🔍 Key Concepts

• Mechanical stress on antenna wires when hoisting or rigging • How ceramic or glass insulators can be damaged by impact • Best practices for preventing both wire fatigue and insulator breakage

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens physically to a wire when it is sharply bent or kinked under tension. How does this affect its strength and conductivity over time? • Consider how fragile insulators are. What could happen if they hit or scrape hard against metal parts of the ship while being raised? • Ask yourself whether good seamanship focuses on only one type of damage, or on preventing all obvious ways the gear could be harmed.

✅ Before You Answer

• Check which parts of the antenna system are most susceptible to damage: the conductor (wire) or the insulators (or both). • Verify whether avoiding sharp bends in a tensioned wire is a standard practice in rigging and electronics. • Confirm whether impact between insulators and metal structures is considered hazardous for antenna integrity.