I’m just sitting here, sipping coffee and waiting for K5DDL to arrive so we can spend a day doing ham stuff. Fixing an antenna, working on new radio consoles for our respective pickups, maybe working on a new 160m vertical.
It’s a beautiful day out there and the thought occurred that this would be the perfect time for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere who haven’t yet been covered in snow to tend to a bit of annual maintenance on the radio equipment. Especially the antenna system components that are outside.
Things like; check the guy lines on the vertical antennae, make sure the weatherproofing on connectors and lightning arrestors is intact, wire antenna suspension lines and counterweights in good condition, tower guys, all the grounding system components and connections…
Also a great opportunity to test run the generator, if you have one, and make sure it’s ready for winter and the power failures that can accompany a blizzard or ice storm. If you use back-up batteries for your radio gear, it’d be a good time to check that system out and ensure it’ll do its job when you need it.
The motto is “When All Else Fails — Amateur Radio”. It’s our duty as amateur radio operators and emergency communicators, to ensure that amateur radio never fails.
73,
ldb
K5WLF