[TowerTalk] Sad day - W9ZUC tower accident

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:38:08 -0700
From: David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sad day - W9ZUC tower accident


No ... he doesn't climb with safety gear.  He works on the tower with 
safety gear ... i.e., he clips his hooks in only after he has gotten 
where he is going.  He CLIMBS without safety gear.

Dave   AB7E

##  Unless you have the safety restraint system installed,  IE: the .375 inch steel
cable that goes  from top to bottom of tower, with the turnbuckle and spring  at the
base to keep the safety cable taut....and the correct device to couple it to you belt
harness, etc,   you have no way of climbing up the tower safely.  How else are you
gonna  climb the tower ?   Some  will use  TWO lanyards and hook, and unhook
em as they climb up the tower, but that is slow, tedious, and probably just as dangerous.

##  I have two lanyards, the newer types have the locking mech..which is a pita,, mine requires
a lot of effort to rls the hook.   Some of the above cable safety restraint systems will use spring steel
at the very top of the tower....so if you do fall, the spring steel will partially cushion the fall. 

##  Trylon offers another method  in lieu  of the safety cable for some of their towers, like the trylon etc. 
Consists of a safety rail  top to bottom of the tower, spaced out a few inchs from the tower, using 
steel standoffs every few feet.   The rail is a 4 sided affair, with a open slot on the front..facing the climber.
The safety device is mounted to your belt, climbing  harness, etc.   same idea as the safety cable.  the advantage
of the rail system is  no spring and turnbuckle required at the base of the tower.   The rail is fixed, rigid, and wont budge.

##  Both schemes work superb.  You climb safely to what ever level of the tower  you want, then use your pair of 
lanyards to attach yourself to the tower.... before releasing the safety cable / safety rail device. 

##  Ever get stung by a wasp  when climbing up around the 70 ft level ?  No fun, no joke either.   The problem with
free climbing is a lot of folks will  have one hand AND also one foot OFF  of the tower while  climbing up + down...
and esp going up.   That only leaves one hand and one foot on the tower.   Lose your grip, get woozy from the hot sun,
get stung, cut yourself, etc.... and you can be in big trbl..fast. 

##  Trylon self support towers and also similar towers that use angle steel  for cross bracing are no fun to climb if it starts
raining out.   these kinds of towers  use diagonal bracing.   I was up mine a few times..when it started spitting rain out.
Yikes it’s like greased lightning trying to climb down. 

##  IF  WCB catchs   you free climbing on any job site, or your employer, you are toast, poof, gone. 

##  The .375 inch safety cable is cheap insurance.  Its also a pita if tic rings used.  However the safety cable can still be 
used, between rings.  It can also be used on rotatable towers.   In the case of a rotary tower, the bottom of the safety cable is
terminated  above the tower rotor. 

Jim   VE7RF