PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-696
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 696
NOVEMBER 2010
46
PS 696
NOV 10
1)
Carry small batteries inside your clothes
to keep them warm. Reactivate cold-
soaked batteries by warming them under
your clothes. Keep the batteries from
contact with other metal objects.
2)
If a radio set must be set up outside, put
it in a sheltered place. A wind block, like a
lean-to, helps keep sets away from direct
exposure to cold winds.
3)
Raise RF cables above the ground to
keep them from freezing to the ground.
Use poles or tree limbs to raise the cables.
4)
Check antenna systems often and
remove snow, ice or slush that might
diminish your signal or create a “falling
ice” hazard.
5)
Put frost shields over microphones.
If you don’t have a shield or your handset
doesn’t have a place to fit one, a piece
of plastic—like a battery bag—will do
the job.
6)
Remove all snow, ice, water and dirt
from cable connections before connecting
them. You’ll get a poor connection or
broken connectors if you don’t.
7)
Rubber and rubber compounds become
stiff and brittle as temperatures plunge. In
cold weather, cables and wire should be
flexed slowly and carefully to keep them
from cracking and breaking.
8)
Lube, but don’t over-lube. Lubricants
can get stiff in cold weather and fail to do
their job. The keys to lubing in the cold are
frequent checks, to make sure lube hasn’t
gotten stiff, and frequent applications.
9)
Plugs, jacks, keys, shafts, bearings,
dials, and switches can malfunction due to
contraction of metal parts in extreme cold.
Check them often and keep them warm
and clean.
10)
Make sure all motors and fans run
freely. Snow and ice build-up can shut
down a critical fan and kill a much-
needed motor.
11)
Make sure all knobs and controls
move easily. Stiff controls might indicate
a freezing problem.
12)
Keep cables out from under the
snow. Pull them free after every snowfall.
A cable hidden under snow is hard to
find—except when it’s pulled loose by a
big foot or run over by a track.
13)
Any equipment that generates heat
during operation will “breathe” or draw
in cold air as the equipment cools. If
heated equipment is brought into contact
with extremely cold air, the glass, plastic
and ceramic parts may break. So give
hot equipment time to cool down before
taking it out of a shelter into the cold.
“Sweating”
is
the
opposite
of
“breathing.” If cold equipment is brought
into contact with warm air, the moisture
in the air will condense on the equipment
and freeze when the equipment is taken
into the cold again.
So wrap cold equipment in a blanket
or parka for a bit before you take it into a
heated shelter.
Cold-Weather Commo Tips…
A Baker’s Dozen
when
we think
of the
number 13,
most of
us think
of
bad
luck.
but here
are 13
cold-
weather
commo
tips
that
will bring
you only
good
luck.
ahhh,
nice and
warm!
I’m
f-f-
freezing!
I like
the view
from up
here!
now you’ve
got me
covered!
ooh!
I’m
so
stiff!
keep me
movin’
free
and
easy!
696.46-47.indd
1-2
10/5/10
11:07 AM
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