Jim, your comments make the mistake of assuming the lightning energy wants
to discharge into your radios without a reason... it is just mean and does
not care about physical laws.
Question, why would the energy jump to your radios sitting alone on a
table... no path, no energy flow.... yes? Of course, it can jump from
clouds to the ground ... or is it the other way? ... but in that case, IT
IS DISCHARGING TO A GROUNDED THING...the earth... or something sadly tied to
the earth like your grounded radio.
Mine is disconnected FROM EVERYTHING ! No path, no strike..... eh?
First my lightning history.
1957 novice station, direct hit on 40m dipole at 30 feet. Boiled copper on
the copper clad steel wire, vaporized wire inside tv twin lead, etc. Hook
up was totally as per the 1957ARRL HANDBOOK with switch to ground
engaged...ha ha....
Result... fried all radios to crispy black, blew all light bulbs in house,
and many other things.
1990-2006... Fla set up... 3 considerable strikes, one to 240 ft 160 m
dipole which cut the ant wire in 3 places and killed the support trees AT
BOTH ENDS. Results to shack, no damage at all because the end of the
feedline was 20 feet away from house laying on the earth... open.... with
no evidence of current flow thru it... no path, no strike.
Other 2 were on tower mounted ants.... long story, end of which is no damage
to radios nor home.
My set up:
Bring all outside wires, except station gnd., to a window patch panel.
Double female coax connectors there MOUNTED IN PLEXIGLASS (not metal plate
for sure) and Jones plugs for other wires. RF Gnd wire comes in 8 ft away
via hole in wall.. goes to 2 8ft gnd rods. All ALL wires at the window are
disconnected on the inside, some use push on PL-259. NOTHING is grounded
there nor anywhere else on the principal of "no path, no strike."
70 ft tower with 3 beams grounded only by virtue the base is in concrete
which is in the earth.
Double pole single throw breaker switch on the main incoming AC line to all
rigs. Turn that off when not in use. Bad storm coming, unplug master AC
cable from breaker to wall outlet. Leaving home for a few days, unplugged
the shack ground wire also (that goes thru wall separately). That leaves
the radios sitting alone, totally disconnected on ur op bench.
Pain in the ass to disconnect. But larger pain is burning home. Make the
choice.
To reduce unplugging, install remote ant switch at window patch panel and
run one coax from that to radio and disconnect that line always. Then, u
may fry the switch but not the radios. BTW... keep EVERYTHING away from
the inside of the patch panel.... I use min. 4 feet separation, but often
had 8 feet separation of wires, tables, kids, dogs, fish tanks, and the wife
from the window with the patch panel during storm. Abt 3/week in Fla
summer. We just did not walk near the window nor other electrical things as
much as possible during boomers. My radio table was 8 ft away and around a
concrete block corner from the window panel.
Note, when I was 12, I was standing in my KY farm house kitchen in big
thunderstorm. House was all wood with metal roof. Strike very close... u
can tell by time between flash and boom... closer in time is closer in
space.... A metal wash pan sitting alone on a wood table INSIDE THE KITCHEN
a few feet from me and 10 feet from window, emits an audible DING.
Witnessed by 3 adults and me.
Morale: It can get u ANYWHERE !!! GL 73
Charles Harpole
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Charles Harpole
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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