[TowerTalk] lube on cables

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/3/2010 12:01:23 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:

>  This is the answer I got from UST when I asked about  lube on the cables 
on a TX-455 that I bought used.
We actually don't  recommend putting anything on the cables at all.  It can 
make them slip  from the pulley's on the tower.   
 
    Ha ha - that's a good one. They SHOULD  recommend cable lubricant as 
per the wire rope manufacturers but obviously  don't. I don't know of ANY 
cable slipping off of a pulley. Anybody ever heard  of this during ham 
operation? 
 
>  We recommend changing the cable's every 3-4 years  depending on the area 
you live in.   
 
    Sure - "weasel clause".
 
>  You can use bee's wax on the tower to help the tower  extend and retract 
cleaner.
 
    All you have to do is extend the tower completely  and then climb up it 
and grease/wax the legs which IMO is unnecessary. The  wear on the legs is 
pretty small and will not cause catastrophic tower  failure, which cable 
failure will. I wouldn't worry about the legs but I  strongly recommend 
periodic cable lubrication. 
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for hams
US Tower factory authorized installer