[TowerTalk] ]wire rope source for MA770 Tower

[K8RI on Tower talk]

As a personal opinion I'd never purchase any "unrated" cable for a use that 
involves safety.  IE... Guy wire, cable for cranking up and down towers, 
safety lines...etc.

The ratings for wire cable vary widely.
Some time back I helped a ham put up a small tower. It only used the Radio 
Shack guy wire they sell in 50 and 100 foot coils (2 50 foot coils that 
haven't been cut apart).  Although this stuff is very soft and not terribly 
strong, it really was suficient for his use.

One piece caught on something (don't remember what now) as we were walking 
the tower up.  It caught when the tower was at roughtly the 40 degree spot 
so no one really noitced.  We ended up pulling that guy wire right in two. 
That meant its breaking strength was only a couple hundred pounds and that 
was the larger size they sell.

Wire rope sold in hardware stores also varies in strength although they 
*usually* have the ratings for the brands sold.  It's usually much nicer to 
work with than EHS due to the flexibility, but it has no where near the same 
strength.  I've used galvanized versions of it on smaller towers for years.

Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com
> Thanks for the resource Tom.
> Folks:
>
> I checked the site, looking for some 1/4"  7 x 19 lift cable for my 
> Tristao
> 54 foot crank up.
> The listing for the 1/4"  stuff is here:
>
> http://www.farmtek.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10052&storeId=10001&productId=12838&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&pageId=ItemDetail&parent_category_rn=&top_category=&breadcrumb_trail=Chain%2C+Rope%2C+Cable+%26+Accessories%7CCable+%26+Accessories&breadcrumb_categoryIds=12411%7C12413&isDoc=
>
> There are no specifications wrt working load, breaking strength, etc...
> Lacking those for this specific vendor's cable, I am leery of buying it 
> for
> this (possibly) life and property critical application.  The cost per foot
> is about 1/2 that of other 'known' vendors...
>
> Should I consider this cable safe in the critical  tower application 
> without
>  some hard specifications?
>
> 73, DX, de Pat Barthelow AA6EG aa6eg at hotmail.com
>
>
>>Here is a good wire rope source for new cable they even have ss steel to.
>>http://www.farmtek.com
>>
>>N9IWW
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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> 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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