Brian, the following is just general lightning info. Many years ago I posted a story about what can happen when a MOV failed along with a improper electrical ground in the service panel and a miss wired electrical outlet. It should be findable in the list archive.
Being a ham radio operator at the last house my tower was hit at least once a year and would have equipment damage. However once I grounded and bonded things correctly, there was no more damage. During the last strike to cause damage, it arked over between all three wires going to the radios, but not at the same outlet. I had a two to 6 plug outlet plugged into the wall. It arked on the wall outlet and on the front surface of the multiple outlet device. It just about permanently welded the two items together. So as Rich said there are things that limit the voltages. What I have learned over the years, it is how the building is grounded and how the grounds are bonded together that makes the difference in equipment survival of a lightning strike. It is far more important than equipment design to survive lightning. A good book on proper grounding and bonding was just published by the ARRL. It is called Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur. It also happens to have safety related information in it. Jim - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
