I was thinking the same thing that in a "parked" situation, you would want a
supplemental support for the weight of the tower and antenna load which can be
pretty substantial to be contantly putting on a single (albeit strong) cable. I
would suspect that the failures may also be occuring during crankup and
crankdown
which the entire weight would be on the cable itself. The risk of this can be
minimized with annual inspections. I only have a rooftop mounted tower myself
but I am up there every spring and fall checking for any signs of wear and tear
on the entire system that need addressed.
Chuck / W3YNI
Rick Stoneking wrote:
> I do not have any direct experience with this but I do not that some towers
> have a mechanism to provide support of the tower in the extended position
> other than relying on the cable. And I know that several of the guys in my
> area are retrofitting these devices onto their towers that do not have
> them, to prevent the scenario that Sherman descirbed. I would not want to
> rely on the cable to hold the entire weight of the tower, mast, rotator,
> and antenna's for years on end.
>
> I will be very interested to see the results that are compiled.
>
> 73,
> Rick
> W2RDS
>
> At 09:57 AM 3/14/02 -0500, Sherman Leifer wrote:
> >I have been a Ham for over 47 years and have lived in many different places.
> >
> >I have had many crank up towers from various manufacturers over these
> >years. During this time I have had three towers, where the cable has
> >broken and the tower came down vertically destroying all the antennas and
> >the tower itself. The latest just happened on an 89 foot crank up.
> >
> >The reason for this post is really to determine if others have experienced
> >the same problems I have over a number of years, and to compile a list of
> >towers by manufacturer and model numbers that I can then post the
> >statistics for all to see.
> >
> >So, if you have had a crank up tower where the cable has busted and the
> >tower then came down vertically, please send me an email letting me know
> >your location by city, the tower Manufacturer and model number, and I will
> >compile all the statistics and let everyone know the results.
> >
> >Please let me at this point, assure all of you that I will not mention
> >anyones name or call sign in this report.
> >
> >Best 73 to all.
> >
> >Sherman
> >W4FLA
> >(Soon to be W2FLA
> >
> >Reply to sherman@w4fla.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >WEB SITES OWNED AND OPERATED BY M&S COMPUTER, BOONTON, NJ
> >
> >http://www.mscomputer.com ............Your "one" stop for all your
> >computer needs.
> >http://www.servers4networks.com ......The only place to go for a Network
> >File Server.
> >http://www.tonerrefill.com ...........Save $$$ on all HP Laser Toner
> >Cartridges.
> >http://www.wirelessweatherstation.com Fantastic Wireless Weather Station.
> >Http://www.towerdepot.com ............20-100 Ft Self Supporting
> >Communication Towers.
> >
> >Phone Numbers:
> >800-333-9041 (USA Only)
> >973-263-9041
> >973-316-0653 Fax.
> >973-299-1000 Technical Support
> >
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> >_______________________________________________
> >Towertalk mailing list
> >Towertalk@contesting.com
> >http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
> _______________________________________________
> Towertalk mailing list
> Towertalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
--
==============================================
Charles L. Mills, CCNP
Network Analyst
University of Pittsburgh Network Services
3943 O'Hara St. Room B-3 OEH
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Voice: (412) 624-6030 Fax: (412) 624-4774
==============================================
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