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Tune Around! Topics For
Technicians!
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Things to do
BEFORE the tower raising party...or after! Bob - KB4RGC So the parts for the new tower arrived, the rotator is tested, the 6 element tribander is assembled and the concrete work is done. Now it is time to ask for volunteers for a tower raising party. Stop right there and think about the legal end of your project. Erecting and climbing towers is dangerous work. Nowadays tower climbing is one of the most dangerous jobs around. There are no uniform laws dealing with tower work. Depending on where you live there may be State laws or local laws in place. Find out about it. Even without uniform laws there are some legal principles that will always apply. If something goes wrong someone can get hurt and someone may face an expensive law suit. Regardless if it is a tower in the back yard or a repeater installation on a commercial tower you need to know about responsibilities. Talk to a lawyer and talk to your insurance company. You may find that a club member is a lawyer that can help without charging an arm or leg or you can check with the ARRL legal referral service. Spend some time to think about things that can go wrong and what you will do if things go wrong. Some of the items to think about are: Does your insurance cover all aspects of your project including medical/longterm disability and legal costs. Are there any local laws requiring a licensed/bonded company to perform the work. What will you do if someone gets stuck on the tower. Calling 911 is a good starting point but be aware that especially in rural areas not all fire departments are specialized in tower rescue. Find out which ones are and how far away they are. I am not a lawyer or an expert on the subject. I just want to get you thinking about the "what if's" and get some expert advice before doing any tower work. Bob - KB4RGC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Typical Fire
Department "high angle mock rescue" practice session courtesy of the Town
of Clayton, NC Fire Department shown below. CERT, (Community Emergency Response Teams) which I am member of, is always invited to their exercises. The tower in the photos below is behind Station 2 and besides the commercial stuff, also has 2 ham repeaters. The following photos show preparation during training, actual retrieval of a "mock victim" and getting him down safely.
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