Family Electrocuted Putting up Ham Radio Antenna .

[megimoo]

PALM BAY - Police say a mother, father and 15-year-old son were electrocuted while putting up a ham radio antenna in their Palm Bay home.
snip
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The father and son were taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct...news-breaking/

[stsinner]

I thought this was a dying hobby...

[AlmostThere]

We need to ban electricity ASAP so some other blithering idiots don't do likewise.

Gov health care =

[FlaGator]

We need to ban electricity ASAP so some other blithering idiots don't do likewise.

Gov health care =

We'll just stick a warning label on it.

[megimoo]

I thought this was a dying hobby...

No it's still very much alive .They've changed the rules a lot as the old time Morse Code C.W. operators have died off most now days are into communicating on three Kilowatt PEP Single Sideband .

The beam antenna are usually one quarter length long but with five elements each a quarter wavelength long and spaced a quarter wavelength apart they can get quite massive .

A full Wavelength Antenna at 20 Meters is about 65 Feet X the number of elements !

D.X long range stuff requires an Beam antenna of some kind .Depending on what frequency they operate on these things can get very massive.

When they erect the beam elements quite often they are in a very limited space constraint and once these beams are on the way up the tower they tend to swing a mite into the wind.

Any overhead 18 KV High Tension transmission lines are always a hazard.People holding onto 'Gin Poles' to guide these things from swinging around are a on direct path to ground and everlasting glory !

[AlmostThere]

No it's still very much alive .They've changed the rules a lot as the old time Morse Code C.W. operators have died off most now days are into communicating on three Kilowatt PEP Single Sideband .

The beam antenna are usually one quarter length long but with five elements each a quarter wavelength long and spaced a quarter wavelength apart they can get quite massive .

A full Wavelength Antenna at 20 Meters is about 65 Feet X the number of elements !

D.X long range stuff requires an Beam antenna of some kind .Depending on what frequency they operate on these things can get very massive.

When they erect the beam elements quite often they are in a very limited space constraint and once these beams are on the way up the tower they tend to swing a mite into the wind.

Any overhead 18 KV High Tension transmission lines are always a hazard.People holding onto 'Gin Poles' to guide these things from swinging around are a on direct path to ground and everlasting glory !

Hey dude, did you leave your sense of humor at work or something?

I thought this was a dying hobby...

People electrocuted being idiots.

Geez dude, get a beer and relax.

[megimoo]

Hey dude, did you leave your sense of humor at work or something?
People electrocuted being idiots.

Geez dude, get a beer and relax.

You people are much too subtle for me as I tend to take the written word as serious fact until proven false.Much that passes for humor these days slips under the wire of late night show type puns.
I should have spent more time watching Johnie Carson or Letterman I guess.

[SarasotaRepub]

A shocking story!!! :eek::D

And of course, it's Florida.