At 06:47 AM 6/14/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Dear Fellow Tower talkin's:
>
>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?
>
>73's and Thanks,
>
> Bill N4ZI Atoka, Tn
Bill,
Here are some of the tradeoffs.
1) Standard hemp rope. Not as strong for the weight, but cheap.
Lifetime is not that great. I wouldn't trust my life to it. Typically
of laid construction so adds a rotation force under load.
2) Nylon. Tangles too easily. Has too much stretch. (When
something hangs up it will keep stretching for a long time and
them let go--giant rubber band effect.
3) Polypropylene. Typically laid construction and unwinds under
load. Doesn't handle UV very well. But cheap. Wouldn't trust
my life to it.
4) Dacron. The right choice. Good UV resistence. Not too much
stretch. Get a braided one and it won't unwind under load. I do
trust my life to it. Good brand is Sampson "stable braid" although
I think I heard recently they have been bought out. Look in the yellow
pages under rope.
Dacron takes knots well, is easy to untie, and almost never gets
tangled. I have used lots of ropes and I wouldn't use anything else
but a braided Dacron rope. Buy from a rope supplier and not
from a local hardware store.
Check out the ropes for sailing boats at boat suppliers and marinas.
Mountain climbing ropes are good ropes but available in both static
and dynamic versions and different sizes, so make sure you know
what you are getting. Expensive new, but are suppossed to be retired
if they are in a situation where they catch a large falling load (climber).
You can find bargains on occasion but you need to be in an area of
climbers--Colorado is a good place!
73 John W0UN
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