My hesitation in buying the safety cable was simply that I didn't want
to trust my life to a spring gripping system I suspected I wouldn't be
able to see (I've never seen one in person so I wasn't certain how
enclosed the mechanism was). At least with the gorilla hooks, I can see
that they are closed and that the safety latch has been been locked in
place each time.
The gorilla hooks release and open all in the same hand gripping motion,
so it is not appreciably slower than simply climbing or descending.
In addition, I can use the two hooks and safety straps to climb around
the tower and suspend myself wherever I might need to work so that both
hands are free. That wouldn't be as workable with the safety cable
unless I brought along extra straps anyway.
73,
Dave AB7E
On 8/14/2010 12:32 AM, Jim Thomson wrote:
> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:38:54 -0700
> From: David Gilbert<xdavid@cis-broadband.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Fall Harness-My Choice
>
> I have an AN Wireless HD-70 freestanding tower with the foot pegs ...
> slippery enough to require caution when wet, but not treacherous. I
> climb with a full body harness with two relatively short safety straps,
> neither of which are fall arrest lanyards. Each safety strap has a
> self-locking gorilla hook on the end (required because of the large
> steel cross braces on the tower), and one or the other hook is ALWAYS
> attached to a cross brace as I climb. I even have a third strap and
> gorilla hook coming from a separate belt around my waist that I affix to
> the tower while I am working.
>
> The hooks I use are made from a high strength aluminum alloy ... very
> light and extremely strong. *http://tinyurl.com/25dns9a*
>
> In general, I'm afraid of heights but don't feel ill at ease on the
> tower with this system. If I die falling from it, it will be because I
> was stupid.
>
> ## That method will work... but makes foe slow climbing up/down the
> tower. Plus you are continually having to hook/unhook the L/R
> gorilla hooks... which means you have one hand off the pegs 99%
> of the time.
>
> ## That 3/8" safety winch cable scheme that both Trylon and AN Wireless
> have for those types of towers works superb. The safety cable sits a few
> inch's
> from the tower leg... in between the foot pegs. You hook onto the cable..
> and now you
> never have your hands off the foot pegs..while climing UP. When coming
> down, you have to
> hit the sprinloaded rls... and slide the safety device /grabber down a
> couple of feet.. then
> climb down some more... slide it down again etc.
>
> ## IF you slipped and fell, the grabber will lock onto the 3/8" cable, and
> ur going no where. IMO,
> you are much safer this way, not having to constantly hook/unhook
> alternating L/R gorilla hooks.
> However, if gorilla hooks used, TWO of them, like you have, is much safer
> than just one. At least
> with 2 of em, you are assured that you ar tethered to the tower at all times
> by at least one hook.
>
> ## all the safety cable amounts to is 3/8" winch cable with single/double
> nicropress crimps at top
> end... and a spring loaded tensioning device at the bottom end... to keep
> the cable taut. Nobody
> ever broke 3/8" winch/aircraft cable, when falling 6".. b4 it grabs.
>
> Later... Jim VE7RF
>
>
>
>
>
> 73,
> Dave AB7E
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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