Broadcast Terminology – Mast

I am familiar with the term tower when referring to that item that supports a broadcast antenna or, in the case of medium wave stations, serves as the antenna. I was perplexed when I ran across a reference to a 70 meter mast. I began to wonder if this mast was intended to support multiple antennas whether it might employ a yardarm. This was for use in a land-locked country at that. I guess that a candelabra would be just as peculiar a term to use when topping the tower with something to support a number of antennas. If something is melting and dripping from up there it represents a real problem.

The term mast brings to mind a tall cylinder or rod. That is not commonly used for something 70 meters tall. A 70 meter support is likely to be described with a dimension of its face. Here we have another term that seems a bit out of place. There is no personification going on here. I have never heard someone on a tower crew say that a certain tower presents a friendly face. It is all just vertical steel members. Members?

Maybe I just need to be less critical in my response to technical terms that are slightly skewed. Maybe a little more sleep would be appropriate. Sleep without dreams of Two Years Before the Mast.

 

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