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Antenna Eye Protection
Gene A Bigham (KB0GU)
on
March 30, 2005
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I was just wiping my eyeglasses clean and noticed a scratch on the outside of my right hand lens. This reminded me of the afternoon I assembled my VHF beam that uses small diameter rods for the elements. I remember turning and catching one of those rods on my glasses instead of poking my eye. I do not know that I would have thought eye protection was necessary assembling an antenna.
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by NS6Y_ on March 30, 2005
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This is why OSHA requires safety glasses for people working with all kinds of stuff like that.......
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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Good thought, I will keep this in mind on future projects like when I am hooking up my next brand new radio!
Oh and I know that I should probably ask this in the Elmer section but, when I do hook up that radio, it will probably have a red and black power cable the way my last one did. I figured that this was probably important, you know like in the movies, ‘cut the red wire’ but, for the life of me I could see no real reason. So, I just made a choice, I mean it was 50/50 ya know. Everything seemed to work fine but, I am still troubled that I may have done something wrong! As my feelings of foreboding grow, I find it more and more difficult to do anything!
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by KG6WLS on March 30, 2005
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That wouldn't have happened if you were installing a fan dipole :p
I know; wrong type of antenna but I couldn't resist.
Eyes are can not be replaced. Eye protection is the best tool to have.
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by W8LBO on March 30, 2005
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Good reminder posting. I'm glad to hear it didn't go through your glasses. My foster grandad, W8LBO sk, had the same thing happen to him, except the antenna went through his glasses into his eye. It was in a remote location too, so it took about an hour or so to get to the hospital. youch.
73 es 99,
Tim W8LBO
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by K4JSR on March 30, 2005
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All in favor of protecting your sight vote by saying "EYE"!
Fortunately for me I am nearly blind without my
trifocals.
Proper safety precautions are imperative to living long and dying happy. I may no longer have my wits about me, but I do still have all of my appendages.
(For the moment.)
Tom, the world's oldest hippie, will tell you that you do indeed need to have fan safety glasses on while working on fan dipoles.
Also remember to never look into a laser with your only remaining good eye!
73, Cal K4JSR
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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Gee, if I really worked at it, couldn’t I poke my eye with a Fan Dipole? Maybe I should give this an empiric test? I mean, Ham radio is about experimentation, yes?
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by N7FZ on March 30, 2005
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You asked about the significance of the red and black wiring.
It is the standard for DC wiring that the red wire is "Hot" (+) and the black wire is "Ground" (-). AC wiring has a different color code that I won't go into here, unless asked.
While it doesn't matter in a practical sense, as long as hot is connected to hot and ground to ground, it makes it much easier for everyone, including yourself, if the wiring color codes are consistent. You don't have to wonder which wire is hot, and you're much less likely to miswire a piece of equipment and let the smoke out.
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by N7FZ on March 30, 2005
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One additional comment on red/black wiring.
Most manufacturers place a fuse in the red wire on DC powered rigs, and have pre-installed connectors. If you cross wire one of these, there are two problems: First, you have just reverse wired the rig and there is a good chance that the smoke is going to come out; Second, the fuse is now in the ground side and won't protect the rig at all.
So, wiring according to the standard is a good idea.
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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N7FZ, Thanks but, I'm still a bit confused!
Hooked up either way, neither red or black wires ever got hot? Also, my understanding is that solid state radios, unlike older vacuum tube stuff, don't get hot. So, where would the smoke come from?
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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Speaking of ‘safety issues’, I was just reading that ARRL announcement from about 5 years ago, that told of an epidemiological study on RF exposure. So, if there is a concern about the 100 Watts on average that most Ham’s use, or even the smaller percentage that might be exposed to HF power levels closer to 1kW, what about this idea?
Max Planck taught us that every time we double frequency, we double joule energy levels. So, if a TV station is running power levels of many thousand Watts, at frequencies near 200 MHz, and the operator lives at the continuous duty transmitter for days at a time -- would not his RF exposure be much greater (and a potential epidemiological danger) than ours could ever be?
I have known many such station engineers that did just that, started in their 20’s, and retired from the job 30 or more years later. They were all quite healthy for their age!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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Speaking of ‘safety issues’, I was just reading that ARRL announcement from about 5 years ago, that told of an epidemiological study on RF exposure. So, if there is a concern about the 100 Watts on average that most Ham’s use, or even the smaller percentage that might be exposed to HF power levels closer to 1kW, what about this idea?
Max Planck taught us that every time we double frequency, we double joule energy levels. So, if a TV station is running power levels of many thousand Watts, at frequencies near 200 MHz, and the operator lives at the continuous duty transmitter for days at a time -- would not his RF exposure be much greater (and a potential epidemiological danger) than ours could ever be?
I have known many such station engineers that did just that, started in their 20’s, and retired from the job 30 or more years later. They were all quite healthy for their age!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by KC8VWM on March 30, 2005
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Funny you mentioned that. It brought back a memory I had when a friend and I, way back in public school around 1976 brought a pair of CB Walkie Talkies with telescopic antennas to school to play with in the schoolyard.
We were approached by one of the teachers who took away our radios citing that "we could poke someone in the eye" with the antennas extended from the radios.
I remember arguing the fact that we could play with them without extending the antennas. Unfortunately, she didn't buy into my idea very well and we were told to never bring the radios back on school property again.
Go figure? We where just having fun!
73 Charles - KC8VWM
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 30, 2005
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Charles, In the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness -- fun is the first quality to go!
Live free, or die!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by K4JSR on March 30, 2005
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Careful John! Charles may double up on you and beat you with Constant's Plank!
