[TowerTalk] More on Winches

[Bob Lovell]

>
>Looking for an electric wench to use for lifting antennas and tower.  When
>XXTowers was down, Matt had a really neat one that bolted to a leg of a
tower.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>73
>Bill Fisher, W4AN (EX KM9P)
>

Hi, Bill --

I went through this search a few months back when faced with disassembling a
somewhat heavy commercial tower.  After an exhausting search, and several
$1100-1500 'sticker shocks', I settled on a nice Ramsey 8000-lb winch for
about $725 + ship.  Although it's intended to be bumper mounted for vehicle
recovery, I had a local fabricator make a nifty receiver-hitch bracket so it
pops right on the back of my 4Runner.  I use a large battery for it, as it
can draw several hundred amps under load.

I bought mine from Camelot Jeep Accessories in GA:  www.jeepaccessories.com
Got a good price, as it was on sale, and they're friendly people.  Don't
know what current specials they may be running. . .

Be sure to spring for the roller fairlead.  It'll make the cable last a lot
longer.  BTW, I got the 150 foot,  5/16" cable.  When I raise and lower
stuff higher than that, I just drive the vehicle toward or away from the
tower using pulleys.  I do this for the first 50-100 feet or whatever, when
lifting, or the last when lowering, when the risk of hooking on something is
low.  If you're using that method for raising anything, be SURE to have
someone watching for kinks and go slowly.  You want to avoid accidents at
all costs.

One other enhancement is I used a DC power supply (set for 6-9 volts) in
series with the remote control +12V wire, which enabled extending the remote
control cable several hundred feet (using ordinary outdoor 100-ft extension
cords), so I can operate the winch from the top of the tower.  E-mail for
details if you're interested in this.

Not OSHA sanctioned, by any means, but works great for me!  Good luck.


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