Thanks to Eric for the forward on the accident with the Rohn Fold Over Tower
>
>
>Fortunately, no one else got hurt nor did it fall on anything else. The
>tower was actually a tiltover Rohn 45 which was quite old and no longer
>tilted over. The hinge at the tower base (which was rusted) broke and the
>tower actually fell AWAY from the hinge.
>
>Lessons learned:
>
> 1. Always a good idea to check guy wires for proper installation
> BEFORE climbing a tower, ESPECIALLY if climbing someone else's
> tower for the first time.
>
> 2. Before disconnecting anything on a tower, ALWAYS inform everyone
> working on the tower what has been done and what the procedure
> for the tower work is going to be, so everyone knows what to
> expect.
>
>Fortunately no one got killed, but it was as close as it gets!
>
> -- Rich K1CC
>
Also never climb any tower that is designed for cranking up or folding over.
I have a friend with the Fold Over Rohn design. He has had it for 35
years and replaced parts of the fold over mechanism several times. I was
scared of the fold over part the first time I saw it. Sure enough, several
years ago while several of us were helping him the mechanism broke and
damaged his antennas.
Be cautious with any tower especially one with a fold over portion! Always
make sure the fold over hardware, winch and fold over base are in good
working order before doing any work on antennas or bring the antennas down.
I like the concept of reaching the antennas on the ground, but this requires
one to always be vigil as to hardware.
Dave K4JRB
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