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by W5RYA on March 30, 2005
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Eye protection is important any time one is doing any type of construction. Safety os always more important than rushing through the job.
Having said that, I must observe that, like every thread on eHam, most of the responses have absolutely nothing to do with the original topic.
James B. Sims, W5RYA
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by KC8VWM on March 31, 2005
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I don't see James point either. What does working in the construction trade have to do with anything being discussed here?
*shrug*
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by NS6Y_ on March 31, 2005
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Building/erecting an antenna is CONSTRUCTION. Listen to yer momma, or at least listen to OSHA.
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA6BFH on March 31, 2005
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My momma never taught me to construct an antenna? She did clothes-pin some of her undies to a friends mobile 6 Meter Squalo once!
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA2JJH on April 1, 2005
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Remember those cheap ch14 h-t's(walkie talkie) are you not glad they put that litte button on top of telescoping whips.
Built in safety. If the botton broke off, you could not pull up the antenna.
Now I am looking at a SABER/ASTRO manual. It shows a smiling head with the rubber duck to be
placed at least 4 inches from eyes. Think of how you use your 4W UHF H-T.......Were all doomed!!!! april fool!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by WA2JJH on April 1, 2005
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Charles, you could definitly play a lawyer on TV!
Why dont you retro-actively sue that teacher for messin your civil liberties! Pursuit of being happy and stuff.
Sue in small claims court and insist on binding arbitration. Cost 12 bux, you can sue for $5000.
It is better odds than the lottery!
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by W9EYE on April 1, 2005
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Gene:
Great public service reminder! I am a ham by avocation but an eye surgeon by vocation, and have seen way too many preventable but devastating eye injuries over the years. As I began to assemble my TGM Hybrid Quad recently, I noticed eye protection was recommended in bold letters in the manual. 73 and stay safe!
Gavin
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by KB0GU on April 2, 2005
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Thank you, Gavin. The instruction manual from the manufacturer, who I am not naming, does include a warning about coming into contact with electrical while erecting the antenna but does not mention eye protection. My eye glasses have worked as safety glasses in many instances but I do own and often use a full cover safety glasses that work well over my eye glasses. I have been glad I had them on in several instances. I was in a hurry to get the vhf beam up and running when this incident occurred, and I do not mind admitting I did not consider the potential for an eye accident until I "ran" into it.
Again, I am glad nothing worse happened.
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by KQ6Q on April 3, 2005
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Getting poked in the eye is definitely something to avoid. I was considering capacity hats from DX Engineering to make a 80 meter resonator work on 160, but realized that having rods several feet long sticking out horizontally on my roof could be VERY hazardaous to my vision. So I bought a ProAm 160 meter resonator where the only whip goes straight up!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by N2EY on April 5, 2005
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"if a TV station is running power levels of many thousand Watts, at frequencies near 200 MHz, and the operator lives at the continuous duty transmitter for days at a time -- would not his RF exposure be much greater (and a potential epidemiological danger) than ours could ever be? "
No.
The difference is that most TV stations put the antenna way up in the air. The transmitter and feedline are well shielded. The technicians/engineers at the transmitter are not exposed to much RF unless they remove shields when the rig is running.
The TV transmitting antennas are usually directional in the vertical plane, to concentrate the signal at the horizon rather than wasting it on the sky or nearby ground. This means the main lobe of the signal is way over your head if you're near the base of the tower.
In short, although a broadcast TV transmitting antenna radiates enormous amounts of RF, you simply can't get close enough to the high intensity areas without a helicopter.
But in a ham installation, we often don't have that kind of setup at all. Our antennas aren't usually many wavelengths above where people can get at them. So we have to do some rough calculations about expected worst-case exposures.
73 de Jim, N2EY
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Antenna Eye Protection
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by NU6A on April 6, 2005
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Along about 1975 or so, when I was very active as a Certified Safety Professional, there was a group of people that joined together to form an organization known as the Wise Old Owl (WOO) Club. In order to be a member, one had only to provide proof positive of how eye injuries (both industrial and otherwise) were prevented or avoided. Lots of photographic slides and movies of safety glasses holding itinerant nuts, bolts, shafts of metal, etc. Of course, there were also some rather gruesome photos and movies (yep, live action and unplanned) of actual eye injury incidents. I never showed the eye injury movies at tail gate meetings that were just prior to lunch time.
Follow the Boy Scout oath: Be prepared!
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RE: Antenna Eye Protection
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by KC0KBH on April 9, 2005
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Not a huge fan of safety stuff here. Too much of an inconvenience. I do use safety glasses when using a grinder or ear protection when using my STIHL 010. But, I just don't see why anyone needs to wear safety glasses while pounding in a nail with a hammer. Is the nail going to blow up and send hundreds of little pieces of shrapnal into you? I don't think so.
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Letting the smoke out
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by N0EW on April 11, 2005
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"Letting the smoke out" is a somewhat funny way to say "damage the equipment."
You will hear this term and other statements such as "all electronics are powered by smoke - if you let it out they no longer function." This is not to be taken literally.
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RE: Letting the smoke out
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by WD6GLA on May 30, 2006
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All kidding aside , its good advice to wear eye protection when you are working with anything that can hurt ya. You never know when it can happen and it will . Murphy is highly involved in things like this . Case in point , I was planting some cactus' a couple weeks ago in my yard ...the wind was blowing ... I was digging away and wham , a chunk of fuzzy needle stuff from one of the cactus pads blew off and straight in my left eyeball . YEOW ! Damn that hurt ! Took me over a week to get it out of there and healed up . I could have avoided the whole routine if I had worn my safety goggles. Pointy things like antenna elements could do a whole lot worse. It happens fast !
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