HAM’S LIFE

West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society (WTARS) steps forward to promote amateur radio and is to be commended for humanitarian efforts.

It all started when Bob Alper, W6KT, went to visit his friend and fellow ham Gary King, W4WKZ, in November 2008.  It was then that Bob discovered Gary’s 60 foot tower and antenna array had been damaged.  Gary is legally blind so he was not able to make repairs to his tower and antenna system himself. 

Along with his other amateur related activities, before his antennas were damaged, Gary daily reported weather conditions in Medon, TN, Gary’s home town, to the National Weather Service in Memphis, TN but after his antenna system was damaged he was unable to operate his station and thus not able to send in his daily weather report. 

Bob related Gary’s plight to other members of WTARS and the club was able to purchase a new tower and antenna system for Gary.  In the summer’s heat of July 2009 a group of WTARS members gathered at Gary’s home and poured 880pounds of concrete, which they mixed in five gallon buckets, to form a base for the new tower.  It took four more months to obtain the rest of the parts needed to complete the tower and antennas and install them. 

Finally after over a year of silence W4WKZ was back on the air on December fifth of 2009. 

WTARS is not unlike other clubs.  It does not have a large pot of money waiting to be used for such projects but it does have member who are willing to give of their time and personal finances to help a fellow ham in need. 

Thank you WTARS members for being an excellent example to us all. 

That yellow safety sticker on an antenna tower, push-up pole or vertical antennas will not protect you.  It is there to remind you of the hazards of raising a conductor around power lines.

On 10/12/2009 at 2040 Eastern Time a 55 year old man, his 49 year old wife, and their 15 year old son were electrocuted while attempting to raise an antenna for the man’s mother.  None of the deceased were ham radio operators but the mother was a licensed ham (out of respect I will reframe from giving her call sign.)  The 50 foot vertical antenna they were trying to erect fell across a 13,000 volt power line. 

When erecting antennas check to be sure there is no way the antenna or its support can come in contact with power lines either while they are being erected or if a storm should bring them down later.  If you are not experienced at raising either a push-pole or a tower get help from someone who is experienced and knows what they are doing.  For safety reasons this type of work should not be done in the dark. 

While the above individuals were not alone I just want to thrown in the following bit of advice.  Never work on a tower, ladder, roof, or other elevated platform alone.  Always have another person to assist. 

Accidents will happen but their frequency of occurrence can be greatly reduced by taking a little time and evaluate the possibilities so the negative potentials can be avoided.