[TowerTalk] US Tower Raising Fixture Question

[Julio Peralta]

I made a fixture that goes in place of the winch handle and fits in the
chuck of a 1/2" DeWalt drill motor. It has sufficient torque and power to
raise my UST HDX-89 to the vertical position.

I don't use the drill to lower it because it causes the brake pads to over
heat.

Julio,W4HY

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pat Chiles" <chilesp at adelphia.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 8:49 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] US Tower Raising Fixture Question


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.

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