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Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning problem

To: <w2lk@earthlink.net>, <TowerTalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lightning problem
From: "Gary Schafer" <garyschafer@comcast.net>
Reply-to: garyschafer@comcast.net
Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:26:25 -0500
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
You need a protection device at the house on those lines and also one on the
power line feeding the device grounded to the same ground connection.

73
Gary  K4FMX

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Les Kalmus
> Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 7:08 PM
> To: TowerTalk@contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Lightning problem
> 
> My tower is about 380 feet from the house and the tower and all coax
> lines are grounded lightning protected with no problems through a number
> of bad local storms.
> 
> However, I have a TopTen band decoder switching a TopTen antenna switch
> mounted near the base of the tower. At the  tower base, the switch
> control lines lines ran through a Polyphaser lightning arrester usually
> used for rotator protection. These are rated at 82 volts cutoff. When
> lightning struck a neighbor's house about 1/2 mile away, the pulse did
> no damage to anything else but destroyed every active component in the
> decoder. I repaired the device and replaced the Polyphaser with an
> I.C.E. arrester rated at a cutoff of 20V. Last weekend when the wild
> windy storm front that battered the northeast passed through here, there
> apparently was a lightning and thunderstorm. When I returned home from a
> trip I found the decoder was again severely damaged with almost all the
> active components ruined but no other equipment damaged.
> 
> Since installation, this is at least the 6th time some or all of the
> band decoder innards have been damaged by lightning and although I am
> now an expert in debugging and fixing the problem it has gotten real
> old. Anyone have any ideas how I can better protect this device?
> 
> TIA.
> 
> 73, Les W2LK
> 
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