Phil:
If your tower is the motor driven type (HDX-555MDPL), I have the 72 foot
version of that tower. I have also wanted to change out my cables as they are
14 years old now, but in apparently good shape. I watch them very closely,
lubricate them with wire rope lube, and oil the pulleys at least 3 times per
year. I think the pulleys are the weak link on those towers. The wire rope lube
is something everyone should use on tower cables as it penetrates all the way
through the cables and greatly extends their life. One application lasts for
very many years.
I don't want to tilt the tower over to the ground to change out my cables as
taking all of the antennas off is a big chore. I also do not own one of the US
Tower lowering/raising winches. I put this same question on this reflector a
couple of years ago and got only one response from a ham in CA. He does this
kind of work for pay, but said if you block every section of the tower to get
the weight off them and prevent them from getting free when you remove the old
cables, you can replace them that way with the tower vertical. I had planned on
purchasing the cable set from US Tower soon and start looking into doing it
that way. I had planned on attaching each new cable to the end of the old one
and then pull them through for the replacement. Lots of pictures and sketches
of the existing setup will precede any replacement activities.
It seems to me that all of this is possible if you are very careful. If you are
going to go ahead with this soon, I hope we can keep in touch so that I can
learn from your experiences. Gene's (K2QMD) comments seem spot on to me and I
wish you luck. I know it has been done successfully before. I know I can't
afford to transport someone from CA to do it for me.
John Owens - N7TK
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