[ADXA] Tower Safety
w5zn at w5zn.org
w5zn at w5zn.org
Fri Nov 2 22:36:13 EDT 2018
Jay,
A good orientation for all, especially me !! Thanks.
ZN
On 2018-11-02 19:34, Jay Bromley wrote:
> Hi Guys,
>
> I wanted to pass along a few safety tips that may not be obvious to all, especially new hams/DXers. The DX and Contest community seem to be a breed all to it's own in that they have higher and more towers than the average "Joe Ham" so hopefully some of you will find this info helpful. I've been climbing towers since I was 12 years old and been around some professional tower climbers for over 20 years during my adult work life. I am still learning new ways to do tower jobs better and have done some really dumb stuff over my life and lived to tell about it, but I don't recommend it. It was more like ignorance is bliss in my case until I became an adult that now knows better. Still the last night that Ducie was on I was in the dark hurrying to get a wire up so I could work them on the lower bands. It wasn't even an ATNO for me, but thankfully that turned out OK, but I need to reassess my actions as well.
>
> The first thing that comes to mind as Clint Eastwood would say, one must know his own limitations. In my case, I am a diabetic and also have herniated disc. I can no longer do what I use to just 10 years ago! My last tower project I was in my mid 40s and I stacked that tower without a gin pole. I knew it was a stupid thing when I did it, but I was determined to get the job done. Plus I didn't want anyone watching me. Don't go it alone! In fact, I did most of my tower work in the evening or during the day when many neighbors were gone. At that time I didn't want to call attention to myself or my hobby, instead make sure you have someone watching you while you are on the tower! Even a fall just a few feet off the ground can be deadly, but you might get a second chance if someone is around watching your back. If you get into trouble you need someone with a cell phone that can dial 911. That person should be away from the tower if not helping with the rope and be wea
ring a
hard hat in either case. Even though I was taught never to drop anything while on a tower, including a bolt or a nut, it happens and that is all it can take to injure or kill someone. Bolts, nuts, wrenches, any hardware falling can ruin a person's life including the tower climber.
>
> Consult books and go to tower climbing safety classes, one can never know it all! Years ago Kathy and I went to a tower safety class at HamCom and that's when I made my mind up, the safety belt I had wasn't good enough to use. Since we are DXers we all have ARRL antenna and handbooks, right? Any book that has antennas and towers in it seems to have a chapter on tower and hardware safety. It never hurts to break out the books before tower work is contemplated and brush up on ones skill set. Even if you have forgot more than most know or been doing tower work for years! The ARRL has a book dedicated just to towers called "Antenna Towers for the Radio Amateur". https://www.arrl.org/shop/Antenna-Towers-for-Radio-Amateurs This should be on every Ham/DXers bookcase! There are others and I am sure they are worth the money as well. There is both good and bad examples on YouTube. If you are seeing a video on tower safety on YouTube that is OK from a trusted source, but re
member
not everything on the internet is good or to be trusted.
>
> The next thing is highly personal, the safety climbing belt or harness. When I was young and stupid I climbed without a belt! I would just climb up and wrap my leg inside and out of the tower rungs! Never ever climb up even a few feet without a good safety belt or harness. I can remember once even putting two of my leather belts together making it a crud climbing belt. Again I was barely a teenager and had no Elmer to teach me better. Oh my god, when I think of this now I just cringe at the thought to what could have happened with some old, dried out, cracked belts that were used to hold up my jeans.
>
> Now here is the personal choice part. Full body harness or just a waist safety belt? The webbed waist safety belts are lighter and that is a good thing for tower climbers, but here is the deal with just using waist belts only for tower climbing. Let's say you faint, get knocked out or in my case being a diabetic, I can get into trouble pretty fast. If you are using just a waist belt and get into trouble so you are hanging off the side of the tower you might slip through! BTW, you don't have to be upside down to slip through the safety belt. IMHO, only the full body harness is good enough for tower work. Full body harnesses have restraints for your legs, shoulders and are crossed at the chest and back. There is no way you can slip out of a properly fitted safety harness! They are not cheap, but like when I worked at the motorcycle shop, we had a saying about helmets---How much is your head worth? Yes a $30 helmet might satisfy the state law requirements, but a $200
helmet
may save your life! Same thing with belts and harnesses, don't be a typical ham and scrimp here. Most hams tend to be "cheap wads" in all areas of the hobby. This is one area you don't want to cheap out on.
>
> Speaking of helmets, they do make them for tower climbers and they are highly recommended. It is fairly easy to be knock out from a heavy section of tower in the wind or a heavy duty pulley falling on your head. Again the ground crew should be wearing hard hats. No exceptions.
