I have watched US Coast Guard civil engineers climb an 1850' Loran C tower,
hot, and swing by a lanyard from leg to leg on their way down, examining the
tower's structural integrity.
Those guys had guts and were in terrific shape, I just sat in the Ops room
and watched :>).
Jumping on a 'hot' tower, with 2 megawatts of pulse feeding it, was more
than I would like to try, but we didn't want any service down-time on the
North Atlantic.
Great guys who sure knew what they were doing.
73, Carl VE9OV
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Jarvis" <jimjarvis@comcast.net>
To: "Towertalk" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 3:05 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] risky business
>
> Back in my broadcast days, I regularly climbed 190' sticks
> to change out lightbulbs. It was work, but they were solid
> as rocks.
>
> The scariest moment? Helping K2BMI put up 100' of rohn 25.
>
> We'd get 3 sections up, above the guyset, and then have to
> attach the next guys. That stuff is elastic as all get-out,
> and with two 150 lb kids on it, I found it scary as hell.
> That load is outside the spec-envelope.
>
> Only time that was worse, I was taking down a 100' rohn 25 stick
> in the poconos, at 1800' a.s.l.; It ALWAYS blew 30 kts there, and
> your tag line would flow out horizontally, if not heavily weighted.
>
> We got the 2 el 40 and kt34xa off ok and down the tramway. But
> when it came to disassembly, I threw in the towel. We tied one
> guyset to a pickup truck for a dead-man, cut one leg with a hacksaw,
> notched the other two, and pulled it over with the tagline. Once we
> got past 45 degrees, the tower pulled the truck along right smart-like!
>
> We dropped it in a flat spot, nothing bent, and we had it disassembled
> and loaded in the truck in less than two hours.
>
> The guys were made of vinyl coated aircraft cable, held by friction
> clamps. Distinctly unsafe looking.
>
> OH...I tore my shoulder horsing the beams onto the tramway, in
> the winds. Physical therapy cost me over $2k. Used towers aren't
> cheap. I climb smarter these days, if at all.
>
> N2EA
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|