> But jumping from free climbing at any height and age danger to "won't
climb without a full length running safety cable" serves no practical
purpose in the ham community.
I didn't say I "won't climb" without a cable (after all, I do), and I didn't
put it in absolute terms. I said it's the best (and I really meant the
safest) solution in terms of fall protection and fatigue prevention. Maybe
not so much in terms of cost and upkeep. And I did say I wouldn't go so far
as to tell anyone else what they should do. Heck, I tell myself I should put
up a cable, but haven't.
I do think the decision can be affected by physical conditioning and perhaps
age (the mental part). When I first put up my tower, almost 10 years ago, I
was stronger and had more stamina than I have now. Eventually, most of us
get slowed down by things like osteo arthritis (joints just wearing out.)
I'm 62, and think I can still climb for at least 10-15 more years, maybe
longer if I'm lucky, but only time will tell. I expect that if I have a
cable on the tower I'll be more able to do it physically, and won't be as
worried about the mental part, and therefore will probably climb longer. No
doubt it will be cheaper to install a cable than to hire a climber.
Dick WC1M
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Sawyer [mailto:sawyered@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 3:30 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sad news N5IA SK in tower fall
I have seen probably 50 different ham tower installations representing well
over 100 towers and worked on probably a dozen of them (in addition to my
own). I have never seen a ham tower with a full length steel safety wire
running on it.
I am not saying it's bad - its better - no argument. But if someone is "not
working" on ham towers without it, then they are not working on ham towers,
end of story.
In any case, I am fully respectful of the choices made by N5IA. Clearly,
they were processed decisions.
We can all learn from tragedies. But jumping from free climbing at any
height and age danger to "won't climb without a full length running safety
cable" serves no practical purpose in the ham community.
Ed N1UR
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