[Elecraft] OT: fixing antennas

[Fred Jensen]

On 9/16/2010 4:35 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> From what I have read, this guy is nuts -
> he was free-climbing - with no safety equipment.

>
> If you want to know why these sites are being taken down, read the
> information at
> http://www.theonlineengineer.org/TheOLEBLOG/

Sounds like it wasn't a copyright issue, the guy [who is nuts to do 
this] suddenly realized that most everyone who saw it, including his 
clients, would realize he really is nuts, to the detriment of their 
liability coverage.

I hope any hams who have seen this, and particularly young hams [come on 
guys, admit it, you're bulletproof and immortal, I was], realize that 
climbing a tower of any sort or even getting on the roof is an 
inherently dangerous activity.  We all want you around and on the air, 
not just another young statistic.

Safety equipment, providing it is properly maintained and inspected can 
improve the safety significantly, but there's a reason the military [and 
utilities] send people who will be climbing poles and towers to a safety 
school too.  It's more than "just" equipment.  This guy is stupid and 
insane, I'm glad they took it down, although things go viral so fast 
these days it may be hard.

In college, in the late 50's/early 60's, I worked at the local TV 
station.  CE offered me $50 to climb the 500' tower twice a year and do 
the mandatory FAA clearance light replacement.  No elevator and I was 20 
years old.  I climbed in full harness, inside the tower, with a 
short-rope on the climbing brake on the cable down the middle of the 
tower.  Some guy came every six months and inspected the harness and all 
the safety equipment.  It was still dangerous, but $50 to a starving 
student in those days let me fix the brakes on my old truck which 
probably contributed a lot to my safety too. :-)  I wouldn't have 
considered it without all the safety gear, and my CE was there and made 
sure I used it all.  Thanks Charlie!

This is soooo stupid, we want all our comrades alive and on the air, 
hopefully a few with K2s and KX1s from yet-to-be-activated summits. 
Please, everyone, don't ever think this guy has any brains at all.

73,

Fred K6DGW