[TowerTalk] Question for crank owners

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

hi everyone,

thaks for all the email about my crank-up questions--i rx so many i may not 
have time to answer each one individually but tnx vy much all the same.

part of my reason for asking is that i might eventually install a small 40' 
crank up and wanted some information on how these things work in order to 
make a decision.   It sounds as if when the tower is fully or partly 
extended, the cable continues to hold the weight of all the sections.  Is 
this true?   Or is the cable only supporting the sections when raising and 
lowering the tower, and other times there is some sort of locking mechanism 
that can be released into place?    If so, that would be okay, otherwise, 
there's something about the idea of a cable and pully system holding all 
that weight all the time that bothers me, although i admit that in my case 
it would be only one 20 ft. section so may not be a big deal.

I recall that at one time, some company made crank up towers in which the 
top 2/3 of the tower pivoted on a hinge--a lattice lever extended down one 
side below the hinge with a cable on the bottom of it, which went directly 
to a winch at the bottom of the fixed 1/3 of the tower below the hinge.   
the whole top 2/3 folded over, then you'd reel it back up on the hinge and 
lock the bottom of the lever to the bottom fixed part of the tower, thereby 
having structurally, almost the strength of a permanent tower.    Are these 
towers being made?    I think i might be able to make something similar by 
putting a 40' lattice tower on a base hinge, with a cable at its midpoint, 
then run the cable over to a fixed pully up about 20' and a few feet away on 
a parallel short tower and down to a crank at the bottom and raise and lower 
the whole thing this way, locking the free leg at the bottom with a bolt.  
just another idea to consider.

73

rob / k5uj

_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! 
http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/