do a little
work dont buy this tower.

The shipping was very fast to my northwest home and Yes they did make
an error. I bought the 9ft and they sent an 18ft. They told me I
could
keep the 18 ft as it was their mistake. But that would not have
worked at my QTH. So they sent UPS to pick up the very next day and I
received
the 9ft very rapidly as they Expedited it.

I have an A4S up there and its all solid.

as far as install

I set the tower on 2X4s on top of the roof under the tower feet,
predrilled for long lag bolts. I roof tared under the 2X6's and down
in the holes before
I Installed the tower. Under the Rafter I have 2 2X10s that are 10
feet long. The bolts come down through the 2X4s, the roof then down
through the
2X10s. Its all pulled snuggly up and that distributes the load over
the rafters.

Ive not seen any leaks yet in a year + its been up.


Count me as satisfied.

Scotty W7PSK.

In article ,
"Barry" wrote:

"dave" wrote in message
. ..

http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmhard.htm


This site is primarily chimney mounts and a few galvanized steel tripods.
The house does not have a chimney (after all, I live in SC), and a tower
with four legs is preferable to a tripod when roof-mounting an antenna at
the apex.

Barry WA4VZQ

that alot of posts regarding possibly not liking Glen Martin,

it's good to shop around and plenty of other companies

why not just check out one of the others? like rohn or the others
mentioned here?

even more choices via google