[TowerTalk] Belts and Harnesses

[Jim OConnell <w9wu@arrl.net>]

I'm tempted to offer a special price for your Last Will & Testament for 
hams too cheap to protect themselves and their family when climbing. I'd 
guess that the attorney fee would be just about what you'd pay for 
proper gear.  Of course, if your brother-in-law can get you a deal on a 
prepaid funeral, nevermind the climbing and safety gear.  Your 
significant other can donate all your radios to the local club vultures.

K7LXC, our moderator here at TowerTalk has a full line of harnesses, 
belts and arrest lanyards.  A quick look at his web page seems to show 
that $200 or so will buy you the full set of protection you need to 
climb and work on your tower.
http://www.championradio.com/safety.html

73, Jim O'Connell, W9WU  ARRL Volunteer Counsel

towertalk-request@contesting.com wrote:

> Subject:
> Re: [TowerTalk] Belts/Harness legality
> From:
> kb9cry@comcast.net
> Date:
> Thu, 27 May 2004 19:20:39 +0000
> To:
> john.brewer@us.schneider-electric.com
>
> To:
> john.brewer@us.schneider-electric.com
> CC:
> , towertalk@contesting.com
>
>
> You are correct.  Spending a couple of hundred dollars on the "proper" safety equipment when you only climb once a year may not make sense.  Most funerals do cost less than most tower installations, so why add to the cost!  To me, the second sentence pointedly indicates why you do need to spend the money, you only climb the tower once a year and therefore are not as much of an expert as one who does it for a living.  As one poster mentioned, you should see the effects to the human body when only a belt is worn and it arrests a fall.  Up to 5,000 pounds of force is applied to the body (300 lb. person) when the fall is abruptly stopped.  Shock absorbing lanyards (the prescursors to bungee jumping) reduce that force to around 500 pounds and a properly fitted full body harness distributes that force to the strongest bones in the body, i.e. the hips.  Hang on and good luck.  My full body harness with side mounted D-rings only cost me around $75 which is cheap insurance in my bo
ok.
>    Be safe, Phil  KB9CRY
>
>
>
> > I don't think there's any law whatsoever (even here in the east!) that mandates 
> > what
> > kind of belt to use,  or to use one at all on your own property.   It may be an 
> > Federal OSHA
> > rule
> > for commercial outfits, but certainly not for homeowner/hams repairing their own 
> > towers.
> > Give the government enough time and they'll find a way to tax and regulate it 
> > however! :-)
> >
> > While I agree that a properly outfitted harness/fall arrest system is the way to 
> > go, I'd
> > suspect
> > that the vast majority of hams use a belt sytem only.   This may or may not make 
> > sense if
> > you're climbing a tower once  in a blue moon.... the risk/reward depends on the 
> > individual
> > situation.
> >
> > As in many situations,  how safe you are can depend a lot on how much you can 
> > afford
> > to spend (all other things being equal).
> >
> > John

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