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Re: [TowerTalk] Tower winch failure

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower winch failure
From: "Al Williams" <alwilliams@olywa.net>
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 08:58:44 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
The holes in the k2550 mounting plate do not match the holes in the K1550 
mounting plate.  When I replaced a k1550 with a k2550 I had to ream out some 
(I forget how many) of the holes by up to about 3/8 inch.  That wasn't a big 
task.

What bad things are true of the Fulton 1550 winch?

 I believe that its braking system is similar to the Fulton 2550.  I 
replaced the k1550 with the k2550 because the k1550 being used in the 
tiltover portion of LM470 squealed so strongly that it was a wonder that 
neighbors didn't come running to complain. I calculated that because of 
weight and cable angles involved that the winch was being overloaded.  This 
occurred when tilting the tower back down using the initial sling setup i.e. 
not changing tower to tilt at the ears at the top of the tilt fixture.  The 
k2550 tilts the tower quietly.

What do you mean by "...puff, the Fullton 1550 winch broke."

On an earlier posting I reported that there is a free wheeling mode that the 
Fulton winch can get into.  This occurred to me with the k2550 when the 
crank arm started running away as I began tilting the tower from vertical 
down.  I grabbed the handle as it was spinning slowly and stopped it.  There 
appears to be a spring loaded "cocking" of the clutch that needs to be 
completed before the clutch is engaged.   I would appreciate if any 
towertalkers can explain how brake winches work.  I know that it is the 
clutch but it seems strange that a little dinky friction can withstand the 
force of the towers pull!

k7puc



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "KT2Q" <dxdx@optonline.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:02 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Tower winch failure


> All:
>
> Was cranking my US Tower HDX555 up after last
> nights ice storm when puff, the Fullton 1550 winch
> broke.
>
> I thought there would have been damage to the
> tower and antennas, but it came down much slower
> than I thought it would; guess it was probably due
> to the mechanical drag of the unwinding winch and
> caked ice and snow.
>
> The only thing I'm worried about now are those
> parts of the tower that stop the inner sections
> from slamming into the foundation. It landed in
> packed ice and snow at the base when it came down.
>
> Looks like all the bad things are true about the
> Fullton 1550 winch; anyone know if the 2550 is a
> direct bolt-on for the HDX series? Where can I get
> one?
>
> 73 Tony KT2Q
>
>
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>
>
>
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