Hi Dick -- I don't think either one of us really knows. To me, the single
point impact of falling (on your hip, for example) from 4 feet onto
concrete is a lot more potentially damaging than falling on a lanyard
attached to a D-ring, attached to a wide padded belt, attached to a
full-body harness. If the lanyard was attached to the hip opposite the
attachment point, then it's possible to visulaize a scenario where you
would fall and roll away from the tower as you did so, such that any impact
on the tower would fall on your back. I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant in
either scenario.
That being said, I agree that the best solution is probably two fall-arrest
lanyards. Where it should be attached is, I think, literally "up in the
air." I can see Mark's logic in suggesting that both should be attached to
a FRONT D-ring -- that way, as you fall you will tend to fall away from the
tower, giving you maximum change to cushion your swing back toward the
tower and prevent second-derivative damage. The traditional D-ring in the
center of the back, it could be argued, is intended more for a
roof/structure situation. My harness has only the back D-ring.
At some point, I think these various alternatives become so far above any
typical ham scenario that we may be arguing on the margins. The important
thing, I stress, is ALWAYS to be attached to the tower -- no exceptions, no
sliding lanyards.
73, Pete N4ZR
Happy Holidays
|