>
> One thing that has stuck in my mind came from Bill Kennamer, K5FUV, always be strapped in while on the tower! Now that sounds easy enough on straight towers, but what about the self-supporters that have larger bases or when you need to retie the lanyard above a guy wire point before you can move up the tower? If you get a full body harness, consider getting a fall restraint made for tower climbing. They make fall restraints for steel workers, but this is not what you need or want for tower work. You want a fall restraint made for tower climbing only. It will have one clip that goes into the back dorsal D ring and the other end will Y out with what we used to call "paint bucket" hooks that clip onto the tower rungs. As you climb up the tower you are always clipped in with one of the hooks. Make a step or two then clip in one of the fall restraint hooks onto the tower rung. Then take another step or so and put the other hook over your head as high on the rung as you c
an
reach. Then and only then can you remove the previous lower hook and repeat. The idea is you always have a hook attached to the tower in case you slip. The fall restraint will have a shock absorber to cushion the fall. If this ever happens, the fall restraint must be replaced, no exceptions. Be sure to put the waist lanyards around the tower ASAP while staying hooked in with the fall restraints. Most accidents happen when trying to tie off the lanyards to your belt without the use of a fall restraint or extra lanyard. Fall restraints are not to be used to replace waist lanyards, they are only to be used for an emergency slip. Using the fall restraints will slow you down just a little and I hate to use them, but don't be a "Tower Cowboy". This is also the term that is used when guys are free climbing. A new ham may not know what "free climbing" term is? This is when a tower climber goes up the tower with no lanyard or fall restraint engaged until they get to where t
hey are
going and then strap off. This is not the recommended way to do tower work. I know we have lost a few hams "free climbing" over the years, so don't do it. Not even for the first couple of sections, it doesn't take much height to kill.
>
> Here are a few links for full body harnesses. http://www.onvsafetybelt.com/ and https://www.gmesupply.com/ These are by no means the only two sources. Let Google be your friend and find a belt or harness that fits your budget. BTW, the less padded full body harnesses tend to be more uncomfortable and tend to cut into your body more than the more expensive paddled harnesses. For short ham radio work they are OK. I use Elk River for my harness that is heavily padded, but there is something else to consider and that is the weight of the harness. When I got my Elk River full body harness it came with a removable seat. After trying it on, I replaced the fall restraint that came with steel hooks with one which had aluminum hooks and also removed the seat. The steel hooks were very heavy and just taking off the seat and getting the aluminum fall restraint hooks made a huge difference while climbing. Same thing with D rings, steel is stronger, but aluminum is strong enoug
h (if
made for tower climbing). If you are a thin sort of person and are not going to be on the tower all day long, then a lighter and less padded harness might be just the thing for you. Notice I didn't use the word cheaper here, you can save money on your climbing gear, just make sure you have enough of the right gear! Only you know what is right for you. Lastly make sure you try on your full body harness before you need to use it and can return it if it doesn't fit properly. My first body harness didn't fit well. A good supplier will let you return it as long as you didn't use it. Getting the perfect fit is very important!
>
> Speaking of gear, if you have an old leather lineman's belt that is crack, cut it up and throw it away. Never give away a used safety belt unless you want to be liable for accidents with it's use. Most companies will no longer let their employees use these old leather belts. I have to admit they were comfortable to wear. Also any gear that is frayed like lanyards and rope are to be replaced. The worse is nylon rope that has been exposed to sunlight over a long period of time. Again don't cheap out on any tower related gear. Same goes for hardware like pulleys. A simple cheap pulley may work this time and the next could bring down that beautiful shinny new 6 element 20m beam. I have seen this before and luckily no one got killed on the ground. Don't rely on what Joe Blow says about the reliability of gear, look up the stats and load ratings for yourself and know what the gear can handle! Inspect all the gear before use and replace if necessary.
>
> I won't comment on monopoles or towers with inside ladders with safety cables on them. These are usually commercial, but that is not to say some hams don't have them or climb on them for repeaters, etc. Those have a device you clip onto the steel cable and prevents you from descending in case you fall.
>
> Personally, I wouldn't recommend using a rope to pull anyone up and down a tower. There are descent riggings called Sky Genies, but they are for one person only using a rope. Bare in mind rope can stretch and snap on tall towers. A crew here in NWA had a bucket with two crew members that snapped which killed one and badly crippled the other.
>
> This was not meant to be a complete tower safety post or the complete guide on tower climbing. Just a few comments that could save one's life including my own. The ADXA group has more experience and Mentoring capability than normal ham clubs. I am sure others will add to my comments and that is the main purpose of my post. We need to be on each other's back to be safer while working on towers and antennas! We all have done stuff we shouldn't and we need to set the example! Not be the bad example that ends up in the news! All of us need to tighten up on tower safety and take it serious. About every year we lose another ham to a tower accident and nearly all of them (if not all) could have been prevented.
>
> 73 de w5jay/jay..
>
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