Murphy and rooftop antennas

Since I became a more aged fellow this past Spring, I have been trying to be more safety conscious about how I approach dangerous activities.  So, I had a replacement beam antenna I wanted to install on my Glen Martin tower.  I spent most of the morning setting up ladders, safety lines and sorting out gear.  I had assembled the antenna the night before and tested the lengths to make sure they were all correct and then I lifted the new antenna into place against the gutter.  Of course, the phone rang, and I was off to handle some urgent business issues for about an hour.  When I returned, the sun came out and the cool morning temperatures quickly climbed to a steamy 87 degrees…not the best thing for roof work.  Still I was determined to get the antenna up while I had everything in place.  Got the antenna to the roof top, used a rope and pulley to heft it into place and then tied my ladder and myself to the tower, just in case something decided to let loose.  

So there I was about 45 feet in the air, one hand guiding the antenna and one hand digging into my pocket for the u-bolts.  Sure enough, just as I was about to insert the u-bolt, a gust of wind appeared and moved the antenna and the u-bolt slipped through my fingers to the roof below…then off the roof to the deck below and then….well, I don’t know where it landed.  I secured the antenna with the rope and worked my way back down to the ground and spent near 15 minutes looking for that darn u-bolt.  I never did find it!  Fortunately, I had another one from other installs so I could finish the job…but it just goes to show you that Murphy works in high places too!

BTW, the new antenna is up and works like a champ.