On Mon, 14 Jul 2008, Laryn Lohman wrote:
> The reason we would not want to be on the red receptacle normally is
> that in case of a lightning strike we are potentially left with a dead
> red from the strike, and dead white if the utility is down. Obviously,
> another strike, after we've switched to the red, kills AC totally to
> our stuff. The presumption is that a breaker probably won't trip,
> even after a strike, if there's not a load of some sort on it to
> complete a path for the "tripping" current. Make sense?
We're talking about an ionized channel of electrons that can cross
hundreds of feet vertically, and still generate smaller channels within
the radio shed that can jump a foot or more. Do you really think that a
3PDT relay with contacts one quarter of an inch apart represents an
obstacle for this immense charge of electricity? I understand that you
want to get it back on the air yesterday, but unless you've implemented
a lightning arrestor on every bloody port of every bloody device, I
wouldn't bet that you could keep the breaker from tripping.
--
Kris Kirby, KE4AHR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
But remember, with no superpowers comes no responsibility.
--rly
