[TowerTalk] Temporary guys

[K7LXC at aol.com]

Howdy, TowerTalkians --
 
    I just read a portion of the ARRL tower book where  the author recounts 
an episode where the temporary rope guys holding the bottom  sections of 
the tower stretched so much that he found himself laying on the  ground with 
the tower laying on top of him. Similarly, W2GD had the same  thing happen to 
him. In neither case was the climber terribly injured but they  were lucky 
to fall onto soft ground. 
 
    If you're going to do something like this (the use  of temporary guys 
has its applications) and use rope, the best thing to do is to  use a 
'trucker's hitch' which gives you a 2:1 mechanical advantage and provides  much 
more tension on the rope to minimize any stretch or failure. 
 
    In the book, the author says he only uses steel  temporary guys now - 
lesson learned. But using a trucker's hitch will make using  rope guys viable 
and safe. 
 
Cheers,
Steve      K7LXC
TOWER TECH
and 
_www.championradio.com_ (http://www.championradio.com)