Amateur Radio Technician License

Tony Pelliccio, KD1S

The Book
The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: Level 1 Technician by Ward Silver , N0AX Available on Amazon for approximately $16 less than on ARRL site. ISBN: 978-0-87259-097-7

About me
Licensed since 1992, amateur extra class. Also hold FCC Commercial Radiotelephone license. Volunteer examiner with ARRL and W5YI credentials.

Chapter 1
Welcome to Amateur Radio Amateur radio is a recognized national asset it provides trained operators, technical specialists, and emergency communications in time of need. First amateur radio license was issue one hundred years ago, 1912. Amateur Service created with Comm. Act of 1934

Chapter 1 Continued
What hams do:
Talk ragchews, contests Send Morse Code Build Things like oscillators, filters. Watch pictures on HF, fast-scan on UHF ARES/RACES

Tests
Technician test minimum 26 out of 35 General test minimum 26 out of 35 Extra test minimum 37/50 Theoretically you could sit for all three exams in one session, its only 120 questions. Question pools can be found on the web.

Tests Continued
Two ways to prepare
Read the book Drill on the question pool.

Some additional ham activities

Field Day APRS Meteor Scatter and Earth-Moon-Earth

Chapter 2
Radio Signals and Waves
SI units As a signal oscillates the back and forth motion is the cycle measured as cycles per second (cps) or Hertz (Hz) Period of the cycle, 0 volts, to peak, to negative and back to zero is the cycle, this is represented by the letter T 1/T gives you the frequency

Chapter 2 Continued
Harmonics 1st, 2nd, 3rd order etc. Spurious emissions Determining wavelength from frequency employ formula =300/f where is the wavelength, and f is the frequency in MHz.

Modulation
Types of modulation
Continuous Wave (CW) e.g. Morse code Voice/Phone

Demodulation
AM/FM AM Plus two sidebands SSB carrier supressed Frequency and phase modulation

Modulation Continued
In FM, the limiter strips amplitude from a signal. Hence FMs superior noise performance. On HF, SSB is better than AM or FM, but best of all is CW.

Elements of Radio
Feed Line feed lines have loss, some better than others. Hard line is pretty much the best. Transmitter for sending information Receiver For receiving information TR Switch a method to switch the antenna when transmitting and receiving in a transciever.

Elements of Radio
Repeaters take a signal input and rebroadcast on another. Takes advantage that lower powered transmitters can extend their range using a repeater. Duplexers devices which allow both receiving and transmitting simultaneously. Sometimes referred to as cans.

Chapter 3
Electric current, symbol I is flow of electrons Electrons are negatively charged particles Current is measured in Amperes, abbreviated A or amps Ammeter is device used to measure flow THROUGH something.

Voltage
Symbol E the electromotive force or electrical potential that makes electrons move. Abbreviated V. Measured one point to another, or with respect to a reference voltage. Negative voltage repels electrons, positive voltage attracts electrons.

Grounding
Surface of earth acts as universal reference for voltage measurements Called earth ground, ground potential, or just ground.

Circuits
Path through which current can flow Series circuits Parallel Circuits Open circuit Short Circuit

Measuring Voltage, Current and Resistance

Basic multimeters can measure voltage, current and resistance and more. If resistance in a circuit starts out low and rises, it indicates the presence of a large value capacitor. Caution measuring energized circuits could damage a multimeter.

Resistance
Measured with an ohmmeter, its symbol is R I is current E is voltage R = E/I I = E/R E = I/R P = E*I

Resistance Continued
E = P/I I = P/E P is power measured in watts.

Current
DC AC

Components
Resistors control flow of current. Measured in ohms. Capacitors store electrical energy in electric fields. Made up of two plates (electrodes) separated by dielectric (air, etc) Inductors store magnetic energy in a magnetic field. It is called Inductance and measured in Henrys (H), nano-henrys(nH), microhenrys(H)

Color Codes
Black 0 Brown 1 Red 2 Orange 3 Yellow 4 Green 5 Blue 6 Violet 7 Gray 8 White 9

Transformers
Made from two or more inductors Inductors can share energy Can change combinations of voltage and current

Reactance and Impedance

In a resistor, ac voltages and current are In Phase In capacitors , change in current leads voltage because of the capacitor smoothing out the action which works against voltage In an inductor, changes in current are a little behind changes in voltage because the inductor resists changes in current

Reactance and Impedance 2

Capacitive and inductive reactance result in AC current flow called Reactance measured as X Based on amount of capacitive or inductive reactance and the frequency of the AC current Resistance and Reactance is called Impedance measured in ohms and represented by Z.

