> At breakfast time this morning I looked down the garden &saw half the
top
> loading wires on the antenna were hanging down the side of my metal
> telescopic mast, a support line had broken. I will endevour to carry out
a
> repair today (monday 15th if my work schedule allows)& be back on again
> soon
Congratulations on the first QSO Gary........and welcome to the world of
high
voltages on your antenna......Best avoid 'braided' polypropylene etc as
water
gets trapped between the fibres. A good glass or ceramic insulator or
similar should be reliable. I look forward to hearing you on the band.
A story from my last activity on 6/7 December:
The LF antenna cable in our club goes through the window - all other HF
cables go through the ventilation chimney, but for this antenna it is simply
impossible. I've been transmitting ca. 400W RF and my friend Artur came into
the club. I was too late to say "be careful" as he walked to the window and
opened it, the cable fell down onto the window-sill (which has some metal
parts, probably partially grounded through the wall). The only thing I saw
before I pressed Cancel in QRSS was a bright, blue light of sparks.
Fortunately Artur did not touch the cable itself and did not get injured...
Now there is a nice circle, 1cm in diameter, burned on the window-sill...
Apart of that, nothing happened to anyone, nor to the transmitter & antenna
cable. Since this accident I don't have to explain _again_ to be careful due
to a really high voltage in the wire and the tuning coil - everybody knows
it too well...
BTW is THIS frequency causing "only" a scalding or an electric shock or
both? HF stays on the body surface, might burn the skin, but what about
137kHz? I am simply curious...
73! Marek SQ5BPM
SP5ZCC Scouts Radio Club
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