[TowerTalk] Stuck tower

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/16/03 8:36:51 AM Pacific Standard Time, n8dcj at yahoo.com 
writes:

> anyway about 30 mins
>  before the guy was to show the tower owner went out to
>  crank the tower all the way, well just about the time
>  the tower was all the way up the cable broke... you
>  can imagine the damage to the tower, the TB6EM and the
>  2 11 element 2m yagis on top. thank god the cable
>  broke when the tower was being cranked up and not when
>  the painter was on the tower... after inspection it
>  was discoverd that the cable broke right where it
>  wrapped over a pulley... this tower was kept at the
>  same height most of the time and it took its toll on
>  the cable where it went over that pulley...

    This is an instance where the wire rope took a 'set' since it was always 
parked at the same place. This is a bad idea. Here are some things to do to 
prolong the service life of your cables:

1)  Exercise the tower and cables at least monthly by running it up and down 
a couple of times.

2)  Park the extended and contracted tower at different heights each time you 
raise or lower it. This will avoid the cables taking a permanent set by 
spreading the wear out.

3)  Use a cable lubricant twice a year as part of your PM program. (Champion 
Radio Products has PreLube 6 - recommended by wire rope manufacturers.  <A 
HREF="http://www.championradio.com">www.championradio.com</A>)

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for commercial and amateur 
888-833-3104