I have had two UST MA-550's over the past nearly 11 years.
The wire rope (cable) on the first rusted through after about
7 years in our tropical weather here on Kauai. When the
tower "collapsed" the force was so great that the boom of
my C4 snapped at a U bolt at the mounting plate, and the
tower sections broke through their "stop" plates essentially
destroying the tower as far as use was concerned. So I
got a new one. However, the old tower was salvaged by
one of our club members who is handy with welding, etc.;
it is now converted into a portable, two section crank up
used at Field Day and similar club outings here on the island.
(Photos of both the new tower, and the old converted tower are
at: http://www.karc.net/Activities/Photokh7m.htm ) the old
rehabbed tower photos are at the page lower left).
Never used any cable lube on that first tower. The cable broke
as I was raising the tower after having had it down for a time
during a spell of higher wind and rain. It was a cable area that
would spend all of its' time wound on the winch, and rusting,
when the tower was extended and most of the rope on the
winch. The length where the break occurred was only off
the winch when the tower was lowered, so it rusted when
wound tight on the winch.
On the new one, every two or three months (or whenever I
remember it) I now use Whitmore's "Wire Rope Lubricant",
which, per the can label, "penetrates to minimize internal
friction, increases wire rope life, and protects against
corrosion in all weather and salty environments."
However, I cannot get to the upper cable runs to apply.
The largest amount of cable is wound down on the winch
only when the tower is extended to its' full height; when
lowered, most of the cable is strung out and is DOWN
INSIDE the tubular sections, as is a good deal of cable
ALL of the time, or way high in the air on the outside of
the extended sections.
So, I spray on the rope lubricant to the cable wound on the
winch when the tower is up, and much of the cable is down
on the winch.
I have tried wetting a sponge tied to a long pole; then
raising the pole high in the air, attempt to rub the wetted
sponge up and down the extended cable up there. Does
NOT work well, hi. The pole sways about, and the few
moments are brief that I can hold it (in the prevailing trade
winds) against a section of the extended cable!
So, a fair length of my new wire rope cable has never been
lubed since set up. However, I am not too concerned about
this as it was the cable down on the winch that rusted through
and broke on the old tower set up. The extended cable seems
to dry quickly enough following our frequent, but brief showers,
that it does not corrode as does the wire rope wound tight on
the winch, where the water cannot evaporate away rapidly.
Anyone have any ideas, or how do you lube your crank up
cable high and inside the tubular sections?
73, Jim KH7M
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