Rich Boyd KE3Q
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: tony wyn jones <tony@gwyepu.demon.co.uk>
To: rlboyd@capaccess.org
Subject: Re: crankup caution
HI Rich,
(In reply to your message dated Sunday 11, February 1996)
Well, I can but relate to a sticky situation I found myself in a few years ago
while
doing a local VHF contest field-day. Being an enthusiastic teenage know-all, I
decided
to climb a 60ft crank-up, and attach a 500w floodlamp at the 30ft point, so we
could
have an illuminated contest site at night. (we are already qrv at this time,
and pulling
the VHF array down in mid-contest was not acceptable to everyone!)
After the contest, I was asked to retreive the halogen lamp, and decided to
climb the
crank-up. I didn't even have a climbing belt (WAS I STUPID!), but 30ft wasn't
that high
to an enthusiastic teenager......Whilst undoing the lamp's fastening with one
hand,
and holding on to the tower with the other, the top and middle sections of the
crank-up
collapsed about 2 feet into the bottom section.
I was violently jerked, and for a split-second was left dangling with one hand
firmly
crushed in-between two sections, and blood proceeded to gush out and run down
the tower
leg. I nearly passed out, but somehow managed to hang on with my "good" hand.
Unbenown
to me, someone had tried to wind the mast down, and it had become jammed, but
about 2 ft
of wind-up wire rope slack had been released, and when I climbed to the 30ft
mark, and
jerked the sections, dowm came the mast, thereby trapping my hand and severely
damaging
my fingers.
What was annoying was the fact that the "team" hadn't noticed anything was
wrong, and it
took some considerable time to alert them that a serious accident had happened
(one guy
came to the bottom of the mast to see if he could help, and passed out as blood
poured
over him!).
I could only be released by someone climbing the mast with an iron bar, and
forcefully
lifting the top two sections in a crowbar fashion. I had been essentially
trapped at the
30ft level, and had lost lots of blood, and then had to climb down with one
hand! When
I got to the bottom, feeling giddy and weak (faint!), another HERO passed out
when he
uttered " let's have a look at this scratch then!".........
I was taken to Hospital over 20 miles away, and my fingers were sown back on my
hand,
although today have lot's of bad scars, the only tell-tail sign is that my
"ring" finger
and my little finger are bent like bananas.
I am NOT proud of this episode, and consider I was extremely lucky not to have
passed-out
and lost my grip of the mast at the 30ft level, and may be loosing all my
fingers at that
point!!!
I've never sent much to the Internet reflectors, as I have to receive my mail
this end
through a 3rd party, and sending to the "group" is hassle. I would be grateful
if you
would consider forwarding or reproducing this message to any reflector you may
think
appropriate, in the hope that it prevents others from doing such lethal things
as
climbing crank-up masts!!
(Did I type all the above with all these bent fingers Hi!)
73 de T O N Y .. GW4VEQ
--
Tony Wyn Jones
tel: 01248 750262 [Ext:290]
fax: 01248 750093
DXcluster: gw4veq > gb7adx
BBS Packet: gw4veq @ gb7osp
BT Gold: 10092:LLA3060
Internet: tony@gwyepu.demon.co.uk
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