Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2016 14:49:59 -0400
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Safety line on tower
I see the convenience. They make climbing a 100' tower sooo much easier.
No guys to hook and unhook to get around and no continuous hook and
unhook going up and down. More time to work "up there" before reaching
the time to come down as without the safety line the hook and unhook
uses a lot of energy going up and down. 100 foot 25G and 45G really do
benefit from having one. Even 50 or 60 feet. Were I younger and still
making a good wage, I'd have one on my 100' 45G
73,
Roger (K8RI)
## IF the tower in question is just a simple guyed OR free standing tower,
with NO tic rings OR swinging side gates, the install of a safety cable
running the
entire length of the tower should be a simple matter. I have looked at both
the rohn
+ the Trylon versions, and some others, and they typ consist of a heavy duty
standoff
steel assy at the top or close to the top of the tower. The tylon version
uses what appears to
be flat spring type steel, in an upside down U shape, sorta like leaf spring
material, and
aprx 2-3 inchs wide x 1/4 inch thick. The .375 inch OD EHS cable is
terminated to one
end of the U, with either cable clamps or a single guy grip, + the usual
thimble.
## Bottom end of the EHS cable terminates to a combo heavy duty spring +
single
turnbuckle. The cable itself appears to be spaced aprx 2-6 inchs away from
the
tower, usually dead center on one face of the tower. The U shaped spring
steel
was designed to offer some form of ... gentle shock absorption. These days,
with perhaps
a heavy duty bungee between climbers D ring..and the sliding device, the U
shaped spring
steel at top of tower could be disposed of.
## I suspect that in a lot of cases, the heavy duty spring at the base of the
tower could be disposed
of. One turnbuckle would all that would be required to keep the EHS safety
cable reasonably taut,
and the bottom termination, of course, would have to spaced away from the same
tower face
by a few inches.
## What Im getting at here is..... I see no reason the entire assy couldnt be
Home breweded.
As long as the termination method used at the top of the tower was 100 % rock
solid, bomb proof,
I would not hesitate to use such an assy. The cost of the EHS cable, proper
termination at both ends,
and the sliding safety device itself would be a minimal, initial investment.
The sliding devices made
for the safety cable all seem to be standardized to use .375 EHS cable. If
joe ham had several
towers, only one sliding safety device is required. Ok, what I just
proposed might not be OSHA
approved, but it would be a helluva better vs free climbing....and less
fatiguing vs using 2 x lanyards with
the hook-unhook- hook- unhook scheme.
## Dunno if the sliding action of the slider will wear out the galvanizing of
EHS cable..or not. Dunno
if SS .375 inch winch cable could be substituted..or not. One would think
that .25 inch safety cable
would be ample, but I suspect that the .375 cable used has a lot more surface
area for the slider to
act upon.
Jim VE7RF
0
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