Resonance
At some frequency, the two types of reactance will be equal and cancel each other out. This brings an AC current and voltage exactly back in step with each other Circuits with capacitors and inductors will have at least one resonant frequency and are called resonant circuits or tuned circuits

Resonance continued
Variable capacitors and variable inductors can be used to vary resonant frequency. This can act as filter, passing or rejecting signals at the resonant frequency.

Diodes, Transistors and ICs

Made from semiconductors P-N and PN junction created by doping with impurities. PN junction conducts better in one direction than the other. Semiconductor that only allows current flow in one direction is called a diode.

Diodes Continued
Heavy duty diodes that withstand large voltages and currents are called rectifiers. Diode has two electrodes called the anode and the cathode. LEDs are diodes!

Transistors
Made of N and P type materials Two main types:
Bipolar Junction (BJT) Field Effect (FET)

BJT formed from three alternating layers of n and p type material. Electrodes are called Base, Emitter and Collector.
Two types of BJT NPN PNP

Field Effect Transistor

Constructed as a conducting path or channel of N or P type material Ends of the channel form the source and drain electrodes. The gate electrode is used to control current flow through the channel.

Integrated Circuits
Many components Assembled as simple circuits Packaged as a single component.

Protective Components
Fuses Circuit Breakers GFCI Senses current imbalance. Resist temptation to use fuses or breakers rated for higher current even for just a minute. Surge protectors limit voltage transients. Above normal turns into resistor when voltage gets too high Dissipate as heat energy that would otherwise be passed to the equipment.

Switches
Switches Relays Interrupt or control flow of current in a circuit. By opening and closing said circuit via manual or magnetic means.

Schematics
Standard Reference - shows how components are connected together electrically. Resistors R Capacitors C Inductors L Diodes D Transistors Q

Schematics Continued
Intersecting lines dont necessarily mean a connction. A Dot indicated connection. Well constructed schematics have inputs at left, outputs on right. Positive voltages at the top Negative or grounds at the bottom.

Oscillators
Produce a steady signal at one frequency Used in both transmitters and receivers. In a transmitter the output signal from an oscillator is modulated and amplified before actually being applied to an antenna. Next stage of a transmitter is the amplifier circuit, also know as the driver. This makes the signal stronger.

Oscillators Continued
Driver allows oscillator to run at low power so frequency remains stable.

Filters
Reject unwanted signals Reducing signal strength is called attenuation. Filter ciruit rejects unwanted signals at its input by attenuating them. Passes desired signals with little or no attenuation. Filter that attenuates signals below a cutoff frequency is a high-pass filter (HPF)

Filters Continued
If the filter removes signals above the cutoff frequency is a low-pass filter (LPF) Band-Pass filters reject signals outside the frequency band between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies. Notch or band-reject is the opposite of bandpass. A band of frequencies is attenuated while all others pass.

Modulators
Modulator adds the date or voice signal to an RF signal.

Mixers
Closely related to modulators. Both types of circuits combine signals with the intent of producing an output signal with a different frequency The mixer is designed to comibine two RF signals. Produces a pair of output signals at the sum and difference of the input signal frequencies.

Demodulators
Circuit that separates the RF and data/voice

Detectors
Category of demodulator. Converts a modulated RF sigal directly fo a data or voice signal. For AM signals, simplest type of detector is an envelope detector.

Product Detectors
CW and SSB Detects CW and SSB signals by combining a signal at the frequency of the modulates signals RF carrier with the modulated signal itself. For CW signals, the output of the product detector is an audio tone reproducing the On-Off Morse code pattens. For SSB the output is reproduced as speech or data signal.

Frequency Discriminator
Recover information from an FM signal Translates the variations of the FM signal's frequency back to the original signal used to modulate the RF carrier.

Receivers
Most widely used if cell phones included is the direct-conversion receiver. Superheterodyne receiver - the standard in Amateur Radio. Invented during 1920's, key chanracteristic of the 'superhat' is the use of mixers to shirt incoming signals of any frequency to a single fixed frequency called the intermediate frequncy(IF)

IF Amplifier
Amplifies the signal so that it can be demodulated and the information recovered. In a suprhet, the oscillator used by the product detector is called a beat frequency oscillator (BFO) because it can be adjusted to produce different tones or frequencies called 'beats' originallay, in the output signal.

Limiter
high-gain amplifier that removes all amplitude variations from the signal, leaving only the frequency variations that represent the modulation of the signal. The output of the limiter can then be applied to a discriminator to recover the voice signal that is then amplified and heard on a speaker.

Receivers Charactreristics
Receivers based on two primary characteristics: sensitivity and selectivity. Sensitivity determines the receivers ability to detect weak signals. Sensitivity is specified as a minimum detecable signal level, usually measured in micro-volts(uV). If receiver is not sensitive enough a pre-amp can be placed between antenna and receiver.

Receiver Characteristics Continued

Selectivity is the ability of the receiver to retrieve the information from just the desired signal in the presence of unwanted signals.

Transverters
Low power tranmitter output signals on one band are shifted to the new output frequency where they are amplified for transmission. A receiving converter(basicaly a mixer) shifts incoming signals to the desired band where they are received as regular signals by the transceiver.

Chapter 4
Propagation
Radio waves spread out from the antenna in straight lines unless reflected of diffracted along the way, just like light. The strength of a radio wave decreases as it travels farther from the transmitting antenna. Eventually the wave becomes too weak to be received because it has spread out too much or something along its path absorbed or scattered it.

Propagation Continued
The distance over which a radio transmission can be received is called range. The curvature of the earth sets and effective range limit for many signals, creating a radio horizon. Line of sight propagation takes place between transmitting and receiving antennas that are within direct sight of each other.

Propagation goes on
Most propagation at VHF and higher is line of sight. Increasing antenna height height or transmitter power also increases range of line of sight Radio waves at HF and lower frequencies can also travel along the surface of the earth as ground wave propagation

And on
Radio waves can be reflected by any sudden change in media through which they are traveling, such as building or hill, or even weather-related changes in the atmosphere. Obstructions such as buildings and hills create radio shadows, especially at VHF and UFH frequencies. Radio waves can be refracted or bent as they travel past sharp edges of those objects. It's called knife-edge propagation.

Refraction
Makes the earth seem less curved to VHF and UHF radio waves than light. This allows VHF and UHF signals to travel somewhat farther than the visual line of sight horizon. Radio waves can also penetrate openings in otherwise solid objects as long as at least one side of the opening is longer than about one-half wavelength For this reason, the shorter wavelengths of UHF signals make them ore effective at propagating into and out of buildings in urban areas.

Multipath
Radio signals arriving at a receiver after taking different paths from the transmitter can interfere with each other if they are out of phase, even cancelling completely. Results in irregular fading. Can be corrected by re-orienting antenna.

Mobile
On VHF/UHF signals from a mobile station moving in an area where multipath is present have a characteristic rapid variation in strength known as mobile flutter or picket fencing. Digital data signals can experience higher error rates due to multipath.

Atmospheric Ducting
Different media in the air can cause a tunneling effect for VHF/UHF communications. Can extend range of VHF/UHF significantly past line of sight. Range of hundreds of miles.

Ionospheric Propagation
Ions and electrons create a weakly conducing region in upper atmosphere. D, E, F1 and F2 layers Depend on day or night Refracts waves. Sky wave propagation of skip Each reflection from ionosphere is called a hop.

Ionospheric Propagation
VHF and higher wavelengths pass through ionosphere with little bending and are lost to space. Highest frequency that can be reflected is called the Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) During the day the 10 meter band can be more active due to sun activity.

Ionospheric Propagation
F layers can bend even VHF signals to earth Depending on solar activity, 10, 6 and 2 meters sporadic-E Approximately 50 miles above earth.

Meteor Scatter
Best band for Meteor Scatter is the 6m band. Ranges of 1,200 to 1,500 miles.

Antenna Fundamentals
Dimensions of an antenna must be an appreciable fraction of a signals wavelength. Feed Line delivers signals to /from antenna. Feed Point connection of antenna and feed line. Feed Point Impedance Conducting portions of an antenna are its elements.

Antenna Fundamentals
Element connected to feed line is called the Driven Element. If multiple elements connected to feed line it is a driven array. Elements not connected to feed line but used to influence antenna performance are called parasitic elements.

Antenna Fundamentals
Waves spread like ripples in water. RF is an electro-magnetic wave. Polarization vertical and horizontal. Different radiating patterns.

Decibels Bringing large and small together.

db = 10 log (power ratio) db = 20 log (voltage ratio) E.g. if an amplifier turns a 5W signal into a 25W signal it would be 10 log (25/5) or 10 log (5) = 7 db

Antenna Gain
Can be created by reflecting radio waves so that they are focused in one direction. Gain only focuses power. Isotropic antenna has no gain because it radiates equally in every possible direction. Omni directional antenna radiates a signal equally in every horizontal direction.

Antenna Gain
Antenna with gain in a single direction is called a beam or directional antenna. Gain is measured in dB

Radiation Patterns
Side Lobes Nulls Front to back ratio

Feed Lines
Feed lines at RF use special materials and construction to minimize power being dissipated as heat by feed line loss and to avoid signals leaking in or out. Coaxial Cable
Many types from jacketed copper to hard-line which has the lowest loss factor of all types of coaxial cable.

Open Wire Feed Line

Feed line of two parallel wires separated by an insulator. Called open-wire ladder line or twin lead.

Characteristic Impedance
Abbreviated as Z Measurement of how energy is carried by the feed line. Most coaxial cable for amateur use is 50 Coaxial cables for video and CATV have a Z of 75 Open wire has Z of 300 to 450

Standing Wave Ratio

If feed line and load impedances do not match, some of the power is reflected by the load. SWR is proportions of forward and reflected power. SWR of 1:1 is called a perfect match

Dipoles and Ground Planes

Simplest antenna is a dipole means two electrical parts. Made from straight wire or tubing one half wavelength long. Most are mounted horizontally and radiate a horizontaly polarized signal.

Ground Plane Antenna

Ground Plane Antenna is one-half of a diple with missing portion made up of an electrical mirror called the ground plane. Ground plane made of sheet metal or a screen of wires called radials. Ground plane generally one quarter wavelength long. Most used on AM broadcast towers.

Ground Plane Antenna

Good ground plane should extend by at least wavelength from base of antenna in all directions. Often called Verticals. Omni-directional.

Directional Antennas
In many cases it is desired to focus transmitted power (and optimize reception) in one direction, so a directional beam is used. With VHF/UHF if a direct signal path is blocked by building or other obstructions a beam antenna can be used to aim the signal at a reflecting surface

Directional Antennas
A beam is created from arrays of multiple elements. Most widely used types of beam antennas are the Yagis and Quads Both Yagis and quads are arrays, constructed from two or more dipoles(yagi) or loops (the quad) mounted on a central support called the boom.

Directional Antennas
Only driven element of Yagi or Quad is connected to a feed line. Remaining elements are parasitic arrays. Parasitic elements in the direction of minimum gain are called reflectors and are slightly larger than the driven element. Horizontally polarized Yahis and quads are usually used for long distance communications, especially for weak signal SSB and CW contacts on the VHF and UHF bands.

Directional Antennas
As frequency increases and the size of Yagi and Quad elements becomes smaller it becomes more difficult to construct practical antennas. At frequencies above 1GHz a dish antenna becomes more practical. Dish antenna has much more gain than even a Yagi, by a factor of 10 or more. On 33cm and 23cm bands dishes a few feet in diameter are common and really large dishes are not unknown. At frequencies above 10GHz or more dish size shrinks to meter in diameter while providing plenty of gain.

Practical Feed Lines

A larger diameter cable such as RG-8 will have less loss than a smaller cable such as RG-58. Performance of cable depends on physical integrity. Moisture is the most common enemy of coax. Coax should not be bent sharply.

Practical Feed Lines

Coaxial line connectors UHF series uses PL-259 Above 400MHz Type N connectors are used. Water in coaxial cable degrades the effectiveness of the braided shield and dramatically increases losses. If you use low-loss air core coax, extra attention need to be paid to connectors and water tight practice. Instead of SWR meter, many hams use wattmeter or directional wattmeter. You can convert the forward and reflected power readings to SWR by using a table or formula.

Band, Frequency and Mode

It isnt legal to us radios sold for Amateur Radio on other frequencies not in the amateur service. Available bands, 160m (1.8MHz) 80m (3.5MHz, 60m(5MHz), 40m(7MHz), 30m(10MHz), 20m(14MHz), 17m(18MHz), 15m(21MHz), 12m(21MHz), 10m(28MHz), 6m(50MHz), 2m(144Mhz), 1.25m(222MHz), 70cm(440MHz), 33cm(902MHz, 23cm(1240MHz, 13cm (2300MHz)

Modes
AM or SSB (USB or LSB) FM CW Data (For RTTY and other digitical modes) Radio memory channels store relative info.

Transmitter Functions
Speech compressors and processors Peak Envelope Power (PEP) is the measure of an AM or SSB signals power. CW and FM transmissions have a constant power output so PEP is equal to that constant level. Excessive modulation of speech results in distortion of transmitted speech and can cause unwanted spurious emissions. Called splatter or splattering.

Receivers
Squelch Carrier Squelch Wide filters used for SSB reception on phone. (2.4KHz) Narrow filters for CW(500Hz) Receivrer Incremental Tuning allows fine tune in SSB or CW. Allows operator to adjust the receiver frequency without changing the transmitter tuning. Noise limiters and blankers. Noise blanker senses the sharp buzz of pulses from arcing power lines, motors or vehicle ignition systems. Temporarily mutes

Signal Strength
In S units to 9. Change in 1 S unit corresponds to factor of 4. RF Power Amplifier can increase output power by a factor of five or more.

Errors in Digital Data

Fading, interfernce and noise often introduce errors into the stream of data, measured by bit error rate. Some codes include extra data elements that allow the receiver to detect an error, Eg. Parity bit. ARQ Automatic Repeat Request. APRS a packet radio station with GPS

Power Supplies and Batteries

Vehicles run on 13.8V so do radios. Regulated supplies are best. Special considerations with mobile wiring. Both leads should be fused. And in general connected directly to the battery. Alternator whine can be removed by dc power filer at your radio.

Batteries
Battery energy rating is ampere-hours(Ah) and specified the ability to deliver current while still maintaining a steady voltage. In emergencies a 12V lead-acid storage battery can be recharged by connecting to a vehicles battery and running the engine. Storage batteries can release or vent gases including hydrogen with can cause and explosion.

Filters
Ferrite chokes are also used to reduce RF current flowing on the outside of shielded audio and computer cables. Direct detection most common form of interference to telephones (And TVs now) Overload called fundamental overload. Sever interference on all TV channels.

Filters continued
Low-pass or band-pass filter can be installed on transmitters connection to the antenna feed line. In band interference Part 15 rules devices must not generate interference and also must accept interference from licensed sources. Be diplomatic!

RF Grounding
Floating grounds Earth grounds

Phonetics
For more clarity, use phonetics. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-Ray, Yankee, Zulu

Power Level
FCC rules are quite clear hams should use MINIMUM amount of power to make the contact. Maximum power is 1,500W. On certain bands lower power limits apply.

Locators
Grid Squares System of rectangles base on latitude and longitude. Four digit code of two letters followed by two numbers identified a unique rectangle of 1 degree latitude by 2 degrees longitude.

Appropriate Topics
No business to be conducted No incidental music No obsecene or indecent language.

Q Signals
QRM Your transmission is being interfered with. QRP Shall I decrease power, can you decrease power? QRZ Who is calling me? QSL Ackowledge receipt. QSO Communicate with QTH My location is, your location is?

Ending your conversation

Final I will be clear on your final QRU means I have nothing more for you. 73 Best Regards almost universal closing.

Band Plans
Easiest place to find current U.S. band plans is on the ARRLs web site. Calling frequencies and beacons

Repeater Contacts
Listen so youre aware the repeater is being used. Keep transmissions short. Identify your station required that every 10 minutes and on close. Pause briefly between transmissions to allow other stations to break in.

Repeater Contacts
Low batteries can cause distorted audio. Fading signals on reception due to low battery.

SSB, CW
Calling CQ: CQ CQ CQ DX de KD1S, Kilo Delta One Sierra calling CQ and standing by. CW just adds the prosign K at the end. Make sure no other station is using the frequency.

Simplex
Simplex calling frequency 146.52MHz on 2m, 446.00MHz for 70cm.

Using Repeaters
Finding repeaters google New England Repeater Directory Repeater offset or shift positive shift, negative shift. Repeater access codes CTCSS privacy tones and codes. Repeaters have timers that will shut off the transmitter. In order to avoid this, limit conversation to short times.

Using Repeaters
Emergency traffic takes precedence If a net is operating on phone, break in with your call sign plus Priority or Emergency Protect personal information never send confidential personal information via Amateur radio without consent.

Satellites
OSCAR Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio Use known as Squirting the bird Use minimum power Best results using a beam antenna. Brown University cubesat in 2014 will have amateur radio on it.

Other modes
Video ATV NTSC-Fast-Scan color. Meteor Scatter and Moon Bounc Radio Control
Limited to 1W One way signal that modifies or terminates functions of a controlled device. RC modelers are required to display their call sign, name and address on the RC transmitter.

Part 97
97.1 Value of amateur radio to the public (b) contribue to advancement of the art (c) advances the skill in both comms and technical phases of the art. (d) Expansion of trained operators (e) Enhance international good will.

Party 97
Reciprocal operating authority most of U.S., Canada and central and South America.

Taking the Exam

Exam sessions are listed on ARRL and W5YI VEC sites. You will need at least two forms of ID, one photo. CSCE and Form 605
CSEC good for 365 days.

Renew license every ten years, grace period 2 years.

US Call Signs
U.S. is divided into 9 regions. We in New England are in 1 land, NY/NJ is 2 Land, PA, WV, OH in 3 land and so on.

Control Operators
All transmissions must be made under the control of a properly licensed operator who is responsible for making sure all FCC rules are followed. That operator is the stations control operator. Station Licensee is responsible for desginating control operator E.g. W1AQ

Control Point
Control Point can be located remotely.

Control Operators
A guest operator hosted by a higher class licensee can operate using the hosts privileges only if the host is the control operator.

Identification
No unidentified transmissions allowed. Called kerchunking Give your call sign at least once ever ten minutes and when a contact is finished. 10 minute rule applies to test too. Required to identify in English. FCC suggests phonetics You can also identify by CW on phone.

Automatic Identification
Repeaters identify themselves by transmitting the station call sign by voice, by Morse Code (20WPM or slower) or as an image in a video signal.

Harmful Interference
If a transmission seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts the communications of a regulated service, thats considered harmful interference Reports of interference such as off-freq, or generating spurious signals (Splatter) should be checked out. Keep test transmissions short and use a dummy load.

Harmful Interference
If it is your fault, apologize, identify and take necessary steps to reduce intererference. Change frequencies, reduce power, move antenna.

Remote/Automatic Operation
IRLP Station must be operated in compliance with FCC rules, no matter where control point is located. Local control Remote operation Automatic operation

Prohibited Transmissions
Unidentified transmissions False or deceptive signals False distress or emergency signals Obscene or indecent speech. Business communications - but it is ok to advertise equipment for sale as long as it pertains to Amateur radio and is not your regular business.

Prohibited Transmissions
OK
Using a repeater autopatch to change a doctors appointment. Advertising a radio on swap and shop net. Describing your business as part of a casual conversation.

Not OK Using autopatch to call a business client and change and appointment Selling household or sporting goods.

Advertising your pro services. Being paid to operate station, exception for schools.

Encrypted Transmissions
Not ok to transmit secret codes to obscure content of transmissions. Encode and decode are ok because most are done accordign to published digital protocols (D-Star) Amateurs may not use encryption!

Broadcasting and Retransmisson

Broadcasting is one way
Cannot repeat or relay from other communication services.

No incidental retransmission of music or video Music can only be rebroadcast as part of authorized rebroadcast of space station transmissions. On a plane or boat, you may only operate with the approval of the captain.

Safety
Electrical hazards can result in two types of injuries, shock and burn. Voltages as low as 30 volts can cause enough current flow to be dangerous. Avoiding hazards:
Discharge capacitors in safe manner One hand in the pocket. Remove jewelry Avoid working on energized equipment.

Lightning
Antennas, towers, masts, and antenna mounts should be grounded. Where cables and feed lines enter the house, use lightning arrestors connected to a ground.

RF Safety
You can perform a station evaluation yourself.