S ON A WHIP ANTENNA TIEDOWN...
 SAFETY'S THE END ITEM
 COMMUNICATIONS





 A tied-down radio antenna can meet the official requirements, pass every test,
 but still-
 Still, it can play a part in some entirely unexpected accidents, like maybe the
 antenna tip in a Joe's face, or eyeball.
 Man doesn't have to be a brain-trust to figure out that accidental sort of an-
tenna-tipping won't be doin' anybody's eyeball or face any good.
 So it takes a little something' to make
that tied-down antenna safer. UI
 YOUR
 Like a rubber ball, or a plastic ball. Yp
Or a plastic cushion you can build for TAPE A BAll ON I...
yourself, right on the antenna.
 If you use a ball, you'll have to
scrounge one up yourself.
 But you can go after a 30-foot roll of ... OR CUSHION
polyethylene electrical insulation tape WITH TAPE
with FSN 5970-240-0620. It's listed on
Pg 3.44 of Fed Cat C5970-IL-A (Nov
69).
 Just wrap the tape around the an-
tenna tip, stretching the tape as you go.
Keep this up until you get a comfy
cushion of the soft stuff.
 If you use the rubber-ball method, you could wrap tape around the ball and
anchor the ball with the tape a little below its bottom.
 The extra protection should whittle down the chances of some unhappy Joe
getting his eyeball skewered by a stray antenna tip-and it won't interfere with
the performance of your antenna.
 Further along the sunny side, if you're using the MS-118A mast section you're
in luck. You can request an antenna tip assembly (FSN 5985-930-7223) for the
MS-118A. It's listed on Pg 74, Fed Cat C5985-IL-A (Nov 69).
 And for bright times in the future, there's a plan in the mill to authorize pro-
tective antenna tip assemblies for the AT-1095/VRC antenna element.
 Meanwhile, you can use a ball, insulating tape, fishing corks, bottle stoppers,
styrofoam and other non-conductive items, as field expedients.
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