[TowerTalk] US Tower Raising Fixture Question

[Joe Giacobello]

Pat, I don't know what kind of winch that tower has, but when I replaced 
the Fulton 1550 on my LM-470 with a 2550, it was literally day and 
night.  Previously, I would alert the local rescue squad before tilting 
my tower up.  While the 2550 is slower to raise and lower than the 1550, 
it's mechanical advantage is well worth the extra time.

Another correspondent on this list, Al Williams, has recabled the tilt 
cable on his LM-470 so that he uses a motor for that process.  He has 
sent me photos, and I will forward them if you're interested.  However, 
the 2550 goes so slowly and easily, I have been tempted to buy a low 
speed, high torque drill drive to raise and lower it.  If anyone has 
opinions on that idea, I'd be interested in hearing them.

73, Joe

Pat Chiles wrote:

>I took delivery of my new tower yesterday and with the help of Pete, N4ZR, and a neighbor who owns a front loader I now have it standing on the pad and plumbed up. 
>
>Cranking this tower (HDX 555) from horizontal to vertical was unexpectedly very hard.  The only additional weight was a 140 lb mast snuggled inside the tower.  I could only do about 10 complete rotations and then had to take a break and I am a fairly big boy and in fair shape.
>
>My question is what have others done to lessen this burden?  Is there a better winch or rigging scheme to gain mechanical advantage?  My tower has two side-by-side pulleys on the tower, but only one is used.  The raising fixture only has one pulley.  The cable goes over the pulley at the raising fixture, around one of the pulleys at the tower, and back to the raising fixture where it is terminated on a bolt.  We have it rigged per the instructions.
>
>Pat, K8PC 
>_______________________________________________
>
>See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
>_______________________________________________
>TowerTalk mailing list
>TowerTalk at contesting.com
>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>
>  
>