[TowerTalk] LM-470 Tilt Winch Question

[Joe Giacobello]

Please ignore this request.  The  winches are not the same.  The 
troublesome one is a 1550.

Joe Giacobello wrote:

> About a year ago, I changed the original tilt winch on my LM-470 from 
> the original Fulton 1550 to the heavier duty Fulton 2550.  In making 
> the replacement, I essentially duplicated the cable arrangement on the 
> original. The cable comes down over the front of the drum in front of 
> the spacer bar through the lower pulley and is connected to the front 
> leg of the tower.  When I turn the handle in the CW direction to raise 
> the tower from horizontal to vertical, the drum also turns CW and the 
> cable winds onto the drum with the ratchet engaged.  It works fine and 
> there is no contact of the cable with the drive shaft or the spacer bar.
>
> I recently acquired another 470 but it was manufactured by a different 
> manufacturer.  It also came with a 2550 tilt winch, but the gears on 
> this winch are arranged differently and when the handle is turned CW, 
> the drum turns CCW with the ratchet engaged.  The cable on this winch 
> is wound on the drum so that it goes down over the back of the drum.  
> Consequently when raising the tower , the cable winds onto the drum 
> from the back of the drum in a CCW rotation with the ratchet engaged.  
> The problem is that the cable rubs against the drive shaft.
>
> I would like to orient the cable in the same way as the first tower to 
> avoid the contact with the shaft.  The Fulton instructions strongly 
> advise that the ratchet must be engaged when pulling or raising the 
> load.  It looks like if I remove and reverse the orientation of the 
> ratchet tooth relative to the gear, I can have the ratchet engage when 
> the drum turns CW, but I'm not sure.
>
> I'd appreciate any advice on this problem.
>
>
> 73, Joe
> K2XX
>