[TowerTalk] Erecting tower sections solo

[Wayne Kline]

 This thread has morphed ,,, and the SAFTY aspect  pointed out.....  I am  6'2"  210 lb  and had bo problems manhandling  R#25  & 45 ....  55 was to much to control with the limited  leverage.  As for powered winches.
The first  20' was always manual haul up and the gin pole used from there on.  I have a capstan winch (110 V AC)
with a  15 ft long foot activation switch . This give you a great view of the raising object.
 
 As for the safety issue of climbing.. I think we were all guilty of not following safety  procedures in the past
especially when we were younger  or in  thick of battle   ( trudging through calf deep snow @ .04:00 Z to replace a burnt out W2DU balun on a 160 dipole in the middle of the contest.  Flash light, new  Bencher  balun, two  copper bugs  stuffed in my jacket pocket,,,, only thing to hold me to the tower was m knee through the Z rung....
 
YOUNG and DUMB ...
Back to a ditty that was drilled into my head by one of my mentors 
 
There are Bold Climbers
There are OLD climbers
BUT there are NO
OLD BOLD CLIMBERS
 
Wayne W3EA

 
> From: bill_mader at hotmail.com
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2015 08:22:56 -0700
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Erecting tower sections solo
> 
> I have to agree forcefully with Roger.  It has nothing to do with the fact we're both 5'7", have had two strokes, and one (documented) heart attack, and just last month for me, are both in our 70's.  In my early teens I used a 30 ft. telescopic mast to hold up one end of my T2FD (Terminated Tilted Folded Dipole) and my 6 meters beam.  It was easier to lash my Dad's ladder to the mast to access the rotator/beam than to lower and raise the mast by myself.
>  
> One day, I climbed to the top, clicked the safety belt lanyard, and leaned back to work.  I didn't visually confirm the click and grabbed the ladder several feet down.  I climbed down and did other stuff that day.  I have always visually and physically checked all safety devices ever since.
>  
> I have "bulbed" radio and TV towers as tall as 750 ft. installed and taken down too many 25G/45G towers to count, and never had a close call in over 55 years after the incident above.  I also have used all appropriate safety gear and install a safety climb for my next installation.  Why?  I like living and still have many things I want to do.
>  
> I also race sports cars, but I have a full roll cage, fire suit, extinguisher, certified helmet and HANS device, gloves, balaclava, etc.  It's not worth our lives to take chances.  A friend in Traverse City MI died because he unbelted as he climbed over the platform of his windmill tower then fainted due to diabetes.  He never left the hospital alive.
>  
> I worked on oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for what may be my last job.  During my next to last hitch, some guys didn't follow procedures (on the Production side, not our drilling side) which lead to an explosion and resulting fire that nearly cause one-third of us to jump overboard.  Safety is a cultural thing as is ignoring safety.  The latter results in tragedy, unnecessary tragedy.  Shortcuts are not worth taking!
>  
> I can't do everything as easily as I could 30 years ago.  But I can and will do them safely, if not more so.  There is still a lot of DX and contests to work.  Don't cut your fun short!
>  
> 73, Bill, K8TE
> Rio Rancho NM
>  		 	   		  
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