Great post, Douglas. Glad to see you here. JP, k5JPP
> On 05/26/2021 9:46 PM Douglas Kimpel via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > 05/20/2013 > See website for details on how to get QSLs and Certificates. > > May 20-May 26, 2300Z-2200Z, W9IMS, Indianapolis, IN. Indianapolis Motor > Speedway Amateur Radio Club. 21.350 14.245 7.240 3.840. Certificate & QSL. > IMS ARC, PO Box 30954, Indianapolis, IN 46230. http://w9ims.org/ > > > > > Douglas Kimpel > Chief Engineer > KKHT, KNTH > Houston, Texas > 713-206-2146 Cell > 713-260-6129 Office > > > --------------------------------------------- > From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of Douglas Kimpel via > BVARC <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 9:18 PM > To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]> > Cc: Douglas Kimpel <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [BVARC] Lightning Strike Prevention > > Hey All, > > I'm new to the club! Lightening report from a long time ago! > > I was able to make a good 80/160-meter dipole with the help of my former > father-in-law WF5W (Silent Key) back in 2001. We were able to put the antenna > 60 feet into the trees and it was fantastic! Had a storm come in while I was > doing some early weekend chores. > The power shut down briefly and at the same time I heard the thunderclap! > > Lightning struck the east pine tree of the antenna span! The Lightening > did a good job of removing the tree's bark it then jumped over the nylon rope > and destroyed the ceramic insulator, vaporized 3 feet of the antenna copper, > and destroyed the home-made coil ( I think I have the burned coil still, > Looking). > > The main strike was on the Pine tree, but a feeder strike found my phone > line and house ground at the same time. > > Lost the following! > > One great antenna and its mounting point! > All land line phones and an answering machine! > One brand knew refrigerator! > > MY Ten Tec Omni D survived as I had disconnected the feed line just > before the storm and place the cable in a ceramic coffee cup. The PL259 did > not survive the strike at the ceramic coffee cup end and at the ballast! > > > > > > > Douglas Kimpel > Chief Engineer > KKHT, KNTH > Houston, Texas > 713-206-2146 Cell > 713-260-6129 Office > > > --------------------------------------------- > From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of Ron Bosch via BVARC > <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 7:46 PM > To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]> > Cc: Ron Bosch <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [BVARC] Lightning Strike Prevention > > Keith, > Did you also lose your TV's and other electronics? Did you lose any > transceivers not connected to your mains? The fact is that a lightning > strike on or very near your house is going to impress current on any antenna > system, or analogue thereof, in the near field, and the amount of energy > carried by that antenna system is directly proportional to wire length to > that antenna or antenna analogue. The largest antenna analogue in our houses > is the wiring system of the house itself, and a residential ground, while > being a good short path, is not usually very efficient compared to the ground > system of a commercial building or a broadcast tower. That being said, the > odds of taking such a hit are small by ground area and reduced exponentially > by the relative heights of the surroundings. The object lesson being that if > you have the highest thing in large square footage connected electrically to > your equipment, you are increasing your odds of a strike significantly. > Unfortunately, the best thing for getting a great signal on radio is the > worst thing to do for protecting yourself from lightning strikes, which makes > perfect sense if you realize that we are in the hobby of taking a small > powered sine wave electrical signal from the atmosphere and responding to it > using a slightly higher powered electrical sine wave :-) The folks of us > that do that most efficiently are the most likely to be the victims of the > fact that the system is, by definition, very good at attracting a tens > billion times higher potential static DC capacitive discharge. > > Ron > KE4DRF > > On Wed, May 26, 2021 at 7:16 PM Keith Dutson via BVARC < [email protected] > mailto:[email protected] > wrote: > > > > > > Some useful info in this post, but shows lack of facts. For > > example, it is well known and documented that lightning can strike from > > cloud to ground and vice versa. > > > > My station has been damaged by lightning several times. The worst > > damage was in May, 2019, when a large bolt struck my 150 foot tower. This > > was witnessed by my daughter and her husband who were outside at the time. > > The station furniture in the shack was being moved at that time and there > > were no antennas connected. However, all units were plugged into power and > > connected to computers. ALL computers and transceivers were destroyed, and > > the linear amplifiers were damaged in the power supply section. There were > > several signs of lightning flashover at signal and power connections. I > > was standing in the shack at the time of the strike, and there was no > > sound, but it felt like the time in military basic combat training where I > > felt the concussion of dynamite blasts. > > > > Now I have relay controlled disconnect of power and antennas for > > all stations. The disconnect grounds antennas and rigs. > > > > I did collect insurance. The claim was for about $25,000, and I > > got about $22,000 after deductible. > > > > 73, Keith NM5G > > > > On Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 09:40:06 AM CDT, Will Gray via BVARC < > > [email protected] mailto:[email protected] > wrote: > > > > > > There are lots of books on the subject and plenty of examples > > visible around major electrical installations of how to prevent damage by > > lightning. Lightning occurs when there is a large charge difference > > present, normally caused by rain carrying electrons from clouds to ground. > > If there is no path to deplete the charge and when the charge is great > > enough, the electrons go back to the more positively charged area of the > > clouds above. The strike is from ground to cloud. The use of several > > ground rods tied together and connected to power grounds, water pipes, gas > > pipes, and the antenna system tends to deplete the charge to the earth, > > preventing the strike. Unplug, disconnect and ground your equipment. > > During an electrical storm stay away from doors, windows and chimneys. Get > > in your vehicle and close the doors. > > > > Safety! > > Will Gray, KB7QL > > > > ________________________________________________ > > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > > > BVARC mailing list > > [email protected] mailto:[email protected] > > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > > Publicly available archives are available here: > > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > ________________________________________________ > > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > > > BVARC mailing list > > [email protected] mailto:[email protected] > > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > > Publicly available archives are available here: > > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > > > > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > Publicly available archives are available here: > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >
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