Since this is antenna time for many of us, I though I'd pass along a neat
trick that Dave Fueschel, my neighbor, professional tower man, and
(unfortunately) a non-ham, showed me today.
Wanted to get my C-4 down from tower top to add 12 feet of boom and another
40-meter element (instant C-4XL). As it stands, the C-4 is fairly big -
like a 3-element 20-meter yagi - but light (about 40 lb.). I was all ready
to rig a standard tram, with 3/16 EHS, when Dave suggested a "self-tram."
He took a block up to the top of the tower and rigged it to the mast just
above the beam, then used webbing to rig a sling to carry the boom. He
pulled my work line from the ground, through the block, and attached it to
the sling. Finally -- here's the good part -- he hooked a carabiner
through the sling and around the work line below the block. Then he had me
get as far from the base of the tower as I could, on the bisector between
two guy sets, and let the antenna down, riding on the work line. It was
AMAZING - the internal friction in the rig kept things from going too fast
or pulling too hard, and with a little help from Dave, on the tower, his
one-guy ground crew was able to soft-land the antenna with no drama at all.
Going back up, we'll be using a standard tram, because the antenna will be
bigger and heavier, and the same internal friction that helped coming down
would add to the workload going back. But it occurred to me that this
gimmick might come in handy for some others, hence the posting. Enjoy, and
happy, safe antenna time to you all!
73, Pete Smith N4ZR
n4zr@contesting.com
"That's WEST Virginia. Thanks and 73"
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