From: "Stephen M. Shearer" <wb3lgc@verizon.net>
Reply-To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 12:33:04 -0500
You asked: This is what I supplied to the insurance companies (note ARRL
insurance was purchased 6 days before the strike). I was at the BSA
Jamboree at the time. My wife and cat were at home at 5am when the strike
hit. I had two (2) leaks in the gas stove. One was a 1/32" hole in the
flex gas line.
DETAIL of Lightning Strike:
The lightning strike hit the center [actually one end] of the WB3LGC/G5RV
antenna in the back yard and vaporized the ladder line feeding both sides
of
the antenna [the steel copperweld wire was vaporized, but left the plastic
jacket]. The lightning followed the coax cable to the free end of the
cable
in the basement shop/radio shack. On the way to the basement, the
lightning
took a side trip [blew a hole in the coax and house] to the power/circuit
panel, via the house wiring. This same discharge path also found the
underground cables feeding the detached garage. The circuit panel had
breakers tripped for the kitchen and the bathroom. One likely discharge
path, via the ground wire in the romex cable, is the kitchen circuit
feeding
the stove and the path to ground via the black pipe gas line. This could
[did] account for the small gas leak at the stove. In the basement, the
lightning discharged through a metal workbench with a metal top [the coax
was on the concrete floor]. A portable TV on top of the bench became fried
[a number of holes zapped in the bench] and the major source of smoke that
set off the smoke detector in the shop and at the top of the basement
stairs. The TV and everything that was plugged into the common power strip
also became "toast". The power strip fed both UPS's, a wireless telephone,
a power supply for the Orion radio, a computer and monitor [replaced with a
nice laptop]. The final path was through the heavy ground strap attached
to
the Orion radio to the 5/8" copper water line feed for the house. The
phone
line in the basement is a direct feed to the office computer on the second
floor.
73, Steve WB3LGC
The Orion took its hit via the 12V power line and the case (jumping from
the
workbench to the UPS to the Orion). New Lightning Rule #2; Ground the
un-used coax in the shack or before it gets to the shack [it might have
helped].
-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Peter Burbank
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 11:53 AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment; 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 2 lightning rule
>
>Btw: New Lightning Rule #1; A well grounded rig will provide a path for
>lightning even if the antenna coax is disconnected from (and separated
from)
>the radio.
>
>73, Steve WB3LGC
Steve, have you been able to trace the lightning path or any particular
reason why
it hit your rig?
73 Pete NV4V
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