I've got to second Steve's answer to climbing the 'larger' towers
with diagonals.
I recently finished surveying a 170' 4 legged tower on the Mendocino
coast for corrosion
damage prior to changing out two STL link antennas.
This tower was installed by 'amateurs' (no not US, real
amateurs). They installed
the diagonals UPSIDE down, so you got to walk on the end edge of the
angle iron, not
the flat side. Thank god the diagonals were close enough that you
could hold on to
one and walk 'on the wild side'
Yes, I had my fall-arrest harness on with the 'big' end clamps Steve
sells on his website.
I changed out two antennas with the help of my son (who climbs trees
for a living in the
SF bay area). It really makes him mad when he has to play 'ground
support', but we
got the job done in less than two days and everyone sat down and 'had
a few beers'
after we were finished.
When I talk to people about climbing towers I always tell them " You
can get killed
falling 5' or 500'". However, if your careful and plan how and where you are
going to climb, have the right equipment and have the ground support
you NEED for
the job, everybody will go home happy and 'paid' to climb another day.
Bob Smith
Robert Smith Consulting
na6t@na6t.com
"On The Air-Conditioned Mendocino Coast, In REAL Northern California"
No trees were destroyed in the sending of this message.
However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2009 15:59:52 EDT
From: K7LXC@aol.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] climbing technique
To: towertalk@contesting.com, w3dl@dejazzd.com
Message-ID: <c54.533dfdf7.37a74a38@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 7/30/2009 3:45:23 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
towertalk-request@contesting.com writes:
> Hi, I'm trying to figure out the technique used on wide self-supporting
towers with step bolts on only one leg and angle cross bracing, like a
Rohn SSV, to cross over to a leg without the step bolts.
> I'm going to be getting intimate with a 180 footer that is 10ft or more
across between legs, and all 3 legs have antennas mounted on them which
will need attention from time to time, and I don't seem to see a safe
way to get across.
Now you see why those professional tower make their money.
Since you'll be wearing your Fall Arrest Harness, always have the FA
lanyard hooked above you to catch you in case you peel off.
Most climbers would use the step bolts up to where you need to be and
then walk across the diagonals. They're usually close enough to have one to
hang onto (and hook your FA lanyard) as you're walking across. If there's
a cable ladder, you can use that. Pretend you're rock climbing and figure
out the route over to where you need to be. It is a pain sometimes but you
don't have many options.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for hams
Cell: 206-890-4188
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