[TowerTalk] Belts/Harness legality

Fri May 28 08:13:57 EDT 2004

Hi Phil,

I don't disagree with anyhthing you say. It's all a matter of degrees.

If we're after the ultimate in safety, it's safer still not to climb at all,
and to pay a professional outfit to do it for you. After all, professional
tower help costs less than most funerals, no?

We all make the decision as to where the correct safety operating point is
whether that be the decision to belt or harness,   to drive 40 MPH
or 70 MPH,  or to chain saw with chain saw pants, or without chain saw pants...
etc etc etc.

Life is risky!

73 and say thanks to a Vet this weekend!

John
K5MO

                      kb9cry at comcast.n                                                                                                
                      et                       To:      john.brewer at us.schneider-electric.com                                         
                                               cc:      towertalk at contesting.com                                                      
                      05/27/2004 03:20         Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Belts/Harness legality                                        
                      PM                                                                                                              

You are correct.  Spending a couple of hundred dollars on the "proper" safety equipment when
you only climb once a year may not make sense.  Most funerals do cost less than most tower
installations, so why add to the cost!  To me, the second sentence pointedly indicates why you
do need to spend the money, you only climb the tower once a year and therefore are not as much
of an expert as one who does it for a living.  As one poster mentioned, you should see the
effects to the human body when only a belt is worn and it arrests a fall.  Up to 5,000 pounds
of force is applied to the body (300 lb. person) when the fall is abruptly stopped.  Shock
absorbing lanyards (the prescursors to bungee jumping) reduce that force to around 500 pounds
and a properly fitted full body harness distributes that force to the strongest bones in the
body, i.e. the hips.  Hang on and good luck.  My full body harness with side mounted D-rings
only cost me around $75 which is cheap insurance in my book!
 .  Be safe, Phil  KB9CRY

> I don't think there's any law whatsoever (even here in the east!) that mandates
> what
> kind of belt to use,  or to use one at all on your own property.   It may be an
> Federal OSHA
> rule
> for commercial outfits, but certainly not for homeowner/hams repairing their own
> towers.
> Give the government enough time and they'll find a way to tax and regulate it
> however! :-)
>
> While I agree that a properly outfitted harness/fall arrest system is the way to
> go, I'd
> suspect
> that the vast majority of hams use a belt sytem only.   This may or may not make
> sense if
> you're climbing a tower once  in a blue moon.... the risk/reward depends on the
> individual
> situation.
>
> As in many situations,  how safe you are can depend a lot on how much you can
> afford
> to spend (all other things being equal).
>
> John
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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> Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
> and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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