TO: ALL WEST VIRGINIA ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM WV SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 08.43 DATE: October 26, 2008
SUBJECT: PROTECT YOUR POWER SUPPLY SWITCH
Most switches, but not all, no matter what they are used for, have one thing in common, UP is ON, and DOWN is OFF. This holds true on electronic equipment the same as it does in house wiring. There may be a reason that it's set up that way, maybe it's to make it easier to turn something off by pushing down as opposed to flipping or pushing it up. In any case you need to be sure if you're using a power supply at a remote location that the power switch cannot be inadvertently turned off. This can happen a lot easier at locations, such as tower sites, which are shared by several agencies or other businesses.
If the power switch is not protected from being accidently turned off, there's a possibility of having to make a trip to that tower site to turn the power supply back on. I don't know if you have ever heard the "Law Of Specific Gravitation" or not, but it goes something like this: "An Object Will Fall Where It Can Do The Most Damage".
At a tower site awhile back, the power supply for a radio system was accidently turned off when the end of a piece of coax cable was dropped to the floor. The cable just happen to hit the switch of the power supply, turning it off, and not being noticed. The system worked for a few days, since it had battery back-up, but that only lasted so long, before the system was dead.
There are a number of ways to protect the switch from being turned off accidently, one is to turn the power supply around so the switch is facing the wall or the radio equipment so that it might not get turned off if something was to fall. Another way is to install some kind of loop or cover, whether it's metal or plastic, over the switch so that you have to work at turning the switch off. The thing to remember is to find a way to keep the switch from being turned off accidently, when you don't want it off.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator