I have 2 crankup UST towers. The tall one has a winch with power pull down.
The pull down cable connects to the bottom of the top section thru a small
assembly with a compression spring with a bolt thru the center which can be
adjusted for tension on the cable at all times. The pull down cable is
spooled on the same drum, which holds the lift cable, in the reverse
direction. The drum has a level wind assembly like a fishing reel.
My other tower is a TX472 without a winch. I use a floor pulley and raise
and lower it with my tractor pulling horizontally. I have used a pickup
truck for the same job. The multi path pulley system results in minimal
force required on the cable. When the tower is at the proper height I slip a
piece of channel iron thru the tower at the bottom of the second section and
slack off on the lift cable. I have been doing it that way for 15 years with
no problems. The tower holds a 4el 20/2el 40 F12 beam and a 5 el 6m yagi
above that. Early on I found that the tower can stick when lowering,
particularly if there is a horizontal wind force on it. I attached a cable
to the bottom of the top section, which dangles, and if it sticks, a pull on
that cable frees it up to lower.
I think it is foolhardy to raise or lower a crankup when you are not
watching it and in control of the operation. I have had a coax snag and pull
in two even when I am watching but not as observant as I should be.
73, Dan, N5AR
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Tom Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 7:37 AM
To: Bill Kerns; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tri-Ex WT-51 Electric Winch with Pulldown
Mechanismand RMC-1000
Bill:
I've had a TriEx W(T)51 since 1992 and the
instructions I received with it from TriEx did not
advise using an electric winch with it because
supposedly the positive pulldown protection couldn't
be installed.
Tom, WW5L
--- Bill Kerns <bill@billkerns.com> wrote:
> I recently purchased a used Tri-Ex WT-51 tower with
> manual winch.
>
>
>
> I want to install an electric winch on the tower to
> allow me to raise and
> lower it.
>
>
>
> Since the tower will be located remotely from the
> house (about 200-300
> feet), I'd also like to figure out a way to raise
> and lower it remotely.
>
>
>
> I have also found a used RMC-1000 remote controller
> and am considering using
> it in conjunction with an electric winch.
>
>
>
> However, I have heard that there is a pulldown
> safety issue involved with
> this tower. So I need to have a way to pull down
> the top antenna tower
> sections, as the tower is being lowered, to ensure
> that it does not get hung
> up on the way down. My understanding is that the
> WT-51 top sections may
> sometimes bind on the way down, so having this
> second cable pulldown
> mechanism will prevent that.
>
>
>
> I am considering a single winch with 2 cables wound
> in opposite directions,
> so that as one cable winds up, the other cable
> unwinds. Then I need to add
> some pulleys to route the second cable through the
> middle of tower up to the
> top section, so that when the tower is lowered, this
> cable will pull down
> the top section as the other cable releases.
> However, someone said that
> this might be problematic, since the 2 different
> cables may not wind/unwind
> at the same rate, so I also will need a spring
> mechanism to take up the
> slack as the cable winds/unwinds.
>
>
>
> I would appreciate whatever advice anyone could
> provide to help with this
> installation- such as recommended electric winch
> model part numbers,
> suggested ideas for using RMC-1000 or similar remote
> system, pulley layout,
> etc. I also wonder what the maximum distance is
> that the RMC-1000 will
> operate remotely, since there will be 200-300 foot
> separation between the
> house and antenna tower.
>
>
>
> I am also looking for a softcopy of the RMC-1000
> schematic and manual, if
> anyone has one.
>
>
>
> -Thanks,
>
> Bill, N6DAG
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> TowerTalk@contesting.com
>
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>
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