[TowerTalk] Erecting tower sections solo

[Ken K6MR]

Using a small electric winch has a safety advantage over other methods: if something gets stuck they will stall rather than break the lifting cable (or worse yet, pull the tower over). If you pay attention to the noise it makes you can detect a problem almost instantly and stop before something bends or breaks. 

Ken K6MR


From: Chuck Dietz
Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2015 21:07
To: john at kk9a.com
Cc: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Erecting tower sections solo


I used to stack 25 by myself by pulling it up, standing it up on the cross
braces, then lifting it onto the tubes.  I always felt I could drop a
section if I got into trouble.  When I tried it with two climbers, both
holding the section, we had to drop the section to the ground.  Seems we
were fighting against each other to balance the section.  After I passed 70
years of age I thought I could still do it, but I guess I'm not quite as
strong as I was.  I use a gin pole now (but I still do most tower work
solo, or with the wife driving the truck to pull stuff up.  :-)

Chuck W5PR

On Wed, Dec 2, 2015 at 9:16 PM, <john at kk9a.com> wrote:

> I have always tied a loop in the rope to attach the come-a-long. This is
> not
> always easy if there is a load on the rope. I was never aware that rope
> grabs existed. It seems like a rope grab would be a handy thing to have.
>
> John KK9A
>
> To:     towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject:        Re: [TowerTalk] Erecting tower sections solo
> From:   Steve Maki <lists at oakcom.org>
> Date:   Wed, 2 Dec 2015 20:23:57 -0500
>
> Terry,
>
> Rope grabs aren't all that expensive. The lower priced ones are usually not
> favored by climbers because they often don't travel downward very well of
> their own accord. Such as the top item at:
>
> http://www.sitepro1.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=72
>
> for $68. For your purpose this one would be fine.
>
> AFA ascenders, some require that the rope be wound thru the mechanism in
> some way, which eliminate it as a contender for your purpose. Any device
> that will grab the rope without having to bend or wind it in any way should
> work OK.
>
> -Steve K8LX
>
> On 12/2/2015 7:22 PM, Zivney, Terry wrote:
>
> Thanks for all the suggestions so far.
> Steve K8LX's suggestion to use a rope grab may
> be along the lines that I fuzzily recall.
> What is the functional difference between
> a rope grab (probably OSHA approved) and
> a rope ascender (used by climbers and substantially
> less expensive)?
>
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