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General: Antenna Installation Precautions

What precaution should be taken when installing a ground-mounted antenna? [G0A13]

A. It should not be installed higher than you can reach
B. It should not be installed in a wet area
C. It should limited to 10 feet in height
D. It should be installed so no one can be exposed to RF radiation in excess of maximum permissible limits

To accurately answer this question, we should run down the list of possible answers one by one….

A. It should not be installed higher than you can reach.  This is obviously false, as you know by now the higher you can get an antenna, is usually better.  Granted you’ll need to reach it eventually, but if its on the roof or the top of a tower… good for you!

B. It should not be installed in a wet area.  Now, I’m sure this might be true, just from an engineering or convenience point of view. Who wants to slog around in the mud, right?  Putting an antenna in a wet area isn’t necessarily a problem.  Actually, depending on the water, it may actually be beneficial…  So not B.

C. It should limited to 10 feet in height.  Nope, nope, nope.  My 43′ ground-mounted vertical says nope.

So, that leaves us with D. It should be installed so no one can be exposed to RF radiation in excess of maximum permissible limits.

Now this is usually more of a concern if you’re running a high-power amplifier.  You don’t want anyone near your radiating elements with 1kW of RF coming out of them.  But even some antennas can pose a danger at lower power, say 100W.  You don’t want to put them where they could cause a problem.  It’s just the right thing to do.  D. is the correct answer.

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