[TowerTalk] Tower maintenance person wanted - MN

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  I am also looking for someone who can change the cables on  my US Tower 
TX-472 MDPL in Charlottesville, VA sometime in the next few weeks.  Will pay 
a reasonable fee and tvl costs.
 
    I guess the obvious question is why do you think  the cables need 
changing? In the crank-up chapter in my UP THE TOWER book, I  list 3 reasons why 
you would need to have them changed. 
 
    1.  Excessive broken strands. With 7x19 cables  such as the ones 
typically used in crank-ups, that would be 6 broken  strands.
 
    2.  Serious rust. Cancerous rust - not surface  rust.
 
    3.  Damage. That would be a kink or flattened  part of a cable. 
 
    In my over 25 years of tower work, I've only seen  one crank-up tower 
that I would have recommended on having a cable change. 
 
    Tower manufacturers are insurance driven  enterprises. US Tower says 
you need to change the cables and pulleys every 2  years. This is a 'weasel 
clause' - that is, if you don't do that and something  happens to your 
crank-up, UST can weasel out of any responsibility. They are  very risk averse. 
 
    This is NOT an exception to the LXC Prime Directive  to "DO what the 
manufacturer says." That's because UST is NOT the  manufacturer of the wire 
rope cables.
 
    I doubt that your cables are in such serious shape  that they need 
replacing and I just wince at things people do or money they  spend that they 
don't have to. 
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for amateurs
US Tower factory authorized installer