> I recently acquired a gin pole - a Rohn EF2545 and have been debating
> what would be the best kind of Rope to use with? I figure it will
> have to be at least 7/16" in diameter, but I'm worried about the
> stretch and strengths of the various diffferent ropes out there!
> Where can I mail order it from?
In the several "tower talks" I have given, and based on the
experience of nearly 80 tower/antenna installations, I have always
counselled for good old 1/2" manila.
Here are the advantages:
Best grip, but use gloves because the fibers are like needles.
Relatively inexpensive.
Sufficient strength for anything the Rohn EF2545 will do.
Limited stretch.
Knots hold better (see grip above)
Disadvantages:
If it gets wet it needs to be dried out to prevent rot.
Low tech. Manila rope technology is hundreds of years old.
I wouldn't use anything like nylon or polypropylene just for the grip
factor alone. Ropes such as used for mountain sports are brutally
expensive; far more so than could possibly be justified for tower
work. I don't think stretch is much of an issue in lifting
applications, but manila beats the synthetics there, too.
By the way, manila rope is also called hemp, but I don't like to use
that name in order to avoid all the obvious comments. Like that's
going to prevent them here.
73, Rod N4SI
The DXer formerly known as N9AKE
(c) 5 November, 1996
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