An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Articles
Would you stake your life, right now, on the condition of your equipment?
Articles
NEWS | March 19, 2021

AN/TSC-156D: Protect Phoenix Antenna Assemblies

AN/TSC-156D Phoenix mounted on HMMWV
(Courtesy photo)

Dear Editor,

During a recent communications exercise (COMEX), we found that three (3) of our AN/TSC-156D Phoenix tactical satellites had identical, quarter-sized holes in the antenna assemblies. We discovered that operators were stowing their antenna assemblies with the lightning rods in the UP position and not in the STOW position. Then, as the antennas were taken down, the lightning rods would puncture the antennas.
 
Lightning rod punctures create holes
Lightning rod punctures create holes (Courtesy photo)
 
The proper way to stow lightning rods is in the horizontal position. This configuration ensures the antenna assembly has the proper clearance and prevents damaging the antenna assembly.
 
Improper position of lightning rod during stowage
Improper position of lightning rod during stowage (Courtesy photo)

Correct position when stowing antenna assembly
Correct position when stowing antenna assembly (Courtesy photo)

CW3 Kelshall Williams
Korea
Editor’s note: Thanks for another great communications tip, Chief Williams.
 
Satellites
Phoenix
Want to get better search results faster? 
Click the link below to access our "how to" guide.
After entering a keyword, you must hit or click the Search bar/box below for the function to work.
Simply hitting Return won't yield results.
LOGSA Links/URLs
Note about links to archive articles

If you come across a link to a pre-2014 PS Magazine issue or article that uses LOGSA in the web address (URL), use this link instead:
 
For issues/articles from 2014 and after, click on the Archive/Index tab in the top menu of this website.
BE ADVISED: With the migration to Army365, emails in older articles may still reflect an @mail.mil address. To update, change the domain to @army.mil