The snow and ice is gone, and spring is here again. That means the start of roof and antenna maintenance season at ARK. As usual, there is a lot to be done after a long winter with lots of weather. This week we used some light work on the roof as on the job training for new members learning how to use our fall protection gear.
The Student Society building is 10-15 meters tall, so falling down is not recommended. Safety is important, and for many years we did our best with anchoring ourselves to the closest antenna mast or other solid structure. But during a renovation of the roof a few years ago, the Student Society installed permanent cable lifelines along all sides of the building, and the new system is an absolute joy to use!
This time it was LB3BK’s and Tiril’s time to literally learn the ropes. We started by putting on the safety harness and adjusting about half a zillion straps to fit the wearer’s body. The club has harnesses in a few different sizes, but whichever size fits you, it was probably used by someone else last time, so it’s important to know all the ways to adjust it.
After putting on the harnesses, and testing everything by dangling from a roof beam inside, it was time to go out and use it in practice. There’s no replacement for actual experience when it comes to learning to use and trust the safety gear.
Even with the proper equipment, it can be scary to walk out to the gutter, or even just to the snow guard, but both Tiril and LB3BK did so bravely. The North side of the building is one of the scariest places to go on the roof. Trusting the equipment is absolutely necessary.
The main antenna maintenance work is still to come. This was just a light start and training session. The warm weather and the beautiful sunset was a nice touch, though. A great start on the university’s Easter vacation. We cross our fingers and hope for more evenings like this!
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