[TowerTalk] Sad news N5IA SK in tower fall

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2016 11:55:16 -0400
From: "Ed Sawyer" <sawyered at earthlink.net>
To: "'Matthew Kaufman'" <matthew at matthew.at>
Cc: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sad news N5IA SK in tower fall

I agree completely.

So then the commercial owner should be paying for a pro and at pro rates,
right?

Obviously, if this is a repeater site shared on a commercial tower, then the
commercial operator should have rules and they should be respected on their
tower.  No argument there.

I wonder how specific those rules actually are that should be followed, eh?

Ed  N1UR

##  This really is a no brainer. If its a commercial tower, it shoulda already been equipped
with the  .375 inch EHS safety cable (or rail)  running the entire length of the tower  to comply with
osha / state / WCB / union / govt regs.   The pros will all have the mating safety piece /sliding clip that 
attaches to the safety cable.   My guess is... the typ ham  wont have the mating safety  clip, so 
they dont use the safety cable. 
When it comes to the lawsuits / legal stuff, the commercial tower owner can state that he had the requisite
tower safety equipment / fall arrest restraints  in place.  If the climber doesnt use the provided fall arrest
device, thats  not the fault of the tower owner. 

##  How much does it cost to install a length of  .375  EHS cable from top to bottom of a tower...dick  really. 
Easily installed on any guyed tower, even a rotating tower... or any freestanding tower. Where the issue might be for
ham use is on a tower that has tic-rings on it, or any version of a side mounted, 300 deg rotatable yagi.  In the last
2 x cases, the safety cable would have to start and stop  at each tic ring.....but still doable.  

##  Ok, once up to a certain level,  and  you now want to get onto the opposite side of the tower,
IE on the other 2 x tower faces, then your lanyard/S  can be employed....then the sliding clip to safety cable
can be removed.   Use the rvs procedure  for going back down / up.  Pretty simple really. 
You really have to give your head a shake not to use said safety devices.  Their initial cost is bare minimal.
If one has multiple towers, each one gets a safety cable.  The same sliding clip can be used on any of them.

##  If folks still insist to free climb, sure its their choice, but it really is stupid.  If I was asked to climb anybodys
tower, and it didnt have a safety restraint,  I would tell them it would have to be installed by myself or others.....  or walk away. 

Jim   VE7RF