On 7/9/19 7:39 AM, Bob Shohet, KQ2M wrote:
I don’t know how long is required to crank down at 89’ crank-up at full
extension but I would suspect that it is at least 90 seconds.
At this qth, when a Tornado or macroburst/microburst winds are approaching, I get about 30 seconds warning from
the oncoming “roar” of wind crashing through the trees. The noise is loud, distinct and
unmistakable. If at that exact moment I started to crankdown an 89’ tower, I doubt that it would have been
lowered enough by the time the winds arrived to make it the rest of the way safely. If it took me a minute or two
to get to the station to lower the tower, I’m sure that it would be already too late. That’s
probably what happened with the guy with the tall tower, anemometer and winch.
The other issue with such violent winds is that they are usually hurling debris as
they come in. All it would take is one solid branch or piece of something wedging
into the tower at a strategic spot to stop the winch dead in its tracks. Game over
for the tower. BTW, this is one reason why Tornados are so dangerous – often
significant damage is caused to objects by debris picked up and hurled somewhere else
outside of the funnel.
not to mention power failures..
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