[TowerTalk] Fall Harness-My Choice

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:38:54 -0700
From: David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Fall Harness-My Choice

I have an AN Wireless HD-70 freestanding tower with the foot pegs ... 
slippery enough to require caution when wet, but not treacherous.  I 
climb with a full body harness with two relatively short safety straps, 
neither of which are fall arrest lanyards.  Each safety strap has a 
self-locking gorilla hook on the end (required because of the large 
steel cross braces on the tower), and one or the other hook is ALWAYS 
attached to a cross brace as I climb.  I even have a third strap and 
gorilla hook coming from a separate belt around my waist that I affix to 
the tower while I am working.

The hooks I use are made from a high strength aluminum alloy ... very 
light and extremely strong. *http://tinyurl.com/25dns9a*

In general, I'm afraid of heights but don't feel ill at ease on the 
tower with this system.  If I die falling from it, it will be because I 
was stupid.

##  That method will work... but makes foe slow climbing up/down the
tower. Plus you are continually  having to  hook/unhook the L/R
gorilla hooks... which means you have one hand off the pegs 99%
of the time.  

## That  3/8" safety winch cable scheme that both Trylon and  AN Wireless
have for  those types of towers works superb.   The safety cable  sits a few inch's
from the tower leg... in between the  foot pegs.    You hook onto the cable.. and now you
never have your hands off the foot pegs..while climing UP.    When coming down, you have to
hit the sprinloaded rls... and slide the safety device /grabber  down a couple of feet.. then
climb down some more... slide it down again etc.  

##  IF you slipped and fell, the grabber will lock onto the 3/8"  cable, and ur going no where. IMO,
you are much safer this way, not having to constantly hook/unhook  alternating L/R gorilla hooks.
However, if gorilla hooks used, TWO of them, like you have, is much safer than just one.  At least
with 2 of em, you are assured that you ar tethered to the tower at all times by at least one hook. 

##  all the safety cable amounts to is  3/8"   winch cable with single/double nicropress crimps at top
end... and a  spring loaded tensioning device at the bottom end... to keep the cable taut.  Nobody
ever broke 3/8" winch/aircraft cable, when falling 6".. b4 it grabs. 

Later... Jim  VE7RF       





73,
Dave   AB7E