Careful, if Martin Jue at MFJ gets wind of that, the mug will get a model
number and he'll sell them as a super duty ceramic lightning arrestor for 59.95.
On Thursday, May 27, 2021, 09:39:34 AM CDT, Jeffrey Carson via BVARC
<[email protected]> wrote:
Now I know what to do with all the free MFJ coffee mugs i got at Dayton 2019!
On Thursday, May 27, 2021, 04:47:38 AM CDT, JP Pritchard via BVARC
<[email protected]> wrote:
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. 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]>
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]> 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
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