My LM-470D cable broke last December. Fortunately, it was covered by my
insurance company (Allied Insurance Group). The cable was obviously old and
showed signs of corrosion. The adjuster came out and looked at it and told me
they would pay for everything except the equivalent cost of the cable (about
$50 in cable by the foot). My new LM-470E is on the way in the next month or
so.
While investigating my alternatives, I spoke extensively with Ron Blackburn
of Tri-Ex. He was very helpful and informative, though he very zealously
refused to make any sort of product comparisons with any other manufacturer's
products. We talked a lot about the cable! He told me that they use 3/16"
galvanized because it has a higher strength rating than the equivalent size
stainless cable (4200# b.s. and 1400# working load for the galvanized vs
something like 3600# for the stainless - my memory may no t be precise on the
3600 number, but it is close). I also asked him about 1/4" and he said
sometimes people will special order it, but he does not recommend it since
sometimes there are clearance problems with it (between sections) and it will
rub on the cross-members. I decided to stick with "stock" and to do a careful
inspection of the cable annually.
Good luck!
Mike K7NT
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