The "Fall Arrest" cable in this incident was high quality stainless
steel that sometimes defies visual inspection especially in fittings.
In this case the cable had rotted internally near the top fitting which
was invisible to the close in naked eye. The only real answer is to
replace every 5 years and also put it frequently under a load test.
Some actually prefer galvanized steel cable where at least you can see
the deterioration as it occurs and take corrective action.
Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ
On 9/21/2014 11:44 AM, n4zkf wrote:
I'm an sorry to hear that. We inspect our safety climbs and I will only
use stainless steel.
73 Dave n4zkf
On 9/20/14 7:30 PM, "Herbert Schoenbohm" <herbert.schoenbohm@gmail.com>
wrote:
My son is a Comtrain certified tower climb and was working on Bordeaux
Peak in St. John on a 300 foot PyRod tower. The tower owners insisted
that every climber was required to use the "fall Arrest" stainless steel
cable without exception question and as part of his wireless companies
contract for liabilities. His co worker went up first and stopped at
100' to clamp off but before his co-worker could get the clamp on the
fall arrest snapped right at the top of the tower. He fell to the ground
but a microwave dish at 50 feet broke his fall and he survived but was
additioally injured by the 300 feet of steel cable landing on his broken
body on the ground. My son did CPR and called 911. While at the
hospital, in severe pain from broken bones and just being wheeled out of
the X-Ray and MRI chamber on a gurney, there were five lawyers
following the victim to his room. I think he settled for about
$900,000 but to me that would not be enough considering he was forced by
the tower owner to use an unsafe system. Ironically another mainland
company had done a complete tower inspection only a few months before.
Lesson: Always pack your own parachute(s) and don't trust your life to
the lowest tower inspection bidder, ever.
Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ
On 9/20/2014 7:13 PM, Steve Baughn wrote:
At one time AN Wireless had them on their site. Not sure if they still
do or not.
Steve
WD8NPL
-----Original Message----- From: Hans Hammarquist via TowerTalk
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2014 6:54 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Fwd: Sad day - W9ZUC tower accident
Interesting! Where do you get one of those?
Hans - N2JFS
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris <EZRhino@fastmovers.biz>
To: towertalk@contesting.com reflector <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
Sent: Thu, Sep 18, 2014 12:14 pm
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sad day - W9ZUC tower accident
The slickest thing I've ever seen is a cable stretched tight from top
to bottom
of the tower, and the climber has a device that goes on the cable that
only
slides UP the cable. It can't slide down, so if you fell it would
hold fast.
This also gives both hands free for climbing. I've never seen these
on a ham
tower though. Lots of them in my neck of the woods on ski lift towers.
Chris
KF7P
On Sep 18, 2014, at 10:03 AM, TexasRF--- via TowerTalk wrote:
Please enlighten me: when climbing with a gorilla hook, is there only
one
hook/lanyard used or are there two hook/lanyards used?
If two, wouldn't there always be one of the hooks attached to the
tower?
73,
Gerald K5GW
In a message dated 9/18/2014 8:49:18 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
xdavid@cis-broadband.com writes:
Yes, you have indeed said that several times here before, and it was
just as ignorant a comment then as it is now. Every time you unhook
or
hook to the tower you only have one hand on the tower ... just exactly
as you only have one hand on the tower when you reach up while
climbing
... the difference being whether or not you are hooked in while that
second hand isn't on the tower. How you can possibly believe that one
hand on the tower is safer than one hand on the tower PLUS one hook on
the tower, or that a free hand not on the tower is more reliable than
a
hook already on the tower, is totally beyond me.
Dave AB7E
On 9/17/2014 8:42 PM, Doug Renwick wrote:
I have said this many times before. If you can't 'free climb' then
you
SHOULD NOT be climbing at all. The use of a gorilla hook has it's
place
-
for resting or at the work station. But IMO it should not be used to
assist
the climb! Every time you have to hook and unhook the gorilla hook
it
means
you only have one hand left on the tower. That to me is unsafe. With
free
climbing, both hands are available to grab the tower. If you can't
free
climb - don't climb.
Doug
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