[TowerTalk] Tower Cables and Lube

[dsanders at alpinepowersystems.com]

All:
I recently joined this group and have many years as both a broadcast engineer and ham operator.  I have had years and years of experiences with all types of towers.  One station I engineer has an elaborate crank up tower mounted on a 32' trailer.  This was purchased almost 20 years ago to be an auxiliary tower and has a Jampro FM antenna that can be attached to it.  I pulled it out of the weeds about 2 weeks ago, cleaned it up, plugged it in and raised the tower with no problem.  Now, granted, I wouldn't recommend using this thing without some serious inspection but the stainless cables under the 1st wraps are as clean and nice as they can be and the thing went up and down with no problem whatsoever.
 
I guess what I'm trying to say is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  Many times we try to "over-maintain" equipment that was designed to work for years.  As one who holds a Masters in Engineering, is a senior member of the I.E.E.E., and a past member of the S.B.E., just maintain your equipment as is stated in your owner's manual and use it as it's designed.  Don't put credence in the "urban legends" that circulate around.
 
My 2 cents worth,
Dale