http://www.kf7p.com/KF7P/SafetyStand.html
As someone else mentioned this would be the way to go for you to go in
future!
Chris/KF7P fabricates this safety stand, I have one and leave it up on the
tower, it works very well. See link above.
Mike/K6BR
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom H
Childers
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 1:21 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Crankup Danger
My experience with crank-up towers:
At around the first of July I went to another ham's home to help him with
some antenna work on his 40 ft crank-up, which was cranked down to 20 ft.
I belted up around the outside-side of the tower with a waist belt harness.
With the tower being difficult to climb due to very little to stand on, I
made it up to height where the top of my head was even with the top of the
tower. As I tried to get a footing to get my head above the top of the
tower both of my feet slipped from the toe-hold I had.
I slid down the face of the tower with the rope holding me against the
tower, landed on a seven foot step ladder with my but, bounced off of that
and landed at the base of the tower standing up.
I was not seriously injured, but had a lot of scratches and cuts caused by
my chest, elbows, hands and one knee (the leg that slipped
first) contacting the tower on the way down . If I had been leaning forward
with my head over the top of the tower, the fall would have probably
beheaded me or broken my neck.
I will go back and finish the job when the WX here gets cooler, but this
time I will take a 23 foot ladder with me and tie it to the tower on the way
up.
The moral of the story is: Never try to climb a nested crank-up if you can't
get the arch of your foot on a cross piece, and preferably climb it with a
ladder that reaches the top of the lower section. If you can't get a good
foothold, raise the tower until you can and then block the tower from moving
down with something that can't be smashed by the tower. If I ever have to
block a tower from sliding down I WILL use a 4x4 to do it.
By the way, the gentleman I was helping said that he didn't know there were
that many cuss words in the entire English language.
73,
Tom
Amateur Radio Operator N5GE
Licensed since 1976
ARRL Lifetime Member
QCWA Lifetime Member
On Thu, 1 Aug 2013 12:10:50 -0700, "Dick Dievendorff"
<dieven@comcast.net> wrote:
>When I had a crankup, "lowered" was still supported by the same single
>steel cable as when all the way up, at least for my US Towers 89 footer.
>
>Bringing it down was to a point where a limit switch stopped the motor.
>But it was not "bottomed out" when fully nested. This is good, because
>the tension on the steel cable wasn't changing dramatically in the
>fully retracted position.
>
>If the steel cable should part or slip significantly with your fingers
>or toes between sections, the result could be injurious. Many suggest
>blocking the thing off with big wood or metal pieces inserted between
>sections, and usually we don't test the ability of the blocks to
>support the load without slip. It could be risky taking the tension
>off the cable and then apply tension again it when your task is
>complete. I'm not sure I'd trust a relatively untested block any more than
the steel cable.
>
>I confess that I didn't usually bother, but I was always uncomfortable
>climbing my nested crankup and felt much better when I was standing at
>the top of the 20' or so nested tower. If you try to climb with your toes
just
>touching the outer section, it's not often enough "grip". I guess I could
>have leaned a tall ladder against it and climbed that, it might have
>been safer.
>
>I feel much more comfortable climbing my newer guyed Rohn 55, even
>though I'm climbing much higher. I've also learned the joys of "full
>body arrest harness" rather than the old single Klein belt with one
>belt that I used to climb with. It's slower and more fatiguing to
>constantly clip and unclip the two shock lanyards as I climb and
>descend. But I'm now always tied off, which reduces my chance of a
>fall should I make a mistake or I suddenly lose function.
>
>Tower climbing is hazardous. You make various choices to reduce risk.
>Appropriate fall arrest gear is one choice, guyed versus crankup is
another.
>
>73 de Dick, K6KR
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
>Patrick Greenlee
>Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 11:45 AM
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Crankup Danger
>
>Wouldn't you ordinarily lower a crank-up tower before climbing? If it
>were a tilt over as well wouldn't you tilt it over instead of climbing it?
>
>Patrick AF5CK
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Wilson
>Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 1:22 PM
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: [TowerTalk] Crankup Danger
>
>Well, if the tower should telescope while you are on it, the shearing
>off of fingers and the front of your feet might be considered an
>undesirable possibility.
>If you are on an upper section when the collapse occurs, you might get
>by with just some foot damage and being thrown to the ground as the
>section you are on drops into the next one down...
>Your plan is much like the old EZWay towers. There's a book for the two
>section 40 footer on BAMA. http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/ezway/rbs40
>WL
>
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