Comments on: Field Day 2008, wherein even a near-miss with a collapsing antenna can’t spoil the fun http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/2008/07/01/field-day-2008/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:39:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Wintermute http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/2008/07/01/field-day-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-31137 Wintermute Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:13:47 +0000 http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/?p=852#comment-31137 If you want to talk near-miss by an antenna... A co-worker and I were doing work on the ground at a tower site (we were working for an ISP who was branching into fixed-wireless) while a hired tower crew were hanging our antennas at 175'. They hauled up a tie-back pole on a "Chinese finger-cuff," which was over black electrical tape and then let it dangle in the sun for several hours until they needed it. The sun heated the tape, causing it to melt. In turn, the ten-foot-long tie-back pole slipped out of the cuff and made its very rapid decent, hitting the ground well within arm's reach. I nearly took up smoking that day... If you want to talk near-miss by an antenna… A co-worker and I were doing work on the ground at a tower site (we were working for an ISP who was branching into fixed-wireless) while a hired tower crew were hanging our antennas at 175′. They hauled up a tie-back pole on a “Chinese finger-cuff,” which was over black electrical tape and then let it dangle in the sun for several hours until they needed it. The sun heated the tape, causing it to melt. In turn, the ten-foot-long tie-back pole slipped out of the cuff and made its very rapid decent, hitting the ground well within arm’s reach. I nearly took up smoking that day…

]]> By: Cyde Weys http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/2008/07/01/field-day-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-30638 Cyde Weys Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:31:21 +0000 http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/?p=852#comment-30638 I wish I had brought my digicam so I'd have some pictures to put up here on the blog, but I've never been good about bringing my camera anywhere (or anticipating a need for it, for that matter). One little thing I forgot to mention in the post: we tried the PSk31 band on 20 metes but couldn't get anywhere with it. The entire band was packed full of loud signals, and we couldn't break through. The sound of all of those PSK31 signals coming in at once was a sound out of this world. It reminded me of the alien harmonies from the movie <i>Close Encounters of a Third Kind</i>. I wish I had brought my digicam so I’d have some pictures to put up here on the blog, but I’ve never been good about bringing my camera anywhere (or anticipating a need for it, for that matter).

One little thing I forgot to mention in the post: we tried the PSk31 band on 20 metes but couldn’t get anywhere with it. The entire band was packed full of loud signals, and we couldn’t break through. The sound of all of those PSK31 signals coming in at once was a sound out of this world. It reminded me of the alien harmonies from the movie Close Encounters of a Third Kind